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dyslexia

What Is
DYSLEXIA?

Dyslexia is a general term that involves difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters, and other symbols.

It does NOT affect general intelligence. 

how many people have dyslexia?

In many ways, having dyslexia is pretty normal. 

20% of people have dyslexia.

In a school with 5 classes in each grade, that’s 1 whole class of kids per grade level who have dyslexia!

Having dyslexia is even more common than being left-handed!

1 in 5 people have dyslexia

when to identify dyslexia

Dyslexia can be identified at any time. First Grade is an ideal year to identify dylsexia. First Grade is ideal because then those students will be provided tools early in their academic career. Early intervention is very powerful in helping students with dyslexia. 

how to identify dyslexia

Signs of dyslexia include: more slowly progressing in learning to read, difficulty learning letter sounds & names, difficulty implementing letter sounds while reading, difficulty implementing letter combinations when reading, loosing track of what’s being read while reading, getting tired of reading easily, having higher than average math abilities and lower than average reading abilities, still reversing letters like b & d in 2nd grade – prior to 2nd grade it is still very common.

While these are common signs of dyslexia, reading is a developmental skill. It’s similar to learning to walk – it happens at everyone’s own pace. Formal testing can identify if the cause is truly dyslexia or not. Formal testing can be done privately or through most schools. 

Formal testing through schools can have a long wait time due to processing. If you think your child may have dyslexia, you can speed up the processing by requesting testing be done. Parent requests typically speed the process up by about 6 weeks. Otherwise, you have to wait for the teacher to progress monitor for 6 weeks after initial concerns are seen and then bring up the option of testing to you. 

why identify dyslexia

Knowing the "why" behind reading struggles and fully understanding what it means to be dyslexic can improve how a child views themself. Prior to identifying the cause, many struggling readers have a negative self-perception, thinking they are not smart. When they understand it has nothing to do with how smart they are & that every one has something to work on, their perception changes.

 

Sometimes, parents do not want to test their struggling reader for dyslexia because they are concerned about what a possible diagnosis might mean in terms of how their child views themself & how others will view their child. 

This concern often comes from misunderstandings about what dyslexia is. Truly understanding what dyslexia is helps address this concern.

Just like anything that deals with your body, it’s good to know what is going on. Here are some benefits of identifying dyslexia:

– children understand why reading seems to be challenging for them. This can boost their self-perception because it gives them a frame of reference and understanding. 

While it is best practice to directly teach all children how language works, by identifying dyslexia, it ensures that those children are given this instruction & given the tools that can help them be successful in school.

For example, those with dyslexia often read more slowly. By formally identifying dyslexia, schools are legally required to provide dyslexic students with accommodations such as more time on tests.

what is it like to have dyslexia?

While dyslexia looks different depending on the individual and does not always mean letters are jumping around on the page rapidly. However, this simulation can help people without dyslexia experience what it can be like. We suggest timing yourself reading the passage with the simulation on. Then, time yourself reading the passage with the simulation off. This can help people who do not have dyslexia understand why accommodations such as extended time to take tests and other tools can be helpful. 

how to help a child understand what it means to have dyslexia

scientifically helping a child understand dyslexia
Our brains are divided into 2 parts: left and right brain. The left side of our brain likes facts and likes doing things how it's been told. The right side of our brain is the creative side. It allows us do things like have emotions, read shapes, and imagine/be creative. We all use both sides of our brain to help us do things.
Everyone either uses a little more of the right side or the left side of their brain. Some people have brains that like to use more of the right, creative side. Some people have brains that like to use more of the left, fact-based side. It's just like how everyone either is left-handed or right-handed.
People who have dyslexia mean that their brain uses more of the right side. Their brain LOVES to imagine and be creative, which is super special. This may be why sometimes people who have dyslexia see letters bouncing around on the pages - their brain is imagining all of the possibilities.
People with dyslexia & big imaginations use tools to help their brain sort and organize information on a page. These tools help them narrow down all the possibilities of what letters the author could have written on the page to determine what exactly the letters are. This is similar to how people whose brains have trouble seeing use tools like glasses or do eye exercises to help see better.
Because people with dyslexia work hard to help their brain sort and organize letters, they are mentally super strong and have something called mental stamina. It's like how if you can lift heavy things, your body has a lot of physical strength. Because people with dyslexia have such strong brains, they tend to be very successful when they are adults. Have you heard of Ben Franklin, Albert Einstein, Mozart? They are just some of the many successful people who have the special gift of having dyslexia.

14 ways to help children with dyslexia

help kids with dyslexia by normalizing strengths & weaknesses, utilize & normalize audio books, work with your child's teacher, teach them how to help themselves

– Normalize that everyone has things they struggle with and work to improve on. Share your own difficulties. Keep in mind that when something is hard, typically people just don’t want to do it. Pressure from home & school gives struggling readers anxiety.  Sharing your struggles helps take the pressure off and makes their struggle less lonely.

– Using bookmarks to track while reading. Also, using a bookmark to cover up all the letters in a word except for the letter you are trying to sound out helps the brain sort & organize what it is reading. 

– For Orton-Gillingham based phonics instruction, PRIDE and Take Flight are 2 programs. 

– At home practice with words: rhyming games, ISpy a certain letter games, etc. 

6 ways to help a child with dyslexia

– Celebrate every success with a “good job” or high five. Every one: reading a single word correctly, increasing a reading level, knowing sounds that letter combinations make, when they self-correct an error. Praise when reading should be given constantly. 

– ideas for goals: learning lowercase letter sounds; lowercase letter names; capital letter sounds; capital letter names; what the vowels are; sounds that the letter combinations make; being able to read for 5 minutes uninterrupted, 10 minutes, 15 minutes, 20 minutes; their first chapter book; moving up levels in their leveled books. Track their growth until goal is reached. This allows them to see that they’re capable of reaching a goal & that they can be successful. 

normalizing dyslexia

Sometimes, kids can get frustrated by the fact that they struggle with reading. Normalizing the concept that everyone has something they have to work on really helps with this.

We have to teach our brains how to do all sorts of different things. One thing we all have to teach our brain is how to sort and organize the world around us. For example, a pile of papers, school supplies, clothes in closets, & even letters on a piece of paper.
To help our brain learn sort and organize letters on a page, we can give it tools. Some tools are bookmarks, learning all the letter combinations, and giving our brain a lot of chances to practice.
Some people's brains understand sorting and organizing pretty easily. For other people, it can be more challenging. Everyone’s brain is different and has different skills. No one’s brain does everything easily. Everyone has something they have to work hard to teach their brain to do.
Your brain may have to work hard to learn how to organize letters on a page, that’s okay. There’s other things it’s really good at like understanding ______, which a lot of people’s brains have trouble understanding.
Parents: Show your child that you still work at some things that are hard for you, too. This will help a struggling reader see that everyone has different strengths and weaknesses. It will help them see that the moral of the story is that everyone should try things that they're not good at.

additional facts about people with dyslexia

Often develop an extraordinarily strong work ethic & ability to persevere which takes them far in life. Since reading is a challenge and takes a lot of energy & effort, people with dyslexia approach many things in life with that same amount of effort & energy - which allows them to go further than many of their peers. This can be seen by the fact that some of the most recognizable names are people who have dyslexia. Ex: Albert Einstein, Alexander Graham Bell, Mozart, John Lennon, Magic Johnson, Cher, Anderson Cooper, etc.
May process language more slowly due to the time and effort it takes to read/write.

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