1
Provide documentation.
Even if you decide to get dyslexia therapy outside of school, which I recommend, your student will need accommodations in the classroom.
Dyslexic students often need extra time, handwriting help, reduced assignments, typed notes, and audio books to be successful in school, especially while they are receiving therapy. A written report will help communicate your child’s needs to the school.
You can use your test report to get accommodations on a 504-plan.
There are at least three reasons to get an accurate diagnosis of dyslexia for your child.
2
Identify specific strengths and weaknesses.
Dyslexia is a spectral disorder with many variations. Identifying specific strengths and weaknesses is the most efficient way to plan treatment and get your child reading.
3
Promote
self-understanding.
When students come in for testing, they’ve usually already given themselves a label: stupid. The emotional consequences of unidentified dyslexia can be devastating.
A diagnosis of dyslexia can lead students to self-understanding, self-advocacy, motivation, and success.
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Our mission, and our joy, is to help each child achieve literacy.
Dyslexia
Therapy
At Brightwire, we use appropriate, research-based reading programs to help students learn to read, write, and spell. These programs are called Structured Literacy by the International Dyslexia Association. Students learn phonemic awareness, sound-symbol correspondences, orthographic patterns, morphology, syntax, and semantics.
These concepts are taught explicitly and systematically. The lessons build on each other and are consistently reviewed. At Brightwire, we teach each concept to mastery. We teach in a way that engages multiple learning pathways at the same time. For more information about Structured Literacy, click here.
Evaluations
Melissa Duersch, M.A., CALT
Melissa Duersch is a graduate of Utah State University with a Master of Arts Degree in History. She envisioned spending her life doing historical research in a dusty library and publishing books no one ever wanted to read. Life has a way of redirecting our paths.
When her third child struggled desperately to read, Melissa's research led her to the field of dyslexia and related learning disabilities. Through professional education, she became acquainted with and trained in Orton-Gillingham methods of dyslexia remediation.
She completed a 48-hour graduate level course called "Diagnosing Dyslexia" taught through the University of San Diego and a 40-hour graduate level course called "Diagnosing Learning Different Children" taught by Dr. Laure Ames at the Shelton Evaluation Center in Dallas, Texas.
Melissa is now a Certified Academic Language Therapist, or CALT.
To earn that certification, Melissa completed training in an IMSLEC (International Multi-Sensory Language Education Council) approved course of study using the Take Flight curriculum developed by the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital.
The graduate-level program included over 200 hours of classroom instruction, the submission of 10 demonstration videos, and a 700-hour supervised practicum. The program, offered through the Shelton Outreach Center, is approved by both ALTA and the IDA.
Melissa also successfully passed the ALTA Alliance Exam, a nationally recognized professional exam in the field of dyslexia therapy. Melissa has worked with dozens of dyslexic students and their families over the past 11 years.
She is now delighted to be working in beautiful Northwest Arkansas.
