‘We didn’t know why they were struggling’: Vancouver dyslexia centre focuses on early support

A centre dedicated to supporting people with dyslexia is getting a permanent home in Vancouver, with a focus on helping families and giving educators tools to support students with learning differences.

Neil Johnston, CEO of the Centre for Dyslexia, said the organization hopes to address gaps that can leave children with dyslexia struggling in the classroom without knowing why.

“About 20 per cent of the population has dyslexia, 80 per cent go undiagnosed,” Johnston told Global News.

Dyslexia affects how the brain processes information and can present challenges with reading and writing, as well as executive functioning and math, Johnston explained.

For children who aren’t diagnosed early, those challenges can also take a toll on their experience at school.

“These kids aren’t having a good school experience. They are in distress. They do need support. They don’t understand why the system isn’t helping them,” Johnston said.

The Vancouver centre will provide direct programs and services to families while also working with teachers and school districts to improve support for students with dyslexia.

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Johnston said one of the priorities is identifying struggling students earlier.

While families can pursue a formal diagnosis, he said the process can come with delays and costs.

Screening can offer a quicker way of identifying children who are struggling to read and determining what support they may need.

“The science of reading tells us how kids learn to read best,” Johnston said. “From K to 3, kids learn to read. And from Grade 4 onwards, they’re reading to learn. So we’ve got to catch them early.”

He said teachers are committed to helping their students but may not always receive enough training on dyslexia and other learning differences.

“We have amazing teachers,” Johnston said. “They’re so committed and dedicated to what they do and they’re great at it, but we haven’t set them up for success.”

In Ottawa, families have also had access to specialized support through Heritage Academy, a private school founded by Louise Brazeau-Ward in 1989 after advocating for her own son, who was struggling in the traditional education system because of dyslexia.

Brazeau-Ward went on to advocate for children and adults with dyslexia and established the Canadian Dyslexia Centre. That work now continues through the Heritage Academy Dyslexia Centre, which provides resources and training for educators and families.

The Vancouver centre is already working with school districts and offering programs in person and virtually across British Columbia, with the longer term goal of helping schools develop their own capacity to support dyslexic learners.

Johnston said there has been progress in B.C. in recent years, including greater recognition of dyslexia by the provincial government, but more work remains.

For parents who notice their child struggling at school, Johnston said it is important not to ignore the signs.

“That’s heartbreaking as a parent,” he said. “We’re here to help. So come see us.” 

Editor’s note: An earlier version of this story stated the Centre for Dyslexia in Vancouver was the first such facility in Canada. It is the first public facility. A similar charitable school has been operating in Ottawa since 1989, providing specialized support for people with dyslexia. The headline and story have been updated to clarify the distinction.