When Reading Skills Don’t Match Potential
Reading difficulties can be incredibly frustrating — for learners and families alike.
Your learner may:
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struggle to decode words accurately
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read slowly or with visible effort
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avoid reading aloud or independently
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have difficulty with comprehension despite trying hard
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show declining confidence after repeated frustration
Many struggling readers are working hard — sometimes harder than their peers — but rely on guessing, context, or memorization because the foundational reading system never became automatic. This pattern is especially common for learners with dyslexia, language-based learning disabilities, or ADHD, where sound–symbol connections and processing speed may not have fully developed.
These challenges are not a reflection of intelligence, effort, or motivation. More often, they arise when the cognitive and linguistic skills that support fluent reading — such as phonemic awareness, decoding accuracy, working memory, and processing speed — are still developing beneath the surface.
At Eckert Centre, MTC Reading is designed for learners whose reading challenges persist despite strong teaching, accommodations, and genuine effort — and who need reading rebuilt from the ground up, not worked around.
What MTC Reading Is
Master the Code (MTC) is an intensive, sound-to-code reading and spelling program designed to rebuild a learner’s reading system from the ground up.
Rather than teaching children to rely on memorized rules, visual cues, or guessing strategies, MTC systematically strengthens the foundational cognitive and language skills required for automatic, fluent reading. The goal is not short-term compensation, but durable reading skills that transfer across texts, subjects, and stages of learning.
MTC targets the core systems that make reading possible, including:
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Phonemic awareness — accurately segmenting, blending, and manipulating sounds
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Decoding and encoding — reading and spelling taught together to reinforce the reading code
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Reading automaticity and fluency — reducing effort so comprehension can emerge
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Working memory and processing efficiency — supporting speed, accuracy, and confidence
Through a multisensory, one-to-one training format (seeing, hearing, saying, and writing), learners strengthen the neural pathways that support reading and spelling—helping skills become reliable, efficient, and lasting.
How MTC Differs from Tutoring
Many families begin with tutoring when reading struggles persist. Tutoring can be helpful for reinforcing schoolwork or practicing specific material.
MTC Reading is different because it is not focused on practice alone.
Instead of working at the level of assignments or curriculum, MTC targets the foundational cognitive and language systems that make reading possible in the first place. This includes how the brain processes sounds, links them to symbols, and develops automaticity over time.
MTC differs from tutoring in that it:
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rebuilds reading from the sound–symbol level upward
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uses structured, multisensory training rather than repetition alone
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strengthens underlying cognitive processes that support reading across subjects
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focuses on durable skill development, not short-term academic performance
For learners whose reading challenges persist despite effort, support, and instruction, this distinction often matters.
What Happens in MTC Reading Sessions
MTC Reading is delivered through structured, one-on-one sessions designed to create the consistency and challenge required for meaningful brain change.
Much like physical training builds strength through repeated, targeted effort over time, reading skills develop when the brain is given regular, focused opportunities to practice specific processes — not through occasional exposure or passive instruction.
Sessions follow a carefully sequenced progression. Learners are first taught the most predictable sound–symbol patterns, then gradually introduced to less common patterns and overlaps. This sequencing helps the brain build a reliable internal reading system rather than relying on guessing or memorization.
Because reading depends on multiple interacting skills, sessions are paced to the individual learner. Instruction is adjusted as strengths emerge, challenges shift, and automaticity increases — ensuring training remains appropriately challenging without becoming overwhelming.
Evidence and Why It Matters
Decades of research consistently show that structured, multisensory reading instruction is one of the most effective approaches for learners with persistent reading challenges — particularly those with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences.
Programs that combine explicit reading instruction with cognitive skill development have been shown, in large real-world outcome studies, to support meaningful growth in areas such as phonological awareness, decoding accuracy, reading fluency, comprehension, and the cognitive skills that make learning possible — including working memory and processing efficiency.
What matters most is not a quick fix, but the right conditions for change. Like physical or neurological development in any area, lasting reading gains emerge through consistent, sequenced effort over time. When instruction is targeted, intensive, and sustained, learners are more likely to experience reading that becomes easier, more automatic, and more reliable across settings.
Who MTC is for
MTC Reading is well suited for learners who continue to struggle with reading despite effort, instruction, and support. It is often a strong fit for:
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children and teens with dyslexia or language-based learning disabilities
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learners reading below grade level who are working hard but not gaining fluency
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older students who rely on guessing, memorization, or context instead of confident decoding
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learners with ADHD whose processing speed or working memory impacts reading efficiency
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adults with dyslexia who never developed automatic, fluent reading and want lasting change
MTC is designed for learners who need more than accommodations or extra practice—those who benefit from rebuilding the underlying reading system so reading becomes more reliable, efficient, and less effortful over time.
Is MTC Right for Your Learner?
MTC Reading is designed for learners who need more than extra practice or exposure. Reading is a complex cognitive and linguistic skill, and lasting change happens when the underlying systems that support reading are strengthened—not simply rehearsed.
MTC is often a strong fit when reading difficulties persist despite effort, instruction, accommodations, or support.
Because the program is intensive and structured by design, the first step is typically a reading or cognitive screening. This helps clarify a learner’s strengths, challenges, and whether structured, sound-to-code instruction is likely to provide meaningful benefit.
Before recommending MTC Reading, we take time to ensure the program aligns with the learner’s profile, goals, and readiness—and with the family’s or adult learner’s capacity to engage in consistent training. This thoughtful matching process allows families and adult learners to move forward with clarity, confidence, and realistic expectations.
What to Do Next
What to Do Next
Families and adult learners come to MTC Reading at different points in their decision-making. We offer two clear ways to begin.
If you’re ready to get started:
You can book a New Client: MTC Reading Training Session to begin the program. All learners complete prescreening measures as part of the program to confirm readiness and guide sequencing. Many learners begin with PACE brain training to strengthen the cognitive and phonological foundations needed for MTC, and add MTC Reading once those skills are in place to fully benefit from sound-to-code instruction.
If you still have questions:
We encourage a free consultation call to talk through your learner’s history, goals, and whether MTC Reading—and its sequencing with PACE—makes sense for your situation.
Our clinicians will help you understand:
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whether MTC Reading is appropriate now or later
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how PACE and MTC may work together
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what level of intensity and commitment is realistic for your family or for you as an adult learner
Our offices are located in Calgary, with easy access for families in Airdrie, Cochrane, and Okotoks.
In-person and secure virtual options when appropriate are available across Alberta.
