About Us
Decoding Dyslexia North Carolina is a non-profit 501 (c)(3), grassroots movement driven by North Carolina families, educators and professionals concerned with the limited access to educational interventions for dyslexia within our public schools. We aim to raise dyslexia awareness, empower families to support their children, and inform policymakers on best practices to identify, remediate and support students with dyslexia in North Carolina public schools.
We are advocating for the state of North Carolina to implement:
A universal definition and understanding of “dyslexia” in the state education code
[This milestone was achieved via House Bill 149 passed in 2017]Mandatory teacher training on dyslexia, its warning signs and appropriate intervention strategies
Mandatory early screening tests for dyslexia
Mandatory dyslexia remediation programs, which can be accessed by both general and special education populations
Access to appropriate “assistive technologies” in the public school setting for students with dyslexia
Disclaimer: We are a non-profit that is 100% volunteer and grassroots. We are not a professional business. Anything you see on the Decoding Dyslexia North Carolina website should not take the place of professional, individual advice, which we recommend you seek to answer your specific questions. Nothing contained on this website is intended to provide medical, legal or other professional advice. We are simply families and educators who care about spreading dyslexia awareness.
Decoding Dyslexia is a network of parent-led grassroots movements across the country concerned with the limited access to educational interventions for dyslexia within the public education system. Decoding Dyslexia aims to raise dyslexia awareness, empower families to support their children, and inform policy-makers on best practices to identify, remediate, and support students with dyslexia.
In 2019, Decoding Dyslexia North Carolina became a 501 (c) (3) nonprofit organization. The corporation’s primary purpose is to improve the educational experiences for students with dyslexia through increased awareness, community empowerment, and direct support and instruction.
Click to Learn More About Each Board Member!
Kelley Dunn
Anupma Sethi
Stacie Healy
Noelle Sproul
Amanda Saxman
Decoding Dyslexia NC History
Decoding Dyslexia North Carolina (DDNC) was founded in 2013 by Penny and Neil Auchmuty.
In the summer of 2015, a group of new leaders joined the organization – Jessica Flegel, Linda William, Lisa Eakins and Christie Eakins. In 2016, Jessica Flegel stepped down, and Jennifer McBee and Donna Gargett joined the group’s leadership team.
Through the years, parent advocates Megan Mehta, Kristy Privette, and Jeanette Meachem have stepped up to help with events, increase awareness, and provide parents who have contacted DDNC with suggestions and solutions.
In the summer of 2019, leaders of Decoding Dyslexia North Carolina decided the organization should become a nonprofit. This decision was made to provide a more formal structure for the organization and to lend strength and longevity to its mission.
Decoding Dyslexia became a nonprofit in the spring of 2020. Christie Eakins and Linda William continued their leadership with the organization and recruited eight new individuals to form the new nonprofit organization’s first board.
Since becoming a nonprofit, Decoding Dyslexia North Carolina has continued to evolve, with changes in board leadership reflecting the organization’s ongoing growth and mission. Current board members are listed on the Board Members page.
National Movement
The Decoding Dyslexia movement began in 2011 when twelve New Jersey parents took the same train ride home from a learning disabilities luncheon in New York City and discovered they all had the same story of struggles to get services for their children in the public school system. They formed a grassroots movement called Decoding Dyslexia New Jersey and the mission was to raise dyslexia awareness in their state, to provide resources to families, and to implement policy change. The had success and created a guide for other states to form their own chapter.
There is no National Decoding Dyslexia. Each chapter is run as an independent organization so contact your state chapter for more information about what they are doing and how they are structured. Find a link to each of the chapters at the Decoding Dyslexia national web site.