Testimonials
“Shelley's strategies have resulted in improvements for my son in the areas of reading, writing,
test taking skills, independent work habits, social skills, and outside interests. In an effort to search for
untapped strengths, Shelley has encouraged my son to try new things. It came as a surprise when he was one of
50 winners in a nationwide junior photography contest. Most importantly she has taught my son about his
learning differences and has shown him how to succeed despite them.”
— S.L
“I am a special education teacher at a Somerset County Middle School. I came upon Shelley's tutoring service through
the International Dyslexia Association. Due to my experience with students with learning differences I realized
the importance of early intervention in a child's education. In a classroom situation, teachers are not always
aware of all the teaching alternatives for students who are not learning by conventional methods.
My son Bobby had not been classified as a learning disabled student but was struggling in a basic skills class
for reading and language arts when he started with Shelley. Because of Shelley's expertise he is now in an
average reading and language arts class. His writing skills have developed from simple sentences to writing
persuasive paragraphs.
Shelley not only has the training, but due to her own experience with dyslexia, she knows that her students need
to learn through a multi-sensory approach. She can recognize and address it when a student needs visual
training, kinesthetic learning (hands-on), and/or auditory cueing. As my son tells me: ‘Shelley makes it
easy to understand and do it.’
I would highly recommend Shelley for any position that would involve working with students and their families
who have learning differences.”
— C.H., Branchburg, NJ
“Shelley Tzorfas has worked with my son Steven, age 7, for the past five months in bi-weekly tutoring
sessions focusing on reading and writing. Shelley was surprisingly successful in many ways. First, Shelley was
able to ‘connect’ with Steven nearly immediately, which is not very often accomplished so quickly.
While establishing a solid bond with Steven she also set standards of behavior and performance that Steven
attended to quickly and rather consistently. Shelley was successful in moving Steven's reading and writing
skills up one to two grade levels in this short period of time, building his confidence. According to Steven,
he has learned more reading and writing with Shelley in one or two sessions with Shelley than he had learned in
all of first grade!
While what brought us to see Shelley was Steven's lower than needed reading and writing skills upon completing
first grade, Shelley also provided us with many insights into Steven's possible physical links in his behavior
and abilities. We have learned during this time, thanks in part to Shelley, that Steven cannot manage milk and
also possibly red dyes. We have also learned that he has an eye-tracking difficulty that makes it harder for
Steven to read and write. Shelley's experience, expertise and recommendations take into account and manage the
whole child and not just a single aspect. Shelley has also participated as our advocate in obtaining
additional educational and therapy services with our school district. Shelley has really been a God-send to our
family and especially to Steven. We could not have been luckier to find Shelley and to employ her special
service.
We plan to continue to use Shelley as we continue at least through Steven's second grade. Steven, who is a
very bright child, now has the opportunity to reach his full potential, thanks, in part, to Shelley Tzorfas.”
— D.M.D., Glen Gardner, NJ
“I am writing on behalf of Ms. Shelley Tzorfas who has been working and still is with my 16-year-old
daughter, Jennifer. Having met her is truly a gift from above. Finally we are getting somewhere and Shelley's
goal is to make sure that Jennifer will be prepared for college.
Ms. Tzorfas is not a miracle worker but is definitely a very hard worker and relates to Jennifer's needs very
well. Being dyslexic herself, Shelley knows what Jennifer's frustrations are and certainly can relate to them
very well. Ms. Tzorfas is helping Jennifer cope with her weaknesses, teach her studying techniques and find
ways to bring out the things she does well. Shelley has also given Jennifer hope that she does have a chance
to go out into the world and make a future for herself. Ms. Tzorfas has broadened Jennifer's knowledge on the
carrier force and that she is not limited because of her learning problems. Jennifer feels very comfortable in
her presence and feels that Shelley has made a difference since she has started working with her.
Shelley has not only been good for Jennifer but she has been good for me too. My school meetings don't take 15
minutes anymore and no longer do I remain silent and agree readily with the team. Shelley has educated me on
how the system works and what my rights as a parent are. She has helped me to handle little emotional problems
with Jennifer and is always there for me when I need to talk to her.
Without hesitation, I highly recommend Ms. Tzorfas and her services. My daughter could be in no better hands.”
— F.H.
“The purpose of this letter is to share with you the successes my son, John, has had under the tutelage
of Shelley Tzorfas. John has struggled academically for almost 4 years now. While he is currently in 5th grade,
his troubles became evident early during his 2nd grade school year. John has had several tutors over the past
few years but never has he shown the kind of progress that he has working with Shelley. I have found Shelley's
tutoring approach to be significantly different in that she takes a multi-faceted approach. While John's issues
are many, Shelley quickly recognized his difficulties and offered effective approaches to each one. Shelley's
strategies have resulted in improvements for John in the areas of reading, writing, test taking skills,
independent work habits, social skills, and outside interests.
While working with John on his reading skills, Shelley noticed that he had a visual tracking problem and recommended
that he get an eye exam that included a test for visual tracking. This exam showed that John indeed had a
tracking problem which has since been addressed with the help of the opthomologist and eye tracking exercises.
John has increased the speed and fluency of his reading. His comprehension has improved and he now enjoys his
reading assignments.
Writing has never been one of John's favorite tasks. His approach had always been to write the bare minimum and
his writing was often incomprehensible. However, with Shelley's guidance and enthusiasm John is now more creative
in his writing. He no longer groans about writing assignments. He now attacks writing assignments on his own and
writes more than ever before.
John's work habits in the past have been anything but independent. Basically he was getting no work done without
a parent or teacher telling him exactly what needed to be done and watching over his shoulder to be sure it was
getting done. Someone always had to be by his side. With Shelley's guidance and encouragement John now completes
almost all of his homework assignments independently on a daily basis. He is able to organize himself to begin a
task. He starts on his own without being told. He finishes his assignments appropriately and knows when to
seek assistance. This is a great improvement.
Because John struggles with his communication skills, his social skills with his peers is lacking. Shelley is
well aware of this and has made a point to include social skills discussions in his curriculum. John shares with
Shelley his successes and his difficulties and they talk them through. She offers up suggestions and has on
occasion given him assignments to help him to practice these skills. This kind of input from someone other than
a parent has proved to be a big help. With Shelley's assistance John continues to gain insights not only into
how the behavior of his peers affects him but also into how his behavior affects the relationships he has with
his peers.
In an effort to search for untapped strengths, Shelley has encouraged John to branch out and try new things. As
a result John has found that he is a talented photographer. It came as a surprise to him when he was one of 50
winners in a nationwide junior photography contest. While most of the winners were in their teens, John was only
10. In addition, John entered and won a lip synch competition at camp. As a result of these experiences John
is becoming more outgoing and is now more willing to try new things.
Overall, I have found Shelley to be a wonderful tutor. She has provided important lessons and insights to John as
well as myself as his mom. She continues to work with John to teach him, to encourage and motivate him, and to
bring out his best. Most importantly, she has taught John about his learning differences and has shown him how
to succeed despite them.”
— S.L.
Please note that some names and other identifying information have been changed to protect people's privacy.
