Each year, October is recognized worldwide as Dyslexia Awareness Month, a time to come together to raise awareness and share resources about dyslexia. Dyslexia is one of the most common specific learning disabilities, affecting up to 20% of the population, regardless of general intelligence or intellectual ability. Despite its prevalence, it is also one of the most misunderstood learning disabilities. In 2015, the United States Department of Education released a white paper to address the reluctance on part of schools and families to use the term: “State and local educational agencies are reluctant to reference or use dyslexia… in evaluations, eligibility determinations, or in developing the individualized education program (IEP) under the [Individuals with Disabilities Education Act]. The purpose of this letter is to clarify that there is nothing in the IDEA that would prohibit the use of the terms dyslexia…in evaluation, eligibility determinations, or IEP documents.” Despite this clarification, there is still much hesitancy to both diagnose and identify dyslexia in young students who are struggling to learn how to read. As Siegel and Mazabel wrote in 2014, “... the term ‘dyslexia’ is often viewed as if it were a four- letter word, not to be uttered in polite company” (p.187).
Universal Screening
The first step in identifying students who may be dyslexic is universal literacy screening with a valid and reliable screening tool and process aligned with guidance from Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. When screening, specifically for dyslexia, we are looking for indicators that a student may be struggling, such as difficulties with phonemic awareness, rapid naming, or automaticity in decoding. The tool we use in Pentucket, the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) 8th Edition, allows us to quickly screen for all of these markers at once. From here, we are able to identify which students need additional support both in and out of the classroom, either through the avenue of special education or in the form of reading intervention from a reading specialist or interventionist.
Identifying these students early is the key to closing these gaps for students. Unfortunately, dyslexia is often identified and named too late; typically not identified until a child is in second grade (or later) and has not learned to read as expected. Laura Coakley, Special Educator at Pentucket Regional Middle School, shares that “kids develop strategies and coping skills and can remain hidden for quite some time.” However, research tells us that early intervention is most effective when provided from Pre-K to Grade 1 prior to reading failure. Thus, screening and intervening is best done as soon as we know a student might be struggling, in order to support them and mitigate later struggles with learning to read.
For more on our universal screening process and its importance, see this blog post from last spring.
Instruction
Like other students learning to read, learners with dyslexia, or those at risk, need instruction that is designed to meet their needs as a reader. Ms. Coakley explains that instruction “needs to be systematic, multisensory, and explicit” and goes on to describe the various ways that she designs learning to meet the needs of her students with dyslexia in her middle school English/Language Arts classroom.
“Reading fluency is practiced through repeated readings of graded passages and teacher modeling of reading,” she says. “Writing is explicitly taught and practiced through scaffolds and explicit instruction in sentence writing, paragraph writing, summary writing, etc.” and explains the use of graphic organizers to aid with the writing process.
Ms. Coakley also highlights the importance of specialized reading instruction, such as Wilson Reading System or an Orton-Gillingham approach, to close decoding gaps and allow students to crack the code. Done in a very small group usually outside the classroom, both are systematic and integrated approaches to decoding, morphology and the study of word elements, encoding, high frequency word instruction, and oral reading fluency. Orton-Gillingham principles make all instruction direct, multisensory, and interactive.
While approaches like Wilson and Orton-Gillingham are among the most popular in schools for interventions, they are not always the “quick fix” parents and teachers might be looking for. For one, these programs are not quick. On average, students take 3 or more years to complete the Wilson Reading System. If they are not identified until after second grade, this means that they are spending the remainder of their elementary career in this reading intervention program. The reality is, 3+ years is often too slow to close gaps; we need to move students along much, much faster if we are hoping for reading proficiency.
There are other approaches that may be effective for students with dyslexia that may be just as effective, albeit less common (right now). One such approach is Evidence Based Literacy Instruction (EBLI), a Linguistics Phonics-based program and teaching methodology (Speech-to-Print), referred to as Structured Linguistic Literacy. EBLI was founded by Nora Chahbazi, and we were fortunate enough to have Nora herself out to Pentucket last fall to provide introductory PD to our special educators, reading specialists, and others from around Massachusetts. Many of our reading specialists are now going through the training and using the EBLI approach in literacy interventions. This approach is different because it is grounded in speech-first, leaving the rules, drills, and cognitive overload behind. EBLI instruction is purposeful, systematic, and fast-paced. On average, students receive 12-24 hours of intervention to see growth. We are excited to see what this approach does for students, especially those who have not been successful with Orton Gillingham or Wilson thus far. We are monitoring their progress closely and look forward to seeing their growth.
A Misunderstood Diagnosis
While it can be scary for parents, families, and even teachers to hear the term “dyslexia,” the scary part starts even earlier for some students. Susan Woodsom, a reading interventionist at Bagnall Elementary and parent of a dyslexic child, shares the social/emotional turmoil that students endure with dyslexia. Telling a story of her daughter breaking down in early elementary school, she notes that “the feeling of not being smart or the same as their friends really takes a toll on their behavior and self confidence.”
There are many misunderstandings around the disability that have led to a stigma and fear that are justified, although unnecessary. The reality is, with a proper diagnosis, we can intervene early and be able to meet the needs of the student before it becomes exceedingly difficult to do so. Ms. Ingalls, a special educator in the Language-Based classroom at Bagnall Elementary School, wishes that people knew that her students with dyslexia “are the hardest working students in school.” These students have to work incredibly hard to overcome challenges that are much easier for their peers. Ms. Coakley adds, “Dyslexics are SMART. Dyslexics CAN do things. They are very capABLE.”
Since Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released the Massachusetts Dyslexia Guidelines in 2021, the use of the term itself has become more commonplace, yet there is still much work to be done on addressing the stigmas associated with dyslexia. When we begin to break those barriers down, we can start to understand more about dyslexia and the struggles those learning to read with dyslexia face. Ms. Woodsom advocates for the importance of early screening and normalizing conversations around dyslexia. “Talk about it with your school, teachers and your family,” she says. “Help your school districts adopt a curriculum that is based in the science of reading that supports ALL students in their journey to read and write.” When we understand, we can better meet their needs. In other words, when we know better, we do better (thank you Maya Angelou).
Jen Hogan
K-6 Literacy Coach and Coordinator
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