Training for Teachers and Parents
in the Teaching of Children
with Dyslexia

Many teachers, parents, and teaching assistants find themselves responsible for the education or support of a dyslexic child or teenager but do not have the necessary training in the skills and strategies to help. Our distance learning multimedia course provides practical training in how to teach a child who is, or may be, dyslexic, either in school or at home. The course is especially suitable for:

• teachers;
• classroom assistants;
• parents with a dyslexic child in school;
• special needs teachers;
• parents home-schooling a dyslexic child;
• private tutors;
• learning support assistants;
• other specialist educational workers.

Is the course suitable for me?

What is the difference between the Certificate and the Parents' courses?

The Certificate in the Teaching of Children with Dyslexia (or similar difficulties)

The training course consists of five Modules, and can be studied at home. The five Modules are:

The course, which has been taken by over 1,600 students, provides training in the particular learning needs of dyslexic children, and the areas in which they experience difficulty, especially spelling, reading, writing and math/s. It is not a general teaching course, but focuses on practical techniques and strategies which are known to raise achievement levels in dyslexic children and teenagers.

The Course Director is John Bradford and we have students in 68 countries: USA, UK, Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, Japan, France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, Sweden, Poland, Russia, Finland, Latvia, Switzerland, Barbados, Bermuda, Brunei, Belize, Brazil, Kuwait, Hong Kong, Israel, Luxembourg, Greece, Bermuda, Brazil, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Pakistan, Singapore, the Philippines, Mexico, India, Bahrain, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Nepal, Malta, Trinidad, South Africa, Nigeria, Kenya, Ghana, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, Mauritius, Netherland Antilles, Falkland Islands, Cayman Islands, Oman, Sudan, Zimbabwe, Libya, Namibia, the Czech Republic, Macau, Vietnam, Turkey, Russia, South Korea, Albania, and China!

Accessible learning style

As dyslexia often runs in families, it is recognized that some people teaching a dyslexic child may experience difficulties with spelling, comprehension and math/s themselves. With this in mind, the course book has been specially designed to be visually accessible to students, with illustrations on almost every page, and very clear layout of information.

Two Routes to learning

Two Routes through the course have been provided to meet individual students' training needs:
The Regular or Standard Route:
On this Route, students will study the course book, CD-Rom and audio-tape and learn about teaching a dyslexic child without actually working through the Practical Exercises with a child at the time. For this Route, there are five short Assignments.
The Practical Route:
On this Route, students will choose 15 (out of the 60) short Practical exercises to carry out one-on-one with a child who is, or may be, dyslexic, or who is having difficulties with reading, spelling, writing or math/s.
A Mixture of the Two Routes:
The course is flexible, and for each Module, students may choose whether they wish to follow the Regular/Standard Route or the Practical Route.

Examples of Routes different students may take

For example, a parent home-schooling a dyslexic child may choose to take the Practical Route, doing the Exercises with their child at home. However, a teacher or a classroom assistant may not have the opportunity to work with an individual child one-on-one, or may be working with classes or groups of children all the time. They may choose to do the course through the Regular/Standard Route.

Course materials

The course materials consist of:

Straightforward assignments

Assignments may be practical exercises or conventional essay-type answers. Assignments must be sent in by email.

Grades

There are two possible grades for each Module: Pass or Repeat. A Certificate is awarded when a student has achieved a Pass grade in each of the five Modules. If a student is asked to repeat a piece of work, advice will be provided about how it may be improved, and students may repeat Assignments as many times as they wish.

Length of the Dyslexia Certificate course

The course is estimated to take up to 100 hours of study. It will normally be completed in six months (about three or four hours study each week), but students are allowed up to one year (or more if there are any particular difficulties).

Fees

The fees for the course, which include all the course materials, are listed here. Our aim is to provide training in the best teaching methods for dyslexic children for as many teachers and parents as possible, and the course fees are deliberately kept at an affordable level.

Group Discount

If you are thinking of running the Dyslexia Certificate course as a group enterprise, we will be happy to help and advise. Teaching and learning groups like this provide a really valuable activity, giving opportunities for group learning and discussion, in addition to individual study. Your group may be parents, teachers, classroom assistants, learning support assistants, or any other interested people. A 10% discount is provided for groups of three or more people.

Some colleges find our course helpful as a way of updating staff with the needs of dyslexic students, or as an additional module in an education course when there is not the relevant expertise among the staff. Local dyslexia associations have also found the course helpful for a group of their members.

Become a course provider

Have you thought of joining our team of course providers?

Access to the Dyslexia Certificate course

The course is open to everybody with an interest in teaching and helping a dyslexic child or teenager, and no prior qualifications are required.

Accreditation and affiliations

The Direct Learning Dyslexia Certificate course is approved by the University of New York. Direct Learning staff are members of the International Dyslexia Association and the Specific Learning Difficulties Association of Australia. Direct Learning is a supporter of the British Dyslexia Association.

The Dyslexia Certificate course has been running for over four years, and has been successfully completed by hundreds of teachers, parents, classroom assistants, teacher's aides, learning support assistants and others throughout the world. The course has been used for training many groups of teachers in schools, colleges and Young Offenders' Units.

Course News

February 1st - The course book has now been translated into Arabic.

June 2nd - Welcome to the new group of 48 students registering through the Kuwait Dyslexia Association. It is wonderful that the entire school staff are being trained to help dyslexic pupils. Contact Mohammad Al-Qatami through the website if you are interested.

September 30th - Welcome to new students from the USA, UK, Canada, Syria, Malta, New Zealand and Malaysia

Feedback about the course

'I have really enjoyed this course and will consider another one as soon as time allows.  I only wish this had been part of a required curriculum when I received my teaching degrees.  All my years of public school teaching didn't give me insight like this one course.  I will recommend that educators and parents take this course.' (A.D., Cleveland, TN, USA)

'I am so happy to have passed the course.  Thank you so much for your helpful comments during the course.  I feel much more confident in the class now and indeed with my dyslexic son.  The course has given me the confidence to go on to other courses, so once again, thank you..' (K.E., Cambridge, England)

'I have learned so much and I am already using much of what I have learned. I have shared techniques with several of my colleagues and they are using them also. I appreciate the opportunities I have had as I made my way through the course. Thank you for helping me find more ways to help struggling students.' (S.S., Hopkinsville, Kentucky)

'Thank you for your kind wishes and encouragement! I've learned some very useful and practical information from this course and the Discussion Group contributions.  I plan to do an MSPED (Master of Special Ed.) next year.' (H. M-S, Hong Kong, China)

'Thank you for your continual kind support and comments throughout the course - I have learned such a great deal from this course and am now running parent groups at our school to share what I have learned.' (J.R., Sydney, Australia)

'I would like to take the opportunity to thank you for offering such a helpful course. I took this course because I didn't feel I was doing my dyslexic students justice. I just didn't know enough, or know how to help them enough. Now I feel I have the ability to be sensitive to their needs and that I have the tools to help them ... Thank you again. You are saving many children with your hard work! This course should be mandatory for teacher trainees.' (E.S., Zurich, Switzerland)

'May I just say how impressed I have been by the speed at which you mark our assignments - it is just lovely to receive the results next day, and you are always so encouraging and positive. I have really enjoyed the course and I can safely say this has been the most enjoyable course I have ever done! Acting on your advice I have applied to go on to do the Hornsby Diploma course now. My school has agreed to fund it and supply me with pupils for the practical work, so I am delighted. A huge THANK YOU to you all and keep up the good work.' (L.H., Ireland)

'Thank you - and it was a great course, wonderful book and good feedback. Thanks for offering this opportunity for teachers.' (D.H., Houston, Texas)

'I loved the course text book - I find it compelling reading. It's informative and easy to follow. I've learnt so much already, practical things I just didn't get before. I feel better equipped to help my son already.' (P.R.., Barbados)

'This course has been fantastic for us as parents and for our children. I have learned many things about dyslexia, I feel I am a more patient and understanding parent as a result of it, I would recommend it to anyone who works with children in any shape or form.The most valuable thing to me to help children has to be reading with them and having them read to me. Good luck to everyone else who is doing the course. I hope you all get as much out of it as I have.' (R.W., Kansas)

'My life has changed since I started this course! Every time I read something new in the course book, I tell my children about it to help them to benefit to improve academically and socially.' (L.J., Qatar)

'This course has changed the way I teach - I would really like to thank you for allowing me to move through this course at my own speed. I have learned a lot. I know this course has changed the way I teach. I intend on visiting your site often to keep updated.' (G.W., Utah, USA)

'Not being a qualified teacher precluded me from almost every other course on dyslexia, as well as the cost of other courses being too expensive. I would like to thank John Bradford and his team for making this course possible. ' (S.S., Fife, Scotland)

'I have thoroughly enjoyed this course and have learnt a lot about both myself and my daughter. This course has been a pleasure to study, the content was easy to follow and of good quality. I have studied many courses and this was the first course that I took which didn’t make me feel that I couldn’t achieve my goals. I appreciate the continuous proactive feedback that was given and the quickness in the return of the assignment marking. This course is an excellent course and all teachers should be encouraged to do this course as staff development. Due to the fact that there isn’t a lot of pressure to complete the course, the course is perfect for busy moms and teachers alike. I would 100% recommend this course to anyone that is interested. Well, done on an achievable, beautifully written course, which is affordable for the rich and poor.' (S.W., Coventry, UK)

'May I just say how great this course has been for me. It was straight forward and a real confidence builder for myself when applying what I have learned in the classroom. The discussion forum proves a valuble asset in solving problems that collegues may not have the answer to.' (Claire, UK)

'I have found this course incredibly informative and feel that I have truly gained as a teacher working with dyslexic students.' (S.F., Singapore)

'I am so happy that I found this course. It gave me exactly what I was looking for: a very practical child-centred approach, reassurance that the steps I was taking were correct, plus lots of additional ideas and information.' (M.D., County Cork, Ireland)

'Thanks for the course. It's just what I hoped - well organised, practical and very useful.' (J.D., West Midlands, UK).

'This course has really boosted my confidence as a home schooling mom, and now I know that I can relax and enjoy my role in my childrens' education.' (T.M., North Carolina).

'Thank you for the encouragement with respect to my assignments and your valuable advice regarding the worksheets on 'paragraph writing' for my student. Thanking you once again.' (D.Y., California)

'I have thoroughly enjoyed this course and have been able to recommend it to numerous parents of dyslexic children.' (F.C., Ireland)

'I am impressed by the way your course is structured, making it accessible to non professionals as well as professionals.Thank you for the promptness in evaluating my assignments, and for the positive and encouraging feedback'. (C.B., Liverpool, UK)

'Thank you so very much for all your kind remarks and positive feedback that you have been giving me throughout the course. I am enjoying the course very much and find it is becoming addictive! I look forward to the time I spend on the assignments and the discussion group ... The little boy who I am using as a case study gets so excited ... He's waiting for the end of the course because we're going out to dinner to celebrate "our Certificate in Dyslexia!' (F.G., Canada)

'The Students' Discussion Group board is very interesting and informative I have enjoyed learning there, and will continue to go there. I have also made some very wonderful friends from there from all over the world! ' (D.W., Arizona)

'I have enjoyed doing the course and found your comments helpful. Although I have finished studying the course manual, I know I shall continue to refer to it, especially for the wealth of practical advice such as short-term memory exercises, etc.' (J. D., UK)

'It has been a pleasure for me to complete this course. I have really benefitted from it, especially since I could apply what I learnt from my lessons in my daily worksheets . . . Thank you for your encouragement and appreciation of my assignment work.' (D.Y., India)

'I really enjoyed doing the readings and writing the responses. I was so happy to find that this sort of training exists by distance as I have been very interested in learning more about working with dyslexic students but unsure of where to turn.' (A.G., Switzerland)

'Thank you for your kind words of encouragement throughout the course. I am especially impressed at the rate you return the marked assignments within days. This course has been very informative for me. I believe that many have and will gain from this course and its website information. I am glad that you and your colleagues have done an excellent job. Keep up the excellent work!' (D.L., Singapore)

'This is probably the best distance learning course I have ever been involved with!' (A.W., UK)

'I enjoyed the course and would recommend it to anyone! Thank you for your prompt replies to the assignments and for your helpful comments.' (K.S., UK)

'If it were not for this course, I would be pulling all the hair out of my head!' (M.H., NJ, USA - mother of three)

'Thank you for a very worthwhile course that has helped me improve my son's reading and writing and made me observe children more closely in my own teaching.' (B.H., Malaga, Spain)

Lengthier feedback from students