Dyslexia Services

What is dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It 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 experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.
– Adopted by the International Dyslexia Association Board of Directors, Nov. 12, 2002

What difficulties associated with dyslexia might my child experience?

The primary difficulties encountered by a student identified as having dyslexia occur in the areas of phonemic awareness, decoding, reading fluency, and spelling. Secondary consequences of dyslexia may include difficulties in reading comprehension and/or written expression. These difficulties are unexpected for the student’s age, educational level, or cognitive abilities.

The following are the primary characteristics of dyslexia:

• Difficulty reading real words in isolation
• Difficulty decoding unfamiliar words
• Difficulty with oral reading (slow, inaccurate, or labored without prosody)
• Difficulty spelling

The reading/spelling characteristics are most often associated with the following:

• Segmenting, blending, and manipulating sounds in words (phonemic awareness)
• Learning names of letters and their associated sounds
• Holding information about sounds and words in memory (phonological memory)
• Rapidly recalling the names of familiar objects, colors, or letters of the alphabet (rapid naming)

Secondary consequences of dyslexia may include the following:

• Variable difficulty with aspects of reading comprehension
• Variable difficulty with aspects of written composition
• Limited vocabulary growth due to reduced reading experiences

What are common risk factors associated with dyslexia?

The following may be associated with dyslexia if they are unexpected for the individual’s age, educational level, or cognitive abilities.

Pre-school

• Delay in learning to talk
• Difficulty pronouncing words (i.e. “mawn lower” for “lawn mower”)
• Difficulty with rhyming tasks
• Poor auditory memory for chants and nursery rhymes
• Difficulty in adding new vocabulary words
• Trouble learning and naming letters and numbers, including remembering letters in his/her name

Kindergarten and First Grade

• Difficulty breaking words into smaller parts, syllables (i.e. “baseball” can be broken apart into “base” and “ball”
• Difficulty identifying and manipulating sounds in syllables (i.e. “cat” sounded out as /c/ /a/ /t)
• Difficulty remembering the names of letters and their sounds
• Difficulty decoding singe words
• Difficulty spelling words the way the sound (phonetically)

Second Grade and Third Grade

Many of the previously described behaviors remain problematic along with the following:

• Difficulty recognizing common sight words
• Difficulty decoding single words
• Difficulty remembering the correct sounds for letters and letter patterns in reading
• Difficulty decoding unfamiliar words in sentences using knowledge of phonics
• Difficulty reading fluently (i.e. slow, inaccurate, and/or without expression)
• Difficulty connecting speech sounds with appropriate letter or letter combinations
• Difficulty with written expression

Fourth Grade through Sixth Grade

Many of the previously described behaviors remain problematic along with the following:

• Difficulty reading aloud
• Avoidance of reading (i.e. particularly for pleasure)
• Difficulty reading fluently (i.e. reading is slow, inaccurate and/or without expression)
• Difficulty decoding unfamiliar words in sentences using knowledge of phonics
• Acquisition of less vocabulary due to reduced independent reading
• Use of less complicated words in writing that are easier to spell
• Reliance on listening rather than reading for comprehension

Middle School and High School

Many of the previously described behaviors remain problematic along with the following:

• Difficulty with the volume of reading and written work
• Frustration with the amount of time required and energy expended for reading
• Difficulty reading fluently (i.e. reading is slow, inaccurate and/or without expression)
• Difficulty decoding unfamiliar words in sentences using knowledge of phonics
• Difficulty with written assignments
• Tendency to avoid reading (particularly for pleasure)
• Difficulty learning a foreign language

The evaluation and identification process for dyslexia aligns with the process for determining a Specific Learning Disability (SLD) under the IDEA.

Students must be assessed for dyslexia and related disorders “at appropriate times” (TEC §38.003(a)). The appropriate time depends upon multiple factors including the student’s reading performance, reading difficulties, poor response to supplemental, scientifically based reading instruction, teacher input, and input from parents/guardians. 

Schools must recommend an evaluation if the student demonstrates the following:

• Poor performance in one or more areas of reading and spelling that is unexpected for the student’s age/grade
• Characteristics and risk factors of dyslexia as indicated in Chapter I: Definitions & Characteristics of Dyslexia (The Dyslexia Handbook, 2021 Update, pgs. 1-5).

Questions to Determine the Identification of Dyslexia

1. Does the data show the following characteristics of dyslexia?
   • Difficulty with accurate and/or fluent word reading
   • Poor spelling skills
   • Poor decoding skills
2. Do these difficulties (typically) result from a deficit in the phonological component of language?
3. Are these difficulties unexpected for the student’s age in comparison to the student’s other cognitive abilities and while appropriate classroom instruction was being provided?

A formal evaluation for dyslexia or related disorders includes both formal and informal data. All data will be used to determine whether the student demonstrates a pattern of evidence of dyslexia.  When a formal evaluation is recommended, the district will follow the evaluation process as outlined in the IDEA. 

Factors Considered When Determining the Need for Dyslexia Services

• The student has received conventional (appropriate) reading instruction;
• The student has experienced an unexpected lack of appropriate progress in the areas of reading and written spelling;
• The student exhibits characteristics associated with dyslexia (see the primary characteristics and review the student’s underlying cognitive processes associated with dyslexia as explained in (The Dyslexia Handbook, 2021 Update); AND
• The student’s lack of progress was not due to sociocultural factors such as language differences, irregular attendance, or lack of experiential background.

What do direct dyslexia services look like?

• The dyslexia program provides intensive intervention to students who exhibit characteristics of dyslexia, based upon district and state qualification criteria.
• Dyslexia services are provided at the elementary and secondary levels. Based on the student’s data and individualized needs, a student will receive specially designed instruction.

How is the discontinuation of dyslexia services determined?

The discontinuation of dyslexia services is determined by the ARD committee. The committee considers the following factors to determine when a child exits from direct, dyslexia intervention:

• Completion of dyslexia curriculum
• Student demonstrates proficiency on grade level material
• Meets standards on state assessments
• Recommendation by the ARD committee

Organizations/Resources

• Audiobooks and Technology
• Neuhaus Education Center
• Rawson Saunders School
• Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity
• Dyslexia Statewide
• Reading Rockets: Launching Young Readers
• LD Online
• Understood for Learning and Attention Issues
• Learning Ally
• Bookshare
• Texas Talking Books

Associations

• International Dyslexia Association
• Austin Area Branch of the International Dyslexia Association
• National Center for Learning Disabilities

Summer Reading Suggestions

As a parent, you play a critical role in your child’s education during the summer– especially if your child has dyslexia. Without your help, kids are more likely to forget what they learned last year. A recent study estimates that summer loss for all students equals about a month of academic learning. You can help them remember what they learned in school, bring out their natural love of learning, and encourage them to read for pleasure.

Here are some summer strategies to help your child with dyslexia remember what they learned in school and see that reading can be useful and enjoyable:

• Give them material that motivates them to read, even though they might find it hard to do. Try comic books, directions for interesting projects, and mystery stories. Have them read information on possible activities as you plan your summer vacation. Let them decide what they want to read.
• Support them as they read. Read their book aloud to them, help them decode, and make it easy for them to get the meaning. Show them that reading is a way to find out what they need to know, or even to entertain themselves.
• Give them easy reading. Summer is supposed to be relaxed. Let them succeed and get absorbed in the book.
• When you read with them, make it your goal to enjoy the book together. You don’t have to make them read perfectly! Avoid too much correction. In school next year, the teacher will help them improve their skills.
• Let younger children “pretend” to read. Read the story aloud together. Let them follow your voice. Have them look at the words as you point to them, even if they aren’t actually reading. When they say the wrong word, say the word correctly and cheerfully while pointing to the word.
• Read aloud to them as you do daily chores, sightsee, or sit on the beach. Read an instruction manual with them as you try to fix something. While visiting a museum, read the interpretive materials. If you see the slightest sign they want to read aloud to you, let them!
• Model and teach persistence. When you are working on something that is hard, model the discipline and patience that you want them to show while learning to read. Teach them explicitly the value of working hard to do something challenging. Tell them inspirational stories about famous people — or members of your own family — who have overcome obstacles.
• Accommodate their dyslexia. For example, if they have to read aloud in public, have them memorize their passage ahead of time. Ask the teacher or camp counselor to request volunteers to read rather than pass the book from one person to another. If you give them a recipe for cooking (or any project involving written directions), be sure that it is at their reading level and that the print is large enough for them.
• Use technology. If you have a computer, equip it with software that reads aloud. See Reading Software; Finding the Right Program. Let them load books into their electronic devices and listen to them at the same time as they read the printed book in their hands. Take a look at On the Go: What Consumer Devices Can do For You.
• Use audio books.
• Be a model of reading. Bring books to the beach and read them. If you are traveling, find a book for the whole family to read and discuss. If you are dyslexic, “read” your taped books on vacation, letting your child see you or give them their own tapes. Show and tell them how you overcome your own difficulties.
• Have reading matter conveniently available. You might carry small children’s books and magazines with you and have them ready when you must wait in line for those crowded amusement park rides and popular sightseeing destinations.

The summer months are important to your child’s academic development in two ways. First, they need to be reminded of what they learned during the school year so that they remember it when they return in the fall. Second, and perhaps more important, children with dyslexia can discover the joys of reading and other academic skills in the relaxed summer season. If nobody tells them they have to read to get good grades, they might just pick up a book and enjoy it.
– These tips were written for LD OnLine by Dale S. Brown, Senior Manager.