Student Services

Academic Language Therapy Classes for Children
Students between 2nd and 6th grades who are dyslexic and have been accepted for therapy attend the Learning Center's Academic Language Therapy classes five days a week for one hour each day in the afternoon, for approximately two years. Classes run concurrent with the Austin Independent School District's school calendar. This service is provided at no cost to the student or the student's family and is covered through the generous support of Austin-area Scottish Rite Masons and other contributors. Students receive instruction in the Take Flight curriculum, which was written by the Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Language Disorders of Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children (TSRHC) in Dallas for use by academic language therapists with children seven years or older with developmental dyslexia. Click here for more information on Take Flight Curriculum.

Applications are being accepted for the following school year and the deadline is May 1st.  Classes begin in the fall, and space is limited. Click here for the Student Application Form.

Summer Programs
The Learning Center offers Summer FUNdamentals, a language learning camp for two different age groups–morning classes for five, six, and seven year-olds and afternoon classes for eight – thirteen year olds. The morning classes will focus on reading readiness and reading re-enforcement for the younger children. The afternoon classes will give on-going academic support for the older students. The Center offers three two-week sessions, five days a week. The cost for the two-week session for one child is $300.

Click here for an application for ages 5-7>
Click here for an application for ages 8 -12>

Evaluations for Dyslexia
The Learning Center also offers educational evaluations for dyslexia for individuals of all ages. As of June 2005, the Learning Center began implementation of the assessment model used by the famed Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children in Dallas. Under this assessment model, the Learning Center tests a variety of abilities, including intelligence, oral language, visual and motor performance, phonological processing and academic skills with an emphasis on reading. The evaluations are done at the Learning Center and take approximately four hours to complete. After a report has been written, an appointment is scheduled with the parents to review the evaluation. Before leaving the consultation, the family is provided with a copy of the report. “With the implementation of similar testing methods, the Scottish Rite Learning Center will be fully equipped to measure the cognitive and academic factors that are key to planning instruction in accordance with criteria contained in the Texas Dyslexia Law.

Click here for more information about our evaluations.

The Scottish Rite Learning Center is also offering Speech, language, and Literacy Evaluations by Dr. Sharon Doss.  Click here for more information.

This testing method will also enable school districts using the evaluations to become more proactive against dyslexia by implementing evidence-based dyslexia interventions.” --Jeff Black, medical director of the Luke Waites Child Development Center of the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children.

Professional Consultation Parents who have test results and desire or require additional interpretation to investigate the presence or absence of dyslexia can benefit from the Learning Center's nominally priced consultations with the Director.

Benefits of the Scottish Rite Dyslexia Program
The program helps to retain students in regular educational programs and often allows them to avoid being qualified as learning disabled and placed in special education. The curriculum enables students with dyslexia to pass the TAKS and other high stakes tests, often for the first time. Students who complete this course of instruction are more likely to maximize their potential in higher education. The National Institutes of Health have found that 35% of identified learning-disabled individuals will encounter problems with the criminal justice system within five years of leaving high school either as a dropout or a "push out." The program helps lower the dropout rate and prevents students from failing a grade.