When you enter the Nelms Dyslexia Center, you’re immediately greeted by smiling faces. Dozens of portraits line the walls. The subjects range from movie stars to politicians and musicians, all with a common characteristic: They have a learning difference called dyslexia. Center Director Pam Henley said this feature was a specific request from founder Don Nelms.
“He wanted a wall full of people who are successful in various industries, various businesses, who have dyslexia, or had dyslexia and have learned to overcome that," Henley said. "And because of the cool thing about dyslexia is that, yes, it is a learning difference—how the brain learns—but doesn't have to be a disability, because they all have these passions inside of them, and they're actually phenomenal out-of-the-box thinkers, problem solvers. You know, they understand patterns and trends over time. And so that's why these walls are filled with different categories of people who have been very successful in their lives. And he calls this our inspiration wall.”
More than a portrait museum, the Nelms Dyslexia Center is a facility dedicated to empowering people in the dyslexia community. The staff provides comprehensive services, including training, therapy, assessment, and support for children and adults with dyslexia. The center offers academic language therapy using a multisensory approach, helping individuals understand their learning differences and build confidence. With 11 therapy rooms, a training space, and, of course, the inspiration wall, the center aims to train teachers, remediate reading difficulties, and spread awareness that dyslexia is a learning difference—not a disability.
“We want kids to feel calm and parents to feel comfortable, so it's not just super clinical, we want it to be somewhat casual," she said. "The rooms are all very instructional and very academic. So I hear, you know, parents are out here waiting, and sometimes siblings are over there playing. And we offer a little snack area so they can enjoy snacks, and they can sit and work, or they can have casual conversations. So it's very mindful.”
The center has been around for less than a year, but Henley said they’ve witnessed growth within that short time frame. However, they’re facing a large gap in providing adequate support for Arkansans struggling with dyslexia.
“So we sort of did the math this summer as we went to a conference that talked about how many children are in the state of Arkansas," Henley said. "And so if you were treating approximately 20% of the population statistically—maybe struggling with dyslexia, which in Arkansas we call it characteristics of dyslexia—and so if we break down how many children are in the state of Arkansas, you would actually need, in groups of four or fewer kids, you'd need 4,000 certified academic language therapists. And as we know right now, there's approximately about 240 or so.”
They’re working hard to bridge the divide, and this summer has been a testament to that effort. Henley and center coordinator Jennifer Carter spoke about their development and how they’re seeing more language therapists in training programs.
“So we also here at the center—Jen may have told you—we also see students here too. We hire academic language therapists, and so we have grown, I guess I couldn’t even tell.—”
JC: “Sixty-seven students total.”
“—not even having been open a year. And then our new training, we have 16 so far—well, actually 14 trainees who have signed up and registered. We have two more who are possible, so that would make a total of 16, which is a pretty good-sized group. It's about capacity for this training room. But it seems like that's like a drop in the bucket for what we need overall. Now we're not the only ones training. Jen and I are both—she's working toward her qualified instructor certification. I'm a qualified instructor. And there are only, in the state of Arkansas, around 23 qualified instructors who can train teachers to become academic language therapists.”
Henley said the Nelms Dyslexia Center is the only one of its kind in the state. Their services include assessments, one-on-one academic language therapy using evidence-based, multisensory instruction tailored to each learner’s needs, and structured literacy programs designed to improve decoding, spelling, and reading comprehension. The center also offers diagnostic assessments, individualized support plans, and collaborative sessions with families. And Jennifer Carter said these services are available to anyone—not just children.
“We have done assessments on, I don't know, I would say half a dozen individuals that are a little bit older," Carter said. "We have one scheduled tomorrow. I believe he's 72 years old, and he said he just wants to come and learn. And I have a gentleman that has not come up yet, but he calls me—he lives in the middle of the state—and he said that once he gets his car to work, he's going to come up here, and he wants to see us and do this test.”
The center and its staff work hard to ensure everyone who walks through the door receives the support and services they need. But Henley said they’re also working to shape the landscape of dyslexia research and improve outcomes for people in northwest Arkansas and beyond.
“That's another piece of our project—we'd like to collect data on the efficacy and effectiveness of our programs and how it works with different age groups and different demographics. But, you know, the good news is, so far, what we've seen—not only here since we've been open—but it's okay to share a little bit about what I've seen. The program we use, Take Flight, and it's got some other, you know, satellite programs for older kids or younger kids. And also some of the materials we've gotten from Payne Education Center, which is all wrapped around one methodology—it's called Orton-Gillingham.”
The Orton-Gillingham methodology, used at the Nelms Dyslexia Center, is a structured, multisensory approach to teaching reading, writing, and spelling. It breaks language down into manageable parts, using sight, sound, and touch to help students connect with words. The method is tailored to each learner, making it especially effective for those with dyslexia. Henley said they're working with researcher Tim Odegard of the Tennessee Center for the Study and Treatment of Dyslexia to refine and evaluate that methodology.
“And it's been intriguing to work with all of these people, particularly Dr. Odegard, to think about how we're going to proceed in the data collection," Henley said. "And then also he'll do things that are certainly above my pay grade, like meta-analysis and that kind of thing. It's been interesting to also build relationships in the community, because we have also partnered with our friends at Fayetteville Public Schools. Some of our therapists have gone out—Jen went out into the schools—and one of our therapists, Jess, has also partnered. And we contracted with them to go into the schools to teach this curriculum. And it's been super rewarding—I think beneficial—a win-win for us, you know, and then for the schools too. So that's been neat. And then we've also done a little bit of work in some of the private schools. Just a couple of private schools in northwest Arkansas have hired us—contracted with us—to come in. So that's been great.
"We've done a lot of professional development in the community, and the feedback’s just really been great. I feel like we've really been blessed with, you know, people that were inspired and wanted to learn more. And I think that's why this year we went from—how many did we have—six trainees last year in our certified academic language cohort, to this year, 14 to 16.”
Although the Nelms Dyslexia Center is enhancing treatment and research, Henley and Carter agree that public understanding of dyslexia—and the people who live with it—still has room to grow.
“I think a lot of parents come to us and they feel like their child's broken," Henley said. "And what we try to tell them is, your child is going to be OK. They just need to learn a different way. So not only is our program appropriate as far as teaching the structure of the English language, but also we use a very multisensory approach—visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic. And the more modalities a child uses, the easier it is to build the neural pathways that are either basically missing or misplaced in a child's brain. So it is a neurological difficulty. And parents come to us and think something's really badly wrong, when what we can tell them is, generally speaking, dyslexia—really, kids who have dyslexia—either have average or above-average IQ.
"And so we tell them, hey, your kid is really smart. And many times they come in knowing that, but they just don't understand—if they're that smart, why can't they decode? Why can't they break the code of reading? And we just, you know, kind of tell them very gently that really it's just a matter of training their brain to think about the structure of the language, starting with what we call the alphabetic principle for reading, and then also how to break those sounds apart for spelling. And when we show parents what we do and how it works, they're just so relieved to know that everything's going to be OK. Their child's going to be OK.”
“Well, I'd say one of the things that we like to do is invite the parents in to watch a lesson," Carter said. "I mean, the first time I saw a lesson—it was not like school—it was totally different. So amazing. So I think it's nice for the parents to see, oh wow, they have not had this before. I think this is going to work—and it does work.”
The Nelms Dyslexia Center isn’t just a place to learn how to read—it’s a place where families find answers, support, and a sense of hope.
As a certified vendor for Arkansas’ Educational Freedom Account program, the center helps families access funding for literacy therapy, whether their kids are in public, private or homeschool settings. Parents can attend support groups, schedule assessments, or just stop by to learn more. To get connected or find out how to get involved, visit their website or call the center directly.
