Dyslexia Action

This collection is uncatalogued. The following is a temporary description which may change when detailed cataloguing takes place in the future. Records created and collated by Dyslexia Action (formerly the Dyslexia Institute) documenting the work, development and impact of the organisation from the late 1960s to the 2020s. The archive includes :

• Organisational and governance publications such as annual reports and reviews, impact reports and staff handbooks,
• Periodicals and newsletters including Dyslexia Review (1969-2025) and newsletters for staff, members and supporters,
• Research, policy and consultation records such as commissioned reports and surveys, as well as information submitted to government reviews,
• Fundraising and event documentation including ‘Rite to Rede’ auction catalogues and leaflets,
• Promotional and outreach material such as leaflets, posters and training prospectuses,
• Teaching, training, and assessment resources developed by the Dyslexia Institute in printed, digital and audiovisual formats, including resources for numeracy, literacy and study skills,
• External teaching, training, and assessment resources that were used by the Institute in its centres including Alpha to Omega publications,
• Dissertations written by Dyslexia Institute staff who undertook the Institute’s accredited course,
• Information guides for teachers and parents,
• Photographs of Institute centres, staff and fundraising activities.

1970s-2010s

Uncatalogued : 13 boxes, 2 folders, 4 VHS, 2 films, 7 CD-ROMs, 2 DVDs and 1 CD

Donated to Wellcome Collection in February 2026.

Dyslexia Action (formerly the Dyslexia Institute) is a UK-based provider of accredited training and professional development for educators and specialists working with dyslexia and specific learning difficulties (SpLD).

Its origins can be traced back to 1972 when Wendy Fisher, a homemaker and dyslexia campaigner, and Kathleen Hickey, a special educational needs teacher, set up the first Dyslexia Institute.

Wendy Fisher had become involved in dyslexia advocacy due to her personal experiences as a parent. Her daughter, Sophy, struggled with reading and writing at school and was diagnosed with dyslexia. Dyslexia was poorly recognised within the British educational system at the time and support services were limited, prompting Fisher to look for effective ways to understand and help her daughter and others with dyslexia. In 1968 she founded the North Surrey Dyslexic Society in 1968, one of several parent-led pressure groups advocating for greater recognition and support.

The Society initially focussed on disseminating knowledge about dyslexia by organising public meetings through its journal, The Dyslexia Review. It also acted as a support network for parents seeking assessment and tuition for children.

In 1972, the closure of the Word Blind Centre for Dyslexic Children, which had been Britain’s first dedicated clinic for dyslexia, created a significant gap in specialist support and provision. In response, the North Surrey Dyslexic Society decided to extend its activities beyond campaigning into direct service provision by sponsoring a Surrey Dyslexia Institute. The Institute aimed to offer assessment services, specialist tuition, teacher training courses, advice for parents and teachers, and to conduct research and advocacy activities.

Wendy Fisher was appointed Executive Director and Kathleen Hickey became Director of Studies, developing “The Hickey Program”, a structured multisensory teaching method that focussed on ways in which teachers could teach children and adults with dyslexia. The programme formed the core of the Institute’s specialist teacher training and became widely used in the UK and internationally.

In January 1973 Fisher applied for the Dyslexia Institute to become a separate legal entity from the North Surrey Dyslexic Society.

In 1974 the Society became the Surrey Dyslexia Foundation Limited and further eleven centres opened across the country by 1981, each offering assessments, teacher training courses and specialist tuition for pupils with dyslexia. In 1982 ‘Surrey’ was dropped from the Foundation’s name to become the Dyslexia Foundation Limited.

On 20 June 1991 the Foundation’s name was changed to Dyslexia Institute Limited, aligning the legal title more closely with the name by which the charity was widely known.

In 1993, the Institute began to offer its own Postgraduate Diploma course validated by Kingston University, and subsequently York University and Middlesex University. This marked a significant step in the professionalisation of specialist dyslexia teaching, as it placed the Institute’s training within the framework of accredited higher education.

In Spring 1994 the Dyslexia Guild was established as the professional membership arm of the Institute, providing a network for specialist teachers, assessors and support staff. The Guild continues to promote research and provide resources, support and professional development today.

In July 2003, the Institute’s new Head Office at Park House, Egham, Surrey, was officially opened by the Countess of Wessex, its Patron. By this time, the Institute was delivering training nationally, running numerous assessment and tuition centres and engaging in outreach work with higher education institutions and employers to support adults with dyslexia.

In 2005, the Dyslexia Institute merged with the Hornsby International Dyslexia Centre to become a major provider of specialist dyslexia training. The Hornsby Centre had been set up in Wandsworth, London, in 1983 by Bevé Hornsby, a speech and language therapist, psychologist and educator who had previously worked at the Word Blind Centre. Hornsby was a prominent figure in the early development of dyslexia teaching in Britain and author of the Alpha to Omega programme, widely used by generations of teachers and dyslexia specialists.

Following the merger, the Institute rebranded as Dyslexia Action in March 2006. Under this name, it continued to provide assessment and tuition services, accredited training, publications and conferences, and to campaign for improved recognition and support for individuals with dyslexia and related specific learning difficulties.

In May 2014, Dyslexia Action's head office moved to Egham as part of organisational restructuring. In April 2017 the charity was placed into administration due to financial difficulties. Following negotiations, its training division, shop, and professional guild were acquired by Real Group Ltd and continued to operate, while assessment and tuition services were discontinued.

As of 2026, Dyslexia Action Training functions as a dedicated training provider, professional membership body and resource organisation, focusing on education and professional development.

Copyright in material created by Dyslexia Action has been transferred to Wellcome Collection: this material can be used under the conditions of a CC BY 4.0 licence. The copyright in all other material is held by a range of rights holders. You are free to use the material in any way that is permitted by copyright exceptions and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights holder.

This collection is currently uncatalogued and cannot be ordered online. Due to ongoing work to improve our collections management systems we are unable to facilitate access to uncatalogued material until 2027.