Children with dyslexia qualify for free service from The Braille and Talking Book Library in Sacramento and its Southern California counterpart Braille Institute. With access to over 150,000 audiobooks for all ages, we provide an entry point to reading when traditional print is a barrier. Our content is available on flash memory cartridge which plays on accessible equipment that we provide, or by download from our mobile app.

To begin service, we offer a simple application available on our website for applicants to fill out and have signed by a certifying authority such as a doctor, social worker, certified reading specialist, therapist, and others, including educators and librarians. For more information, please email us at btbl@library.ca.gov or call 800-952-5666.

Access the English Learners and Dyslexia fact sheet to learn more about addressing the needs for English learners at risk for or with dyslexia. 

This International Dyslexia Association (IDA) fact sheet, developed in collaboration with Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan, Ed.D. provides information about important considerations when evaluating English learners for dyslexia. This fact sheet will also help classroom teachers as they observe students for possible referral for further assessment. Included in this fact sheet are guidelines for assessment specialists who may provide screening and assessment support.

The California Dyslexia Initiative is hosting a free, virtual Professional Learning Network on Wednesday March 6, 2024 from 9:00am-1:00pm.



Join Dr. Tim Odegard, our featured keynote, as he discusses why dyslexia is the most well-researched form of learning difference and neurodiversity, and despite well over 150 years of science, many educators report not understanding it. This session breaks down the brain-based language differences of dyslexia. It also outlines the risk indicators and characteristics of dyslexia and how these can be targeted as part of structured literacy intervention.

Breakout Session Presenters:

Carrie Thomas Beck, Ph.D.

Linda Cavasos, Ph.D.

Pam Kastner, Ed.D.

DeJunne' Clark Jackson, MA, MAT, MEd, CALT, LDT

Registration is limited, so don't wait!

Keynote Speakers

Dr. Maryanne Wolf, Ed.D, Director at the UCLA Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice will present her keynote titled: Lessons for all Children from Research on Dyslexia and the Reading Brain.

In this presentation, she will synthesize the implications of research on the reading brain and dyslexia for the teaching of reading, for screening and assessment, and for understanding the impact of digital culture on the deep reading/comprehension processes.

Dr. Elsa Cardenas Hagan, Ed.D., Director at the Valley Speech and Language and Learning Center, and Dr. Ioulia Kovelman, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at the University of Michigan will be presenting a joint keynote titled: The Bilingual Brain: Strengths in Reading Development and Dyslexia.

Bilingualism changes mind, brain, and literacy development. Parents and educators often worry that these bilingual influences may interfere with children's literacy development- especially in struggling learners and those with dyslexia. In this session, we discuss research on the influences of childhood bilingualism on neural organization for learning to read. In particular, we will discuss how bilinguals' two languages interact within the developing mind and brain, and how these interactions influence children's emerging literacy skills. We will discuss bilingual brain data in the context of theoretical perspectives on literacy development and the necessary educational practices for learning to read.