Last Updated on October 13, 2022 by Editorial Team
Being diagnosed with Dyslexia can be a life-changing experience for many people, but it does not necessarily have to be a life-limiting one. Your family and friends mean well, but sometimes you feel fewer inhibitions only with people who share your ordeal, and this is where the concept of support groups comes in.
A support group may consist of an assembly of like-minded people undergoing the same life situation, who can end up providing emotional aid as well as expert advice on the concerned matter. While there are many Dyslexia support groups globally, here is a list of some renowned support groups for persons with learning disabilities to help you get an idea of what to look for in such support groups, should you choose to go more local.
List of dyslexia support groups for parents
1. Helen Arkell Dyslexia charity
Helen Arkell Dyslexia Charity is a wonderful support group based in the UK that especially provides support to parents of children with dyslexia, among others. They even provide online and offline courses to parents trying to come to terms with the special requirements of children with dyslexia.
It also helps them with access to professional advice to help them provide the most effective education to their children. They have a compassionate and helpful team in place so that no parent that associates with them feels lonely through their journey.
2. Decoding Dyslexia Oregon
Decoding Dyslexia Oregon is a Not-for-profit Organisation and Support group based in Oregon, United States that is driven by the local community families based in Oregon, United States. It aims at raising awareness and resources for dyslexia as well as providing support and professional advice to adults or families with one or more children with dyslexia.
In addition, they are engaged in discussion with school districts and policymakers for creating a more learning disabilities-friendly education environment in schools. Their long-term plan includes bringing systemic changes at both the school and university levels to bring about systemic changes.
3. The Dyslexia Association
The Dyslexia Association is a registered charity with its head office in Nottingham, UK. However, it does not restrict its support services to a particular area and has an established nationwide network to provide both support and services to young adults and parents of children with dyslexia.
In fact, not only do they provide emotional and moral support but also help with professional advice on screening, assessment, training, and tuition of persons with dyslexia, should they be new to the entire experience. You may also contact this support group if you know any person with dyslexia and they are happy to take a step forward to help them overcome their initial inhibitions.
4. International Dyslexia Association branches
The International Dyslexia Association has branches spread across the United States and the United Kingdom with a global partnership with 21 countries. It is one of the oldest learning disabilities organizations in the world and was founded in 1949. Its local branches act as a support group for the local communities with each branch catering to the localized issues concerning persons with learning disabilities.
For example, the Kansas & Missouri branch of IDA tries to inform the parents about the Missouri Parents Act(MPACT) which is Missouri’s Training and Information Centre to help the parents in providing maximum support to their dyslexic children in their learning stage. They also try to adapt to new conditions and challenges and in this spirit, have also introduced seminars on special education during the pandemic and similar issues.
5. Dyslexia Support Australia
Dyslexia Support Australia is a closed and Evidence-based Facebook page support group for parents of dyslexic children to discuss their situations and gain expertise from each other’s situation.
There is a strict policy against malicious or ill-informed content on its Facebook page. This close-knit community thus formed helps in keeping its members aware of the latest development in the education world as well as new insights into dyslexia to help them stay one step ahead in case of any eventualities.
6. Foothills Academy support group
Foothills Academy, based in Calgary, Canada offers online programs for Online parent support groups. Many of these courses are paid for. However, the programs, often ranging six weeks are run by provisional psychologists and have group discussions for parents to interact with each other. However, on the flip side, the membership of this support group is largely confined to Alberta, Canada.
Summing up
While choosing a support group, it is important to be clear on your requirements and expectations from such groups. Some of us may be comfortable with online support alone, while others may want an in-person experience. Some of us may be looking for a more structured format in the form of classes and courses, while others may just yearn for a heart-to-heart chat. You may be looking to accumulate global experience or just wishing to unearth the links to local resources. Whatever your demands, a good support group that fits well into them will keep you warm as you calm the storm that may brew sometimes in your heart and mind.
An engineer, Maths expert, Online Tutor and animal rights activist. In more than 5+ years of my online teaching experience, I closely worked with many students struggling with dyscalculia and dyslexia. With the years passing, I learned that not much effort being put into the awareness of this learning disorder. Students with dyscalculia often misunderstood for having just a simple math fear. This is still an underresearched and understudied subject. I am also the founder of Smartynote -‘The notepad app for dyslexia’,