The Academic Language Therapy (ALT) program is an intensive training program for individuals seeking to learn the most effective, research-based strategies of remediation in reading and written language skills. ALT provides a two-year, in-depth training for teachers and therapists working with individuals with literacy challenges, with a focus on dyslexia and related disorders. 

 

ALT is accredited by the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council (IMSLEC) and the International Dyslexia Association (IDA).  Individuals completing coursework and sufficient teaching hours and observations may be approved to register and sit for the Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA) Competency exam. Upon completion of classroom instruction, demonstration lessons supervised clinical experience, and successful completion of the Competency exam, an individual may earn professional membership status as a Certified Academic Language Practitioner (CALP) or, after sufficient clinical teaching hours, a Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT).​​​

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Coursework includes instruction in Take Flight: A Comprehensive Intervention for Students with Dyslexia, an Orton-Gillingham research-based and validated curriculum from the Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children.  With a READ Act-approved curriculum, trainees will gain an understanding in:

• Structures of written English based upon the science of literacy and linguistics

• Instructional strategies and methods (simultaneous, multisensory, systematic, cumulative, direct instruction, diagnostic teaching, synthetic, and analytic instruction)

• Progress monitoring for accuracy and fluency

• Dyslexia, related written-language disorders, and identification of specific learning differences

• Graduate credit is available for coursework in all locations

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​ALT Enrollment Requirements

A bachelor’s degree, letter of intent, two letters of recommendation, and attendance at an informational session are required to enroll.

 

Students who successfully complete the two-year program will be eligible to earn credentials as a Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT) as well as a CDE Reading Specialist Endorsement (licensed Colorado teachers only). For those interested in earning a master’s degree along with certification, the program, with the addition of two research classes, leads to a Master of Arts in Teaching – Dyslexia Specialist. This is a unique opportunity to earn a master’s degree while becoming a CALT!

ALT Informational Sessions
Before enrolling, all interested teachers must attend an informational session. The session will detail the Academic Language Therapy program’s curriculum and course requirements as well as national certification eligibility from ALTA once the course is completed.

 

View an Info Session Here!  

 

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