About the Dyslexia Institute
ABOUT THE DYSLEXIA INSTITUTE SCOTLAND

the main headquarters of the D.I. Scotland live in this building

The Dyslexia Institute was founded in 1972 by a group of parents and interested teachers. At the time, very little specialist training was available in Britain, and many psychologists and educational authorities refused to believe that dyslexia was a real condition.

As a result, most Dyslexic children were wrongly labelled as "stupid", and not given the support or attention in school they deserved. It was quickly found that the need for an organisation providing help, information and support was overwhelming. It has been estimated that around 4% of the population shows signs of severe dyslexia, which can be thought of as one child in every classroom in Britain, although the Institute currently estimates that around 1 in 25 children need specialised help.

From the first centre in Staines, the Institute has grown to 22 main centres, and 130 teaching outposts nationally, and is thought to be the only educational charity of it's kind in the world. The Dyslexia Institute's Scottish arm was founded in 1986. Today we have: A main centre in Glasgow, and Teaching outposts in Edinburgh, Perth, and Aberdeen. (see our contact information page for details) In the future we hope to open a further centre in Oban.

"WHAT WE DO"
  • Assessment of people who might be dyslexics, including a formal, psychological assessment.
  • Specialised teaching of children and adults, given in addition to normal school work.

  • Run training courses for teachers, and generally "spread the word" amongst the teaching fraternity

  • Develop our own teaching materials, such as the "units of sound" cd-rom.

  • Conduct research into dyslexia and the best teaching methods.

  • Raise funds, both for ourselves (we are a charity) and the Scottish bursary fund for Dyslexia.

  • Promote awareness of dyslexia, and try to combat the MYTH that Dyslexics can only be "educational write-offs" and "failures". (unless you consider Jackie Stewart, Eddie Izzard, Albert Einstein or Micheal Heseltine to be failures...)

Information about dyslexia links to other sites about dyslexia go to home page (or simpler site) find out how to contact us