As the first concrete action by the ABCD Institute, the Reference Centers Project aimed to produce, disseminate, and exchange knowledge about dyslexia in Brazil. To this end, it selected five centers (four linked to public universities) that offered diagnosis and care for persons with learning disabilities. In addition to developing a common multidisciplinary evaluation protocol and building bridges among these centers, the project provided financial incentive for the structuring of the services offered by the reference centers and for the development of research. Currently, iABCD includes on list the public a total of 12 centers (now called Centers of Excellence), located in the Southeast, Northeast and South of Brazil.
