About Garforth Education
Garforth Education welcomes clients of all ages and with different academic needs including Learning Disorders, ADHD, Autism Spectrum, and Low Incidence Special Needs.
Philosophy:
At Garforth Education we believe that everybody has a unique learning profile with different strengths and challenges. When considering this profile to design a personalized education plan, it is possible to find a pathway to success at any age.
Mission:
Our goal is to assist clients and their families to find and understand their unique learning profile and guide them on their educational journey so they can realize their maximum potential.
Dr. Kathryn Garforths' Story
Dr. Garforth has professional expertise in Educational Psychology and a personal understanding of the frustrations children and adults with learning difficulties experience at home, school, work, and in extracurricular activities.
As a child, Dr. Garforth struggled with reading and spelling in her primary years. A psychoeducational assessment in grade four helped her understand her strengths and gave her hope that with the right instruction and accommodations she could succeed in school.
In grade five, Dr. Garforth’s public school teacher declined to provide her with accommodations during multiple weekly quizzes. Her poor score prompted extensive bullying from her peers, and her teacher predicted that she would never finish school.
In grade six, Dr. Garforth switched to a private school that specialized in helping children with dyslexia, and this removed the stigma of having a disability. She began to enjoy school and learned how to self-advocate.
With informed instruction, extensive tutoring, accommodations, and perseverance, Dr. Garforth went on to acquire four degrees from two Canadian universities. Postsecondary education was achievable because she had developed self-advocacy skills and was able to design her own course load.
Her life story was featured in an award-winning, Knowledge Network documentary, entitled Deciphering Dyslexia (2007).
Dr. Garforth initially completed a Bachelor of Science in Computer Sciences from the University of Lethbridge (2005).
While attending the University of Lethbridge, she served on the Special Needs Advisory Committee and helped set up the university’s Disability Resource Centre. This experience led her to pursue a career in special education at the University of British Columbia.
Dr. Garforth subsequently earned a Bachelor of Education in Elementary Education with a specialization in special education (2010), then a Masters of Arts in Special Education with a learning disabilities concentration (2013). Her masters’ research focused on mathematics education.
Dr. Garforth went on to achieve a Ph.D. in Special Education, with a learning disabilities concentration (2018). Through her research, she investigated the English literacy acquisition of Chinese students whom had English as an additional language.
In her graduate work, she became experienced in the assessment of learning disabilities and conducted research in literacy and mathematics amongst students from various language backgrounds and achievement levels. During her university years and afterwards, Dr. Garforth consulted with private clients with different learning profiles.
Dr. Garforth is familiar with and has used many programs with her clients including but limited to phonics-based programs such as Orton-Gillingham and Lindamood Bell, mathematics programs like JumpMath, formulaic writing programs, Handwriting without Tears and technology-based reading and writing programs such as ABRACADABRA.
Advocacy Work:
Dr. Garforth’s advocacy journey began when she was a child, when her school that specialized in dyslexia was at risk of losing their school bus service. She felt the need to step up and speak out. Having caught the advocacy bug from that experience she has been advocating in some capacity ever since.
On February 28, 2022 the Ontario Human Right’s Commission released the Right to Read: Public inquiry into human rights issues affecting students with reading disabilities Report. This was the first report of its kind to be release in Canada. It had recommendations consistent with similar reports from the United States, Australia and Britain.
Dr. Garforth felt the need to create a platform where she could spread the findings from the Inquiry on a larger scale. It began with interviewing experts about their opinions of this report on Facebook. These Live Broadcasts were well received, so she turned them into the Right to Read Initiative Podcast.
