NCLD: 10 Helpful Dyslexia Resources

NCLD offer a number of dyslexia resources at LD.org, but where else can you seek reliable assistance and information about dyslexia?

The following resources will help you learn more about dyslexia and find local help.

You can also use NCLD’s Resource Locator to find programs in your local area. Click on the image to be directed to the NCLD Website.

Canadian Researchers reveal Toddlers value helpful people

Even very young children value people that help them and they are motivated to return the favour, according to a new study in the journal Plos One, out of Queen's University, Ontario.

The study revealed that those children, when asked to pick one person to help, most often choose the person who was helpful to them.

Valerie Kuhlmeier

"Children can identify helpful individuals and will be helpful toward those people," says study author Valerie Kuhlmeier (Psychology).

"As early as the age of three, children already appear to be engaging in a variant of the golden rule: 'do unto others as they have done unto you."

In the study, children were presented with a puzzle that consisted of a picture covered in such a way as to allow only a small section to be seen.

The children could not see what was in the picture but could interact with two puppets. Puppets are used in studies like this one because children treat them as peers.

One puppet announced that it knew what the picture was and proceeded to tell the child. The second puppet said that it also knew the picture, but was not going to tell.

Both puppets spoke in happy, friendly tones, and looked alike; they only differed in their willingness to provide information.

Children were able to determine which puppet was helpful and, when the one puppet needed help reaching a far-way toy or solving a puzzle of their own, the children were quick to identify which puppet had helped them and returned the favour.

"There is a growing body of research demonstrating that toddlers spontaneously help others in many situations," says Dr. Kuhlmeier, director of the Infant Cognition Group at Queen's.

"What we are also finding is that they pick out the helpers around them, even when the helpful act is as simple as teaching them something new about their world, and they return the favour with their own helpful acts."

Dyslexia: Helpful Support Resources

The following resources will help you learn more about dyslexia and find local help. 

You can also use NCLD’s Resource Locator to find programs in your local area.

Bookshare: Bookshare is an accessible online library for people with dyslexia and other disabilities. Over 160,000 titles are available, and membership is free for students.

DyslexiaHelp at the University of Michigan: DyslexiaHelp is designed to help you understand and learn about dyslexia and language disability. 

Visit their site for a wealth of information for individuals with dyslexia, parents, and professionals. 

If you’ve ever wondered about celebrities who have dyslexia, be sure to check out their “Dyslexia Success Stories” section.

Dyslexia on KidsHealth and Dyslexia on TeensHealth: Are you a parent or educator looking for age-appropriate materials on dyslexia? 

These articles offer the basics of dyslexia, tailored for the reading and developmental level of kids and teens.

Eye to Eye: Eye to Eye is a “mentoring movement for different thinkers,” providing mentoring programs to students identified with learning disabilities such as dyslexia and AD/HD. 

Visit their site to learn more about their program and find out how to get involved. 

International Dyslexia Association: The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) is a national non-profit dedicated to helping individuals with dyslexia, their families, and the communities that support them. 

Visit their site to connect with a local branch near you, find IDA-member providers in your area, and learn more about dyslexia.

Learning Ally: Learning Ally, formerly known as Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic, offers more than 75,000 digitally recorded audiobooks (including both textbooks and literary titles).

Parent Center Network-Parent Center Listing: If you are the parent of a K-12 student with dyslexia, you’ll want to take a look at this site and find your nearest Parent Training and Information Center (PTI). 

PTIs are funded by the federal government and offer parents assistance in navigating special education and their child’s rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia (film): The website of the new film “The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia” (scheduled for a television premiere in October 2012), offers video clips from the film, ways to take action to support people with dyslexia, and offers uplifting advice for students with dyslexia and their parents.

The Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity: Yale University’s Center for Dyslexia and Creativity seeks to illuminate the strengths of those with dyslexia, disseminate information, practical advice, and the latest innovations from scientific research, and transform the lives of children and adults with dyslexia. 

Visit their site to learn more about their cutting edge research and get concrete tips for parents, educators, and individuals with dyslexia.