About Erin

I’m Erin Brafford, a dyslexia tutor, reading specialist, and mom who understands how overwhelming reading struggles can feel. After walking this journey with my own child, I’m passionate about helping students and families move from frustration to confidence through structured, effective instruction.

Dedicated Tutor

Evidence-based instruction

Reading & spelling educators

You’re here because you know your child is capable of more.

If reading feels harder than it should for your child, you’re not imagining it, and it’s not because they aren’t trying.

Many children, teens, and even adults with dyslexia work incredibly hard, yet reading and spelling still feel confusing, exhausting, or out of reach. Over time, that struggle can turn into frustration, self-doubt, and a loss of confidence.

At You Can Read, we help students move from confused and discouraged to confident and capable readers, and to support families every step of the way.

This work began at home, with my own child.

For 17 years, I was a devoted homeschool mom. Along the way, I noticed small reading challenges with a few of my children. At first, nothing seemed alarming. But as months of struggle turned into years, it became clear that something deeper was going on.

When my youngest child began having intense difficulty with reading and spelling, I knew he needed something different, something entirely new.

Like many parents, I initially wondered if he just wasn’t trying hard enough. He was active, curious, and loved being outside exploring the world, not sitting still with a book.

But before long, I realized the truth: he was giving 100%, and reading still didn’t make sense.

I tried everything, until I finally found the missing piece.

I researched, investigated, and implemented more programs and approaches than I care to admit. We even tried vision therapy. One by one, nothing worked, and the frustration became overwhelming.

This was my son. I knew he was capable of more.

Everything changed when a professional evaluation confirmed dyslexia. Instead of discouragement, I finally felt clarity. That understanding led me to structured literacy and the Barton Reading & Spelling System, an Orton-Gillingham–based approach that explained exactly why reading had been so difficult.

For the first time, the pieces fit together.

Real progress, and real results.

After about a year and a half of tutoring using the Barton Reading & Spelling System, my son experienced meaningful, measurable progress, not because he worked harder, but because the instruction finally made sense to his brain. Seeing this transformation firsthand is what inspired me to become a certified Barton tutor and help other families find the same clarity and hope.

Helping students nationwide learn to read with confidence.

Today, I work with children, teens, and adults through personalized, one-on-one online dyslexia tutoring grounded in structured, evidence-based methods. I also guide a small team of dedicated, highly trained tutors who share the same heart for this work and help students finally make sense of reading rather than relying on guessing or memorization.

Every student’s journey is unique, and instruction is always shaped around how their brain learns best.