Helping Students Tackle Dyslexia

Dyslexia affects every instructional task a student will face in school. We are a language-based society with deeply rooted traditions that rely on reading and writing. One in five students has a language-based learning disability, the most common of those being dyslexia. Fortunately, there is a window of opportunity to tackle and remedy dyslexia at an early age.

Although we have a greater understanding of dyslexia today than we did a decade ago, much of this understanding hasn’t been available to the families who enter the public-school system. Helping parents and students feel comfortable having conversations regarding reading challenges is a big part of improving the outcomes for students with dyslexia. But, before there’s an opportunity for remediation, a student needs access to early screening and, when appropriate, a diagnosis of dyslexia.

1. Training and support for teachers

Having on-site personnel who have been trained in a dyslexia-specific reading remediation methodology is imperative to diagnosing students at a young age. Books like Essentials of Assessing, Preventing, and Overcoming Reading Difficulties, by David Kilpatrick, can help educators and parents better understand the disorder. Kilpatrick dives into the causes of reading difficulties, making it easier to assess why a child may be struggling.

2. Universal screeners

When there isn’t a cohesive understanding of dyslexia in students, they could have any number of experiences in the school system. A clear step to improving a student with dyslexia’s education experience would be to have universal screeners available, and have teachers and administrators trained on how to use them.

3. Technology tools

Technology that supports students with dyslexia has come a long way in the last five to 10 years. Classrooms can use tools like audiobooks as an alternative to textbooks, along with additional features like SmartPens, which allow students to record class lectures and transcribe notes to revisit later.  Technology can provide students with dyslexia a stepping stone to encourage them to fully engage in the classroom.

4. Three essential supports for students

In Kilpatrick’s book, he cites three elements that existed in reading intervention programs that had the best results in early diagnosis of dyslexia:

1. They aggressively addressed and corrected the students’ phonological awareness difficulties and taught phonological awareness to the advanced level.
2. They provided phonic decoding instruction and/or reinforcement.
3. They provided students with ample opportunities to apply these developing skills to reading connected text.

Everyone can find a way to be involved in recognizing and supporting students with dyslexia, from educators to schools to administrators to legislators.

Excerpted from “Helping students tackle dyslexia” by Donell Pons, a reading and dyslexia specialist in Salt Lake City, Utah. Read the full article in SmartBrief.

Source: Smartbrief | Helping Students Tackle Dyslexia, http://www.smartbrief.com/original/2018/07/helping-students-tackle-dyslexia | © 2018 SmartBrief

To schedule an evaluation or to get advice about your child’s challenges, call or email a CHC Care Coordinator at 650.688.3625 or careteam@stage.chconline.org