Sonya Yates is the Associate Policy Director for Literacy for ExcelinEd.
“With dyslexia, we don’t have a knowledge gap; we have an action gap.” – Dr. Sally Shaywitz
It’s 2023—do we really need a national movement to #SayDyslexia? If you ask these moms from Alabama, you will hear an emphatic, “YES.”
They make a great point, yet saying “dyslexia” is not enough. Educators need practical tools to address the needs of students with dyslexia. And states need strong dyslexia policies to ensure teachers are trained to recognize risk factors for dyslexia, students are screened for the characteristics of dyslexia and dyslexia-specific interventions are provided to those who need them.
The #SayDyslexia movement began in 2015, soon after the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education & Rehabilitative Services issued guidance on including the word “dyslexia” in Individualized Education Plans. Parents, who had long been denied having their child identified as dyslexic, took up the battle cry for better ways to meet the needs of these unique learners.
The International Dyslexia Association’s definition of dyslexia is recognized in 37 states and provides a common language for reference:
“Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. Dyslexia is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.”
While some students learn the alphabetic code easily and may learn to read effortlessly, others need explicit, direct, structured, systematic and cumulative instruction. For these students to become skilled readers, basic instruction must be reinforced using decodable text while practicing previously taught letter-sound relationships.
Even though dyslexia is identifiable in children as early as age 5, it is not always apparent which students will struggle learning to read until they fall behind. Screening all students for dyslexia in kindergarten through grade two allows educators to identify and intervene early, instead of waiting for their students to fail.
We now know that dyslexia impacts up to one in five students. It crosses socioeconomic lines and does not discriminate based on zip code, ethnicity or ability level. It exists on a continuum from mild to severe, and it typically manifests as slow, inaccurate reading along with poor spelling and poor writing.
Although dyslexia is a lifelong challenge, it can be ameliorated with specific strategies. Screening children for the characteristics of dyslexia allows educators to identify and address skill deficits early, lessening the negative impacts on learning and academic progress.
To support all students in becoming strong readers, some states have implemented comprehensive early literacy policies that include screening for the characteristics of dyslexia, dyslexia-specific interventions and professional learning for teachers. These policies help educators better meet the needs of all struggling readers, including those with dyslexia.
To ensure every child has the best opportunity to learn to read, states can consider requiring schools to screen all students for the characteristics of dyslexia. This can ensure every child has the critical prerequisite skills that are a precursor to becoming a successful reader. You can read more about these skills in ExcelinEd’s new Dyslexia Policy Brief and Dyslexia Model Policy.
Our understanding of dyslexia has expanded considerably in the past several decades. It’s time we took the advice of Maya Angelou, “Do the best you can until you know better. Then when you know better, do better.”
