Dyslexia Resources
Dyslexia is the most common learning disability affecting up to 20% of the population - varying from mild to severe.
“Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.” Adopted by the IDA Board of Directors, Nov. 12, 2002.
Local Resources
Decoding Dyslexia Indiana
Grassroots parents group offering support. This group advocates for local and national legislation. Cheryl Clemens: 317-727-5207
Dyslexia Institute of Indiana
Testing and tutoring for students and training for tutors. 317-222-6635
Scottish Rite Dyslexia Center
Scottish Rite Dyslexia Center: Offering free tutoring at their site in downtown Indianapolis after students have educational testing. 317-262-3115
Online Dyslexia Resources
International Dyslexia Association Fact Sheets
CBS News Story (10 minutes)
PBS Simulations (Misunderstood Minds and Web Accessibility in Mind)
Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity
National Center for Improving Literacy - Why early intervention
Harvard Research on Early Intervention
Learning Ally on Importance of Audiobooks
University of Michigan Parent Resources
How to Screen and Intervene (Tufts University)
PATINS This is a resource from the Department of Education that provides assistive technology to students with IEPs.
Recommended Library Resources for Parents & Teachers
The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia: DVD
Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level By Sally Shaywitz
Dyslexia Empowerment Plan by Ben Foss
Wrightslaw Law: Special Education Law by Peter W.D. Wright
Recommended Books for Students
Fish in a Tree by Lynda Hunt
Decodable Readers are found in the Early Reading Section on the Butterfly Rack
A decodable book is a book for a beginning or struggling reader which contains words she or he can sound out. In practice this means it contains sound-letter relationships and word types its reader has been taught. It doesn't include patterns not yet taught.
Audiobooks are found by their print version in the stacks.
Digital Items include eBooks and eAudibooks through Overdrive/Libby and hoopla. Many of the eBooks available through Overdrive/Libby feature Dyslexic Font. Check out our Getting Started Guide for information on downloading and streaming digital materials.
iVOX Books are available online or through a free app. Part eBook, part audiobook and part virtual pop-up, iVOX is a revolutionary read-along app ideal for children ages 3-8. Whether as a motivational tool for young readers or simply to add a bit more magic to the reading experience, iVOX is a learning tool that benefits children of all ages.
VOX Books are found in the Featured section of the Kids Department.
VOX Books are books that talk! These books contain a built-in audio player so you can listen along as you read.
Local Tutors Trained in Orton Gillingham
The Orton-Gillingham Approach to reading instruction was developed in the early-20th century. It is language-based, multisensory, structured, sequential, cumulative, cognitive, and flexible. The Orton-Gillingham Approach has been in use since the 1930s. An intensive, sequential phonics-based system teaches the basics of word formation before whole meanings. The method accommodates and utilizes the three learning modalities, or pathways, through which people learn—visual, auditory and kinesthetic. Unlike some scripted and rigid reading programs, the Orton-Gillingham Approach is a system that allows for flexibility.
(This list is not an endorsement by the library)
Ginger Jackson
Contact: (812) 881-9449 | gingerasnapp@gmail.com
Susan Bray
Contact: (317) 771-6999 | karate2livefaith@icloud.com
Amanda Brown
Contact: (317) 979-6569 | amandalogoshak@yahoo.com
Joyce Glynn Contact: (317) 509-2814 | jolynn@aol.com
Sammi Hodgin
Contact: (317) 358-6246 | chasercat24@gmail.com
Warning Signs of Dyslexia
(Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity)
The Preschool Years
· Trouble learning common nursery rhymes, such as “Jack and Jill”
· Difficulty learning (and remembering) the names of letters in the alphabet
· Seems to be unable to recognize letters in his/her own name
· Mispronounces familiar words; persistent “baby talk”
· Doesn’t recognize rhyming patterns like cat, bat, rat
· A family history of reading and/or spelling difficulties
Kindergarten & First Grade
· Reading errors that show no connection to the sounds of the letters on the page–will say “puppy” instead of the written word “dog” on an illustrated page with a dog shown
· Does not understand that words come apart
· Complains about how hard reading is, or “disappearing” when it is time to read
· A history of reading problems in parents or siblings.
· Speaking
· Cannot sound out even simple words like cat, map, nap
· Does not associate letters with sounds, such as the letter b with the “b” sound http://dyslexia.yale.edu/EDU_signs.html