Pros
They do indeed help *some* students.
Cons
There are *way* too many customers (pardon me, "students") who are there even though Lindamood-Bell *knows* they can't help. For example, while I was working at the center, we had five students who were mentally retarded*. Every one of them had already spent 50 - 100 hours at Lindamood-Bell, their reading skills were completely maxed out, we (depending on the student/day) were either just wasting their time, or torturing them by forcing them to attempt higher-level reasoning they just were not capable of. I would also like to address a response below, because it is too absurd to let go (and I don't know if the person who left it can respond themselves). "We stand by the quality of our learning center instruction staff. Potential instructors undergo a rigorous screening and training process." (1) To start with, at my center we had multiple people who admitted they were "grandfathered" in and didn't believe they would pass the current "testing". (2) None of the adults in that office are doing anything that requires or even exercises their brains. That's why so many folks just stay there forever—they can't do anything else (the most senior Clinician at my center had been a career bus driver before she started doing LMB to make some extra money. (3) It's a basic, basic spelling test (and some of the words are made up) and a logic test that is notably easier than the SATs. "Rigorous screening"?? HAH! (4) For the 90% of customers (pardon, "students"), y'all see, it doesn't matter your average Clinician isn't the best and brightest—if you want, you can brag that almost all the people you hire are capable of reading and spelling at a four-grade level...it's the other 10% that make it so clear most of the people (at least in my office) weren't equipped to help a sophomore in high school with his math homework...because all they know how to do is ask students "what [they] are picturing for ______". Visualization can help overcome barriers with basic arithmetic, but Algebra isn't about "picturing". *I am not a doctor, but I am a certified teacher and behavioral therapist who grew up with an immediate family member whose IQ is below 55—I *do* know it when I see it. To be fair, it was also incredibly obvious to anyone with...brains? The Director even acknowledged it in private on multiple occasions.
