For Parents
Unlock YOUR Child's Reading Potential
At Friends on the Block, we believe that every child deserves the opportunity to learn to read. So, we developed a literacy program aligned with the Science of Reading that makes reading accessible to everyone, including children with intensive needs. Our program is excellent for initial instruction and early intervention, as well as for students who experience ongoing challenges with reading. It quickly engages children's interest and capitalizes on their capabilities.
Our books use relatable experiences and familiar characters to draw your child into meaningful stories. These include social stories that really matter—stories about children just like them who share, show kindness, develop empathy, and more. Our learning games offer fun, engaging practice of key skills. These components are used with a system of evidence-based teaching methods—explicit, direct instruction, repetition, cumulative review, and lots of actual reading—to build your child’s confidence, fluency, and comprehension.
Our innovative use of evidence-based techniques is delivering exciting results! The empirical data from our research and our customer feedback both show that Friends on the Block unlocks reading success, providing the breakthrough many families and educators have been looking for. Research data confirms that students participating in Friends on the Block instruction experience a faster, more reliable trajectory of reading growth.
Help your child build the confidence and skills needed for reading success. Explore Friends on the Block and discover how engaging, research-based instruction can unlock your child's potential.
Unlock YOUR Teaching Potential
No one knows your child better than you—the challenges and limitations as well as the strengths and capabilities.
You are here because you believe your child can approach reading in their own way. You just need to know how to teach them.
Friends on the Block was designed for teachers and parents to use with all learners, including those with intensive needs.
-
Intellectual disability
-
Learning disabilities, such as dyslexia
-
Executive functioning disorders, such as ADHD
-
Developmental disabilities, such as autism spectrum disorder
-
English language learners
-
All beginning readers
Join the Friends on the Block family through eMembership!
Start Here
To successfully introduce your child to the Friends on the Block reading program, start with the Target Word and Placement Test.
With our Target Word and Placement Test, you can quickly and effectively find the ideal starting point in Friends on the Block. This will lead to early success, building your child’s confidence and sparking a desire to learn more.
Watch this helpful how-to video(opens in new tab) for more information. Then, download the Target Word and Placement Test to get started today.
Find Support with Friends on the Block
With Friends on the Block, you can provide your child with engaging tools and supportive scaffolding that can help them experience the joy of reading.
The Friends on the Block team is here to help you every step of the way. We are happy to answer your questions and provide support and encouragement whenever you need us. That’s what friends do.
We can also advocate for you and your child by speaking with teachers or administrators about implementing the Complete Curriculum Kit at your child’s school.
We are happy to support you as you teach your child to read with Friends on the Block.
Parent Testimonials
“My son has ADHD, autism, and an intellectual disability. Finding a solid reading program that worked without becoming too hard has been very difficult. We have tried everything from Hooked on Phonics to Reading Eggs to All About Reading (an Orton-Gillingham approach), and nothing stuck around for long. Our music therapist read some research articles about the success of Friends on the Block with kiddos who have special needs, so we decided to give it a try. OH MY GOSH! It has been wonderful!! My son LOVES it so much. The books are cute; he loves doing the activities at the end of each lesson with me, and he's been learning a lot more sight words, which was exactly what he required. I would recommend this to everyone who has a struggling or reluctant reader who has tried just about everything but still can't find the right reading program. Testing him into the proper level was very straightforward; the teacher's manual and instructions for each book and each lesson are very easy to follow along with. We are going to keep using this until he finishes the very last level. Well worth the annual fee because you get access to so many helpful tools and resources. Thank you, Friends, on the Block, for creating this program for students like my son.”
— Parent
— Student with ADHD, Autism, and Intellectual Disability,
13 years old
My daughter with Down syndrome is holding her own in a public school general education second-grade classroom (no academic/resource support) largely due to her reading ability that started with learning to read using Friends on the Block starting before her 3rd birthday. She was one of the top readers entering kindergarten. She loves to read!
Thank you, Friends on the Block!!!
— Parent