When Robyn was young, she found school incredibly challenging. She struggled to focus, complete her work, and most importantly read. She was never officially diagnosed with a learning disability, but the journey through school was difficult.

10 years ago, Robyn was trained in Orton-Gillingham, a structured literacy approach. When she started working with the methodology, a lightbulb went off. She began remediating some of her own issues with reading and writing and has since dedicated her life and career to supporting struggling readers.

Rebecca is a qualified teacher with primary, junior, and senior experience, having worked in education for over 10 years.

After having her daughter, Rebecca began to reflect on how children learn to read. She realized that, despite her teaching qualifications and time at teacher's college, she lacked the specific knowledge on how to effectively teach reading. This curiosity inspired her to receive Orton-Gillingham training and led her to create The Active Reader, a sister brand to Novel, aimed at building a brighter future for her children and others by empowering parents with tools for teaching reading.

Martha struggled in school most of her life. She would study so much, but never get the grades that she wanted. Most of her report cards would say, “Martha has so much potential”.

This drove her to figure out how she learned and how she could help others. Fast forward to 7 years after high school, Martha was trained in Orton-Gillingham and finally figured out why she had a hard time in school. The learning environment had not addressed her needs and learning style. It has since become her life’s work to help students who struggled like her.