TN Dyslexia Alliance

Dyslexia Therapy - Assessment - Advocacy - Training

Tennessee Dyslexia Alliance partners with schools, educators, & families to improve literacy outcomes through dyslexia-specific instruction.

Founded in 2023 to serve an overwhelming need for dyslexia awareness and dyslexia resources around middle TN. Tennessee Dyslexia Alliance provides dyslexia services from a licensed and certified dyslexia therapist with over 19 years of experience.

Services include:

comprehensive dyslexia assessment
dyslexia therapy
dyslexia advocacy support
professional learning for educators

Niki Sidler Richardson, M.Ed, LDT, CALT-QI

founder & owner

A confident woman with blonde hair and red lipstick smiling at the camera, wearing a white blazer and black top, in an indoor setting with framed certificates on the wall behind her.

Tennessee Dyslexia Alliance Mission:

At Tennessee Dyslexia Alliance, our mission is to equip students, families, and educators with evidence-based dyslexia intervention, advocacy support, and structured literacy training that changes outcomes for struggling readers. Through high-quality therapy, professional learning, and collaboration, we strive to build confident readers and informed educational communities. We are dedicated to preparing diagnostically thoughtful, linguistically informed Certified Academic Language Therapists who serve students with expertise, compassion, and excellence.

We envision a future where all students with dyslexia receive effective instruction, early support, and access to skilled practitioners who understand the language foundations of literacy and the power of informed advocacy.

Certifications:

K-8 Elementary Education
PreK-12 Reading Specialist
K-12 Special Education
Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT)
Licensed Dyslexia Therapist
Qualified Instructor of Academic Language Therapists

Dyslexia is…

a specific learning disability characterized by difficulties in word reading and/or spelling that involve accuracy, speed, or both and vary depending on the orthography. These difficulties occur along a continuum of severity and persist even with instruction that is effective for the individual’s peers. The causes of dyslexia are complex and involve combinations of genetic, neurobiological, and environmental influences that interact throughout development. Underlying difficulties with phonological and morphological processing are common but not universal, and early oral language weaknesses often foreshadow literacy challenges. Secondary consequences include reading comprehension problems and reduced reading and writing experience that can impede growth in language, knowledge, written expression, and overall academic achievement. Psychological well-being and employment opportunities also may be affected. Although identification and targeted instruction are important at any age, language and literacy support before and during the early years of education is particularly effective.

-International Dyslexia Association, 2025