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About Dyslexia

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological 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, and are unexpected, considering 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.

Signs that your child may have dyslexia...

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Reading difficulties like...

  • Difficulty learning to read

  • Difficulty identifying or generating rhyming words (Phonological Awareness)

  • Difficulty counting syllables in words (Phonological Awareness)​

  • Difficulty with hearing and manipulating sounds in words (Phonemic Awareness)

  • Difficulty distinguishing different sounds in words  (Auditory Discrimination)

  • Difficulty in learning the sounds of letters

  • Difficulty remembering names and/or shapes of letters

  • Misreads or omits common small words

  • "Stumbles” through longer words

  • Poor reading comprehension during oral or silent reading

  • Slow, laborious oral reading

Writing struggles such as...

  • Difficulty spelling

  • May do well on weekly spelling tests (memorize) but doesn't incorporate the learned  spelling into daily work 

  • Difficulty proofreading work

  • Difficulty putting ideas on paper 

Speech struggles such as...

  • Difficulty pronouncing words

  • Difficulty acquiring vocabulary or using age-appropriate grammar

  • Difficulty following directions

  • Confusion with before/after, right/left, and so on

  • Difficulty learning the alphabet, nursery rhymes, or songs

  • Difficulty understanding concepts and relationships

  • Difficulty with word retrieval or naming problems

Why our method works...

The best way to teach dyslexic children to read is through something called an Orton-Gillingham approach. This approach uses multiple senses to activate different pathways in the brain while reading. We use an Orton-Gillingham approach at the dyslexia center and tailor the program to your child's specific needs.​

Our Method...

The Orton-Gillingham Approach is a research-based, reading, writing, and spelling curriculum which is:

  • Designed for dyslexic readers and those struggling with literacy skills.

  • Validated by scientific reading research:

    • Sponsored by The National Academy of Sciences emphasizing phonemic awareness, phoneme segmentation, the alphabetic principle, decoding, reading comprehension, and fluency.

  • Flexible and individualized: 

    • Diagnostic/prescriptive teaching enables the teacher to adapt the curricular elements to the needs of each student.

  • Effective for all ages:

    • ​A skilled Orton-Gillingham therapist can help students to achieve their potential and succeed in general education classes from grade school through college.

  • Success-oriented: 

    • Materials are presented in direct instruction, multisensory format.  Elements are introduced sequentially with the cumulative review.

  • Sequential skill-building:

    • Starting with the basics and advancing to highly complex language elements. Reading and spelling accuracy improves, often dramatically, as students learn to utilize letter-sound correspondences, syllable division patterns, and spelling generalizations to decode and spell words.

  • Integrative with reading and spelling:

    • ​Both are reading and spelling are taught together using the visual, auditory and kinesthetic modalities simultaneously.

Here's how to get started...

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A dyslexia specialist will contact you soon!

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CONTACT US

Tell us about your specific situation and need, and our dyslexia center director will reach out to your with answers and suggestions.

Call/text 503-990-6602 or

Fill out the contact form below ↓↓↓ 

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CHAT WITH THE DYSLEXIA CENTER DIRECTOR

Our dyslexia center director will talk to you about your specific needs and create an individualized plan for your child.

After identifying specific areas of need your child will be placed with the right tutor for them.

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GET STARTED WITH YOUR DYSLEXIA TUTOR

All of the dyslexia tutors at Willamette Dyslexia Center have been trained in the most up-to-date methods for teaching children with dyslexia and other reading disorders.

Fill out the contact form below ↓↓↓

Contact Form

Additional Dyslexia Information, Support, & Resources

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Information on Orton-Gillingham Methodology (our teaching method):

​The Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators (AOGPE)  ortonacademy.org

​The Academic Reading Therapy Association  (ALTA)  altaread.org

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Support

Decoding Dyslexia Oregon

Dyslexia Training Institute

Headstrong Nation - Founded by Ben Foss, Headstrong is dedicated to serving the dyslexic community.

Oregon Department of Education: Dyslexia

Oregon IDA - The Oregon branch of the International Dyslexia Association, including the Vancouver, Washington area

Washington IDA - The Washington branch of the International Dyslexia Association

Technology

Best iPad Apps for Dyslexia

iPad Apps for Reading Disabilities

Must-Have Apps for Dyslexic Students

Technology to Unlock Potential - Shelley Haven, ATP, RET

Software and Assistive Technology​

 

ADHD, Anxiety, Dyslexia

CBS News: Cracking the code of dyslexia

Dyslexia and the Brain

Dyslexia: What Brain Research Reveals About Reading

International Dyslexia Association: Fact Sheets

My Journey to Understand...

National Center for Learning Disabilities

Predicting Dyslexia -- Even Before Children Learn to Read

Talking with your child about dyslexia

Twice Exceptional Kids

What is dyslexia?

The Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity

 

Learning Tools

Audio Driving Manuals

Co:Writer — Word prediction and speech recognition software

C-Pen Reader — Pocket-sized device that reads text aloud with a human-like digital voice

Khan Academy — A learning resource for all ages and for various subjects

Learning Ally — Audiobooks

Livescribe Smartpen — Facilitates note-taking and the learning process

SnapType — Complete worksheets on your iPad or tablet

 

Math for Dyslexic Students

Assistive Technology for Math

Understanding Dyscalculia

What is Dyscalculia?

What is Dyscalculia? YouTube

 

Structured Word Inquiry

Dyslexia Training Institute

Learning About Spelling

Pete Bowers at Word Works Kingston

Real Spellers

Rebecca Loveless

Teaching Phoneme-Grapheme Correspondence

The Science of Spelling

What’s Wrong with Phonics by Sally Cole (Jan. 2020)


 

Writing

Dealing with Dysgraphia

Understanding Dysgraphia

What is Dysgraphia?

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Podcasts & Videos

Embracing Dyslexia

Ennis' Gift

Hard Words: Why aren’t kids being taught to read?
Headstrong Nation: Inside the Hidden World of Dyslexia and ADHD

The History of English Language Podcast - A few of our current favorites: Episodes 141, 142, 143 (The Great Vowel Shift)

Joyful Spelling with Rebecca Loveless

The Power of Dyslexia 

Emily Hanfords - Sold a Story

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