Dyslexia, previously known as word blindness, is a learning disability that affects either reading or writing. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, reading quickly, writing words, "sounding out" words in the head, pronouncing words when reading aloud and understanding what one reads. Often these difficulties are first noticed at school. The difficulties are involuntary, and people with this disorder have a normal desire to learn. People with dyslexia have higher rates of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), developmental language disorders, and difficulties with numbers.
Landmark College is a private college in Putney, Vermont, designed exclusively for students who learn differently, including those with a learning disability, ADHD, autism or executive function challenges. Established in 1985, Landmark College was the first institution of higher learning to pioneer college-level studies for students with dyslexia.
The Gow School is a college-prep boarding and day school for students, grades 6–12, with dyslexia and similar language-based learning disabilities. Other diagnoses include developmental coordination disorder, auditory processing disorder, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, and disorder of written expression. Students may also have attention or executive function difficulties. Located in South Wales, New York, near Buffalo, New York, United States the school was founded in 1926 by educator Peter Gow, along with insight from his colleague, neurologist Dr. Samuel T. Orton.
The Orton-Gillingham approach is a multisensory phonics technique for remedial reading instruction developed in the early-20th century. It is practiced as a direct, explicit, cognitive, cumulative, and multi-sensory approach. While it is most commonly associated with teaching individuals with dyslexia, it is highly effective for all individuals learning to read, spell, and write. In the US, it is promoted by more than 15 commercial programs as well as several private schools for students with dyslexia and related learning disabilities.
Samuel Torrey Orton was an American physician who pioneered the study of learning disabilities. He examined the causes and treatment of dyslexia.
Fraser Academy, located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, is a private, non-profit, co-educational, non-faith, non-residential school that serves children from grades 1 to 12 with language-based learning disabilities such as dyslexia. Its teaching methods are based on those found at the Kildonan School in New York, using the Orton-Gillingham approach. Besides daily individual tutoring for language, students take the same courses as other students in the province, in which courses a multisensory approach is also used.
The Lab School of Washington is a small independent school in Washington, D.C. for students with language based learning differences like dyslexia. The Lab School was established in 1967 by Sally Smith. Kim Wargo has directed the school since July 2020. The Lab School of Washington has an arts centered curriculum on two campuses: one on Reservoir Road, NW for middle through high school, the other on Foxhall Road NW for elementary students.
Learning disability, learning disorder, or learning difficulty is a condition in the brain that causes difficulties comprehending or processing information and can be caused by several different factors. Given the "difficulty learning in a typical manner", this does not exclude the ability to learn in a different manner. Therefore, some people can be more accurately described as having a "learning difference", thus avoiding any misconception of being disabled with a possible lack of an ability to learn and possible negative stereotyping. In the United Kingdom, the term "learning disability" generally refers to an intellectual disability, while conditions such as dyslexia and dyspraxia are usually referred to as "learning difficulties".
Management of dyslexia depends on a multiple of variables; there is no one specific strategy or set of strategies that will work for all who have dyslexia.
Anna Gillingham (1878–1963) was an educator and psychologist, known for her contributions to the Orton-Gillingham method for teaching children with dyslexia how to read.
The Center for Research, Evaluation and Awareness of Dyslexia is a university-based program at Pittsburg State University in Pittsburg, Kansas, United States. It was established in 1996 to develop strategies for the prevention and remediation of reading disabilities, search for strategies that will lead to the improvement of remedial processes, provide educators and parents with current and appropriate knowledge regarding reading/learning disabilities, provide interdisciplinary evaluations of readers of all ages, promote the concerns relevant to reading disabilities and educate the general public regarding issues pertaining to reading/learning disabilities.
Oakland School is a coeducational day school in Troy, Virginia, specializing in the education of children with dyslexia, ADHD, difficulties with organization and study skills, or other learning disabilities. The school is ungraded, offering instruction from the early elementary school level through the ninth grade.
Eagle Hill School is an independently operated, private boarding school serving students in grades 8-12 with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, and other learning disabilities in Hardwick, Massachusetts, which was founded in 1967. Two other schools with the same name are located in Greenwich and Southport, Connecticut.
Trident Academy is a school for children with diagnosed learning differences in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina.
The Greenwood School is a specialized boarding and day school for students in grades 6 through 12. Greenwood is situated on a 100-acre campus outside the village of Putney, Vermont in the southeastern part of the state. The Greenwood School is accredited by the New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), approved by the state of Vermont, and is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS).
Brehm Preparatory School is a not-for-profit 501 (c)(3) co-educational college preparatory day and boarding school for students with learning disabilities, founded in 1982. Brehm Preparatory School is located in Carbondale, Illinois. The school enrolls students in grades 6-12+. The average class size is eight in core content classes and 5 in learning cognition classes. Brehm's student-teacher ratio is 6:1.
The Kildonan School was a private coeducational boarding and day school in Amenia, for students with dyslexia and language-based learning disabilities. It offered daily one-to-one Orton-Gillingham language remediation and a college preparatory curriculum for students in grades 2-12 and PG (post-graduate).
The Windward School is a coeducational, independent day school focused on teaching students in grades 1-9 with language-based learning disabilities with campuses in Westchester and Manhattan. Windward is recognized across the country and around the world as a leader in providing instruction to children with dyslexia and is listed among the best schools in the New York City area.
Sally Shaywitz is an American physician-scientist who is the Audrey G. Ratner Professor in Learning Development at Yale University. She is the co-founder and co-director of the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity. Her research provides the framework for modern understanding of dyslexia.
Margaret Byrd Rawson was an American educator, researcher and writer. She was an early leader in the field of dyslexia, conducting one of the longest-running studies of language disorders ever undertaken and publishing nine books on dyslexia.
