650 N. Meridian St.,
Indianapolis, IN 46204
Tel: 317-262-3115
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Support The Widow's Son Masonic Bike Club's virtual fundraiser for CDCOI. Learn More!
About Us
Our Mission
Provide, free of charge, the highest quality multisensory reading and written language tutorial services for children with dyslexia, through a network of nationally recognized centers of excellence.
Promote and encourage education of professionals, tutorial trainees, and the public, to become a resource in teaching children to read.
Advance scientific knowledge of dyslexia through support of clinical research, to improve today’s standards and tomorrow’s care.
Recognized by IndyStar as 2020's Best Learning Center / Tutor
Built on Fraternal Philanthropy
The Freemasons are the oldest and largest fraternal organization in the world, with a rich history in the U.S. that dates back to colonial times. George Washington was among the first Masons to join in the then newly formed United States. Masons do their charitable work at a level where a real difference can be made in the lives of individuals, families and communities. Following the philanthropic precedent of many other Masonic charities, the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Indianapolis Program represents a substantial charitable commitment.
Since 1994, the Scottish Rite Masons, Northern Jurisdiction, have been national leaders in the effort to help children and their families overcome the painful obstacles of dyslexia. Forty-five Learning Centers are operational in Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, and Wisconsin.
Millions of school children with dyslexia endure frustration and demoralization on a daily basis as they struggle to acquire skills that many of us take for granted. If your child is struggling with reading and writing how do you know if dyslexia is the cause? Where can you go for help? Turn to the Children’s Dyslexia Center of Indianapolis for help…
Our Success
In the years that the Children’s Dyslexia Center have been actively engaged in helping children from kindergarten through high school overcome dyslexia, thousands of dyslexic children have received one-on-one tutoring at no cost to them or their families. Children are eligible regardless of economic status, race, religion, or Masonic affiliation. The positive impact of early intervention on the lives of these children and their families is enormous and inspires our commitment to this program. Additionally, the Children’s Learning Centers continue to support clinical research programs that focus on dyslexia.
Our Approach Helps Students
The curriculum used for tutoring and tutor training at all Children’s Dyslexia Center is based on the Orton-Gillingham approach. The Orton-Gillingham approach, developed in the 1920’s, uses a sequential, multisensory phonetic approach to teaching and spelling. Thus, a variety of sensory data is used to help children understand the written word.
As part of the Children’s Dyslexia Center Program, hundreds of school teachers and other individuals interested in becoming certified tutors at the Learning centers have received free training. Children are tutored one-on-one twice a week after regular school hours. This allows for the curriculum to be tailored to each individual child as necessary, and progress is made in small, readily quantifiable steps. Service provided by the Children’s Dyslexia Center equip children with the skills and the confidence they need to approach learning with eagerness and without fear.
Our Approach Helps Teachers
The Children’s Dyslexia Center Program offers free training for individuals who are interested in receiving initial certification as tutors in the Orton-Gillingham approach. The training program is IMSLEC (International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council) accredited.
Requirements for certification include 50 hours of classroom instruction and 100 hours of practicum work under the supervision of qualified professionals, tutoring two children twice a week at a Learning Center. A minimum of a Bachelors Degree is a prerequisite for this training. The learning Centers also provide training for advanced certification. Affiliations with institutions of higher education enable professionals who train as tutors at man Centers to earn full graduate course Credits as well as continuing education credits.
