At Scottish Rite for Children, the Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Learning Disorders offers the Dyslexia Therapist Training Program for certified Texas public school teachers. This two-year comprehensive training is designed for teachers of students with dyslexia using proven intervention techniques and is accredited by the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council.  

This training is master’s level work to the therapy level. National standards require a minimum of:  

• 200 clock hours of instruction from Master Level Qualified Instructors
• 700 clock hours of individual or small group therapy which can be achieved by 3 classes a day for 2 consecutive years of students
• 10 demonstration lessons observed by the trainers

The program offers training in:

• Educational identification of dyslexia
• Characteristics of dyslexia
• Take Flight: A Comprehensive Intervention for Students with Dyslexia, a multisensory, structured approach to teaching developed at Scottish Rite for Children
• Classroom strategies and techniques used for students with dyslexia
• How to conduct parent and teacher information seminars

Candidates for the training must be employed by a Texas public school, hold a valid Texas teaching certificate and have written support of their school district.

Graduates of the Dyslexia Therapist Training Program are eligible to sit for a national therapy certification exam at the therapy level. Fifteen hours of graduate-level credit are offered through Midwestern State University in Wichita Falls, Texas.

Scottish Rite for Children has trained hundreds of therapists since 1988.  In order to maintain therapist training, instructors must also be taught. The completion of the instructor level requires true commitment.  

Requirements include:

• An additional 1,400 teaching hours of students.
• A master’s degree.
• Two to three years of additional classroom training.
• A minimum of three supervised lectures at the introductory and advanced level of therapist training.
• A minimum of 20 demonstration reviews.

Scottish Rite for Children has trained a number of instructors over the years, including a number of school districts in North Texas like Frisco, Plano, Garland, Lovejoy and Richardson.  Now, these districts have the expertise to train any additional therapists their district may need in-house. Likewise, the education service centers in Regions 7 and 8 are offering therapist training.

Through our commitment to therapist training, we are able to continue our mission of helping more children diagnosed with dyslexia or other learning disorders. 

Learn more about therapist training.