FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. — A new nonprofit aiming to help people in the community with dyslexia has opened its doors in Fayetteville.
The Nelms Dyslexia Center provides therapy for students with dyslexia and trains teachers to become academic language therapists or dyslexia therapists.
The building, most recently home to Sunrise Guitars, was donated by the Don and Millie Nelms Foundation to be renovated into the dyslexia center.
The renovation involved installing 11 therapy rooms, a library, and a training room, among other spaces.
Along with dyslexia therapy and teacher training, the center offers classes and workshops to educate the community on dyslexia and what accommodations children need.
The Center Director, Pam Henley, said the therapy sessions focus on helping kids break down language while also encouraging them, which she said is just as important as helping them learn to decode words.
She said many of the children who come to the center for therapy are struggling not only with academics but also with their emotions and feeling discouraged.
“They usually come to us a little bit nervous and scared,” Henley said. “They become what we call the ‘walking wounded’ sometimes because they have just had failure. What we would like to see is this turn around, saying, ‘You know what? We are giving you an opportunity to learn, but we also are going to give you an opportunity to understand your passion and how you can be successful.’”
A central part of the center is an ‘inspiration wall’ with pictures of successful people who had dyslexia and were able to give back to their communities.
Alongside portraits of well-known faces like Alexander Graham Bell, John F. Kennedy, Steve Jobs, Tina Turner and Tom Cruise, the wall has a message that reads: “You are like the people on these walls. You learn and think differently, just like them. All these people struggled with learning to read and write. They discovered their strengths, worked hard and changed the world. You can too.”
Among the faces on the wall is one of the founders of the center, Don Nelms, who grew up with dyslexia.
Henley said Don’s personal journey was what inspired the Nelms family to open the center in Fayetteville.
“Don shared with me that when he was in school, he said he had nothing for school,” Henley said. “He said he felt like the dumbest kid in the class, but he wasn't. He was highly intelligent, and he said, ‘I knew I was smart enough,’ but he said he just simply couldn't read and write. He told me, ‘I would give almost anything if I had had the resources that we are now able to offer here at Nelms Dyslexia Center.’”
As the Nelms work to give back to kids and adults alike who have dyslexia, Henley said the center’s goal is to be a support for teachers, students, and parents.
You can learn more about Nelms Dyslexia Center and the services it offers for students and teachers here.
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