About Symbols

Our promise

About Symbols Learning, the Reading, Writing and Math Tutoring Program for Children with Learning Difficulties and Differences

At Symbols, we want to make sure all children have equal opportunities to grow and succeed academically. Symbols Multisensory Learning Centers was founded to provide unique reading, writing and math tutoring for children with learning difficulties and differences.

One-on-One Orton-Gillingham Tutoring for Children with Learning Difficulties and Differences

We work with children from pre-K up to Grade 12. Our flexible, multisensory approach is highly effective in teaching any child to read, write or improve in math. We specialize in helping kids with learning differences (or learning difficulties), such as dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia, and profiles that may also include ADHD, processing difficulties, output challenges, autism, and speech difficulties.

Parents may seek our help independently or through the recommendation of their child's teacher, resource teacher, doctor or friend.

How do we help?

Why Symbols One-on-One, Multisensory Tutoring is Unique

We work with children from pre-K up to Grade 12. Our flexible, multisensory approach is highly effective in teaching any child to read, write or improve in math. We specialize in helping kids with learning differences (or learning difficulties), such as dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia, and profiles that may also include ADHD, processing difficulties, output challenges, autism, and speech difficulties.

Parents may seek our help independently or through the recommendation of their child's teacher, resource teacher, doctor or friend.

multisensory online tutoring symbols learning

The Story Behind Symbols Multisensory Learning Centers Inc.

Symbols was founded in 2006 by husband-and-wife team Rob and Kimberley Wahl. It all started when Kimberley was introduced to the OG approach during her time working as a nanny, which then led her to obtain her Orton-Gillingham certification. Since opening its original location in Vancouver, Symbols has opened locations in Coquitlam, Richmond and Langley, and plans to continue expanding. As of 2023, Symbols has helped over 1500 children in its 17-year history.

multisensory online tutoring symbols learning

Symbols Tutoring During COVID-19

The 2020 COVID-19 pandemic created an urgency for Symbols to offer online lessons for the safety of its students and tutors. Symbols trained its tutors to provide excellent multisensory, 1-to-1 lessons online and supplied hundreds of custom multisensory home learning kits (many home-delivered) to its students. Within a few short months of the pandemic, its tutors achieved the remarkable milestone of a cumulative 10,000 hours of online lessons. Symbols now continues to offer the option of online lessons to families indefinitely.

Why Symbols One-on-One, Multisensory Tutoring is Unique

We work with children from pre-K up to Grade 12. Our flexible, multisensory approach is highly effective in teaching any child to read, write or improve in math. We specialize in helping kids with learning differences (or learning difficulties), such as dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia, and profiles that may also include ADHD, processing difficulties, output challenges, autism, and speech difficulties.

Parents may seek our help independently or through the recommendation of their child's teacher, resource teacher, doctor or friend.

Education Through A Multisensory Curriculum

We work with children from pre-K up to Grade 12. Our flexible, multisensory approach is highly effective in teaching any child to read, write or improve in math. We specialize in helping kids with learning differences (or learning difficulties), such as dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia, and profiles that may also include ADHD, processing difficulties, output challenges, autism, and speech difficulties.

Parents may seek our help independently or through the recommendation of their child's teacher, resource teacher, doctor or friend.

The Symbols Story Timeline

1992 - Kimberley and Rob Meet

Rob's family moves on to the same street as Kimberley's family in North Vancouver, three houses down.  Kimberley is a successful competitive rhythmic gymnast, attending a high school program for athletes that limits academic hours to support training time.  She requires some extra support in math; Rob tutors her in math in exchange for a steady supply of her mom's famous cookies.

December 1999 - Kimberley and Rob Begin Dating

After several failed attempts on Rob's part, he finally succeeds in convincing Kimberley to go for dinner with him.

Mid-2003 - Kimberley becomes OG Certified

Kimberley is about to complete her undergraduate degree at UBC.  She has been supporting herself by working as a nanny for a wonderful family with three boys.  The children are reaching an age that they no longer need a nanny, but the eldest has been determined to be dyslexic.  The family offers to pay for Kimberley to take an Orton-Gillingham tutoring course if she agrees to tutor their son.

Kimberley earns her Orton-Gillingham certification after completing her coursework and practicum through CATT.  Soon after, she completes her undergrad and graduates with a Bachelor of Arts from UBC.

2003-2006 - Kimberley's Private OG Tutoring Business

Kimberley is working as a private, independent OG tutor, working in a home office in her parents' house, traveling to students' homes, and working within schools throughout Greater Vancouver. Her waitlist grows, and she is so busy with students that she puts over 80,000 kilometers on her little Toyota Echo in two years, driving from student to student!

January 2004 - Rob Starts his MBA

Rob starts his MBA program at UBC. Early in the MBA, Rob takes an entrepreneurship class. The class involves a group project in which the group is to write and present a business plan for a new venture. The night before the idea for the business plan is due, Rob's group meets to pitch each other ideas, and ultimately pick the best one for the project. Rob's idea is healthy fast food. Everyone hates it. In fact, nobody likes anybody's initial idea. So the group starts to brainstorm. Rob tells the group about Kimberley's private tutoring business, and suggests it could be operated similarly to other bricks-and-mortar learning centers, except specifically in the niche of offering 1-to-1 Orton-Gillingham-based tutoring for children with learning differences. The group loves the idea, and with that, the seed of what will later grow into Symbols is planted.

Rob later completes his MBA in 2006.

September 2006 - Rob and Kimberley get married.

Rob and Kimberley get married in downtown Vancouver. Within days they are off to Paris for their honeymoon.

October 2006 - Symbols is Born

The lease is signed; Symbols is incorporated; the logo is designed; the furniture is purchased. Kimberley and Rob move into their first Symbols location at West Broadway and Balaclava in Vancouver.

2008 - Symbols Develops its In-House OG Training Program

Struggling to find excellent, qualified OG tutors to hire, Rob and Kimberley realize that in order to continue to grow Symbols, they would need to instead begin hiring the best people they can find, and then train them in the OG approach in-house.  Kimberley works very closely with the former head OG trainer and director of CATT to ensure the Symbols OG training program is comprehensive and lives up to the highest possible standards.  The first round of Symbols OG training takes place later that year.

2008 - First Baby!

Kimberley and Rob welcome their beautiful redheaded baby girl, Grace, into this world.

2011 - Second Baby!

Kimberley and Rob welcome another beautiful redheaded baby girl, Valerie, into this world.

2012 - Symbols Expands and Opens its Second Location in Coquitlam

Symbols opens the doors to its new Coquitlam location at Ridgeway and Marmont.

2015 - Symbols Expands Again and Opens its Third Location in Richmond

Symbols opens the doors to its new Richmond location on Alexandra Road near Lansdowne Centre.

2016 - Symbols Vancouver Moves

The building in which Symbols' original center is located is being redeveloped.  Symbols moves several blocks east to a building near West Broadway and Burrard.

2017 - Third Baby!

Kimberley and Rob welcome another beautiful redheaded baby girl, Madeleine, into this world.  Kimberley and Rob come to understand they are capable of one, and only one, recipe:  redheaded girls.

March 2020 - Pandemic Forces Symbols Online

The COVID-19 Pandemic causes lockdowns and presents very serious health risks associated with continuing 1-to-1 in-person tutoring.  Symbols decides to close all of its learning centers for in-person tutoring and rapidly shifts to on-line lessons.  The shift takes place seamlessly, with Symbols having closed its learning centers at the start of Spring Break, and tutors and students ready to begin online tutoring the Monday after Spring Break.  Over Spring Break, Kimberley develops and distributes online training for all Symbols tutors in how to effectively conduct multisensory, OG-based tutoring over Zoom.  Symbols designs, assembles and distributes hundreds of custom home multisensory learning kits for all students and tutors to use during online lessons. 

Within a few short months, Symbols reaches the remarkable milestone of having completed 10,000 hours of 1-to-1 online lessons.

January 2021 - Symbols Launches Online Tutor Training

After 13 years of conducting Symbols in-house OG tutor training, with several rounds of training each year, and dozens of outstanding tutors having completed the course, the training has been improved and refined to the highest standard.  However, with multiple rounds of training each year, each being conducted in-person by Kimberley and consuming upwards of 40 hours of her time each round, the model is unsustainable for growth.  The solution?  A digital online training course.  After many months and countless hours of hard work, Kimberley and Rob complete the development of a full digital online Symbols OG training course using the Trainual corporate training platform.  The course includes digital copy, dozens of videos, images, a discussion forum and unit tests.

The results are better than anticipated.  The built-in unit testing helps ensure that trainees are fully understanding all concepts.  And the fact that tutors retain access to the course throughout their employment with Symbols ensures that any concepts or units can be revisited easily at any time, something that is not possible with in-person content delivery (without a time machine).  Within a few short months, three rounds of new trainees have completed the course, and are demonstrating a deeper and more complete understanding of concepts, and are requiring less mentoring support, than graduates of the prior in-person training program.

March 2022 - Symbols Goes National

Thanks to the success of Symbols online 1-to-1 tutoring over the past two years, and the development of the Online Tutor Training Course which supports expansion, Symbols opens its doors to new online students from across Canada and beyond.

2023 - Symbols Expands Again and Opens its Fourth Location in Langley

Symbols opens the doors to its new Langley location in Willoughby Town Centre.

In-Person and Online Tutoring

We work with children from pre-K up to Grade 12. Our flexible, multisensory approach is highly effective in teaching any child to read, write or improve in math. We specialize in helping kids with learning differences (or learning difficulties), such as dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia, and profiles that may also include ADHD, processing difficulties, output challenges, autism, and speech difficulties.

Parents may seek our help independently or through the recommendation of their child's teacher, resource teacher, doctor or friend.

Vancouver Tutoring

101-1755 West Broadway
(between Burrard and Pine)

Coquitlam Tutoring

202-1070 Ridgeway Ave
(near Austin and Marmont)

Langley Tutoring

200-20780 Willoughby Town Centre Dr.

Richmond Tutoring

205-8351 Alexandra Rd
(near Lansdowne Centre)