The University of Alabama is being recognized on the national level for a program being billed as a transformative dyslexia education initiative.
UA hosted Sen. Katie Britt of Alabama, Sen. Bill Cassidy of Louisiana and Dr. Laura Cassidy, a Dyslexia Resource Center board member, for a roundtable with UA Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT) program participants.
According to the Mayo Clinic, dyslexia is a learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words (decoding). Also called a reading disability, dyslexia is a result of individual differences in areas of the brain that process language.
Dyslexia is not due to problems with intelligence, hearing or vision. Most children with dyslexia can succeed in school with tutoring or a specialized education program. Emotional support also plays an important role. Though there's no cure for dyslexia, early assessment and intervention result in the best outcome.
The roundtable featured K-12 educators from around Alabama in the CALT program and gave them an opportunity to speak about their experiences supporting students with dyslexia in their respective schools and positive outcomes they’ve had as a result of the CALT program.
“The teacher expertise makes a real difference, and this kind of program can impact not only children with dyslexia, but also the teacher instruction — from reading coaches who are getting this expertise down to the children,” Dr. Carol Donovan, UA CALT program director, reported the UA News Center.
UA CALT, a satellite site of the Dyslexia Resource Center, is an innovative professional development program for teachers that offers pathways to certification for those specializing in dyslexia.
“We’re here to highlight, to celebrate and to learn from people who are actually in the trenches,” Sen. Cassidy said. “How is this program working for you? And, how, on a federal level, can we learn from you to augment your success?”
Teachers in the two-year program are required to complete 700 hours of practicum work before sitting for the certification exam. The first CALT cohort will finish in May.
“This program not only helps students, but helps other teachers understand the tools and innovation that are out there and the science that supports it, so that they can take what they’ve learned back to their communities and change the trajectory of children’s lives,” said Sen. Britt. “There is a reason we say the University of Alabama is Where Legends Are Made, and I know that this program will be at the top of that list.”
Learn more about UA's Certified Academic Language Therapist program here.