Founded MLTI in 1987 and helped establish what is now the Southwest branch of the International Dyslexia Association. Author of the Sounds In Syllables curriculum and founder of the APS Language Clinic, which provided specialized dyslexia therapy services to students across the district for more than two decades. Widely recognized for her pioneering contributions to the field of dyslexia and recipient of SWIDA’s first Lifetime Achievement Award.
Expanded MLTI’s professional reach while maintaining its emphasis on high-quality dyslexia therapy preparation, mentorship, and professional leadership. Served extensively within SWIDA and contributed nationally through service on the Academic Language Therapy Association Board of Directors. Recipient of the IMSLEC Etoile DuBard Award of Excellence, one of the field’s highest honors for contributions to multisensory structured language education.
Continues MLTI’s tradition of dyslexia leadership through professional preparation, statewide literacy collaboration, and organizational leadership. Founding president of ALTA New Mexico, recipient of IMSLEC’s Innovator Award for excellence in dyslexia therapy, and contributor to collaborative literacy efforts including Linking Arms in partnership with SWIDA, ALTA New Mexico, and The Reading League.
Over nearly four decades, MLTI-trained professionals have contributed to schools, private practices, literacy initiatives, and collaborative educational efforts across New Mexico and beyond. The impact of the institute extends not only through its leadership, but through the growing community of dyslexia specialists, reading interventionists, therapists, and educators carrying this work into classrooms, schools, and communities.
MLTI’s training is made possible by a dedicated team of instructors and clinical supervisors who bring deep expertise and experience to the training, practicum, and mentorship of developing practitioners.
Our Instructors & Clinical Supervisors
The Multisensory Language Training Institute (MLTI-NM) was founded in 1987 as the first dyslexia therapy training Institute of its kind in New Mexico and has been preparing dyslexia specialists across the state for nearly 4 decades. That history continues today through a nationally recognized training pathway with deep roots in the New Mexico dyslexia and literacy community.
The Multisensory Language Training Institute of New Mexico (MLTI-NM) was founded in 1987 by Sandra Dillon, a pioneer in dyslexia therapy and professional training in New Mexico. Sandra also helped establish what is now the Southwest Branch to the International Dyslexia Association (SWIDA), authored the Sound In Syllables curriculum, and founded the APS language clinic, which provided specialized dyslexia therapy services to students across the district for more than two decades. Her contributions to the field have been recognized in New Mexico and nationally including as the recipient of SWIDA’s first Lifetime Achievement Award and IMSLEC’s Etoile DuBard Award of Excellence.
Erin Brown currently directs the Multisensory Language Training Institute of New Mexico (MLTI-NM), continuing its long-standing work in dyslexia therapy training and professional preparation. She is the founding president of the Academic Language Therapy Association-New Mexico Chapter (ALTA-NM), a recipient of IMSLEC’s Innovator Award for Excellence in dyslexia therapy and co-founder of Bridge Literacy, a specialist-led Structured Literacy Summer Intensive for students. Her work also includes statewide collaboration and leadership in New Mexico’s dyslexia and literacy communities.
MLTI-NM is accredited by the International Multisensory Language Education Council (IMSLEC) and recognized as an International Dyslexia Association (IDA)– approved independent training program. Its leadership is also actively involved with the Southwest Branch of the International Dyslexia Association (SWIDA), the Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA), and ALTA New Mexico. MLTI collaborates with schools, literacy organizations, and community partners across New Mexico to support dyslexia education, professional learning, and access to high-quality literacy intervention training.
