October is DYSLEXIA AWARENESS MONTH! Dyslexia is a Constellation Diagnosis..and that makes a DIFFERENCE!

WHERE ARE YOUR CHILD(REN)/YOU IN TERMS OF LANGUAGE AND LITERACY DEVELOPMENT RIGHT NOW? 

Many parents whose child(ren) experience difficulty learning to ‘crack the code’ of the English language for reading and/or spelling may begin to think a problem exists. These parents might wonder if there is something they can do to ease their child(ren)’s path to literacy. These parents may even recognize some of the same characteristics in their children’s literacy development they themselves experienced long ago—and for some, this can be particularly disturbing. Do you think you/your child(ren) might have dyslexia? If so, how can you get help?

A truly overwhelming amount of information is literally at your fingertips if you ‘google’ ‘dyslexia’ (Yes, ‘google’ is a verb according to Merriam-Webster!). Some of the information you will find is worthwhile, while other information is controversial or even untrue. You will find checklists of “characteristics” to watch for at different age groups. So, I’m not going to regurgitate these lists, but here is where you can find some well thought out characteristics of dyslexia for different age groups. You can also access social media where you can literally ‘post’ and ‘chat’ with others to your heart’s content. Be mindful and look for vetted resources in that regard. You know your child best, and if you feel a problem may be in your midst, you may just be correct. Trust your instincts. 

Know that reading researchers from many fields continue to learn more about the complex task of learning to read and write. The research continually evolves. Human brains come into the world ‘hard wired’ or ‘programmed’ to develop oral language, but not so for reading and writing. New secondary networks involving the hearing, seeing, language, and speech production areas in the brain need to be formed in order to create a ‘reading brain’. The very same secondary networks are formed whether a person has dyslexia or not, but require instruction and practice.

IF YOU HAVE YOUNG CHILDREN PAY ATTENTION, BUT DO NOT STRESS…

Your child’s pediatrician should help you to watch for language (and motor) developmental milestones along the way including: cooing, babbling, and first words, phrases, intelligibility (easy for you and others to understand your child’s  oral language). You can find a list of developmental milestones here. 

Watch for your young babies looking right at your mouths and faces as they attempt to figure out the world. Watch for your young child(ren) to understand language. For instance, can they follow simple directions?  Watch for your child(ren) to recognize logos (such as ‘McDonald’s’ or a ‘stop sign’) or even their own names. This is all important since dyslexia is a language based learning issue.

Early screeners are available and continue to be under  development at the Gaab Lab over at Harvard University. The Early Bird Screener is now available to be used to determine if a pre-reading child is ‘at risk’ of having dyslexia. At this stage of the game, high quality code-based (phonological awareness/phonics) instruction is recommended whether or not a child is deemed ‘at risk’—this type of instruction benefits all children.

HOW A READING BRAIN IS BUILT

You may have heard the terms phonological awareness (hearing area of the brain) and orthographic awareness (visual area of the brain). 

Let me explain:

• Phonological Awareness – this piece of language and pre-reading development actually begins before a baby is born; unborn babies can hear language! As babies turn to toddlers and then to preschoolers, many naturally develop the ability to hear/distinguish the individual words in sentences, the individual syllables in words, and the individual sounds in words. Some, if not most children, require explicit (direct)  instruction to learn and enhance these skills. Pretty much then and only then can children learn the sound (ear) to symbol (eye) associations needed to learn in order to learn to read and spell. 

• Orthographic Awareness – this piece of reading development absolutely requires explicit instruction since it involves the ability to visually recognize and remember printed words or parts of words. It also includes the ability to recognize letter sequences and patterns including prefixes, suffixes, and roots. As part of this process, having children write is vital to the process of learning to read and produce written language.

• Although not as directly correlated with learning to read, a student’s Rapid Automatic Naming (RAN) ability may come into play. This is a person’s ability to rapidly name a series of non-linguistic (colors, objects) and/or linguistic (letters, numbers) symbols as quickly as possible. Lower RAN typically results in slower letter and word recognition, as well as an overall slower reading rate (fluency). You may have heard the word ‘fluency’, which is defined as reading with accuracy at an appropriate rate inclusive of appropriate prosody (tone/cadence) and expression.

Those individuals who have dyslexia typically experience difficulties in phonological awareness, and/or orthographic awareness. Sometimes they have difficulty with (RAN), but…although individuals with dyslexia share common characteristics, individuals are typically not identical.

UNDERSTANDING A DYSLEXIA DIAGNOSIS..IT IS A CONSTELLATION DIAGNOSIS

• Letter recognition, Knowledge and Application of Sound/Symbol Associations 
• Word recognition (phonetically regular, irregular, pseudo or nonsense words)
• Oral Reading Fluency (accuracy, rate)
• Listening/Reading Comprehension at the word, sentence, paragraph levels
• Spelling and Written Language at the word, sentence, paragraph levels
• Expressive/Receptive Vocabulary
• Phonological Awareness
• Orthographic Awareness
• Rapid Automatic Naming
• Fine/Gross Motor Skills (especially pencil grip, child’s ease of writing)
• Family History – dyslexia is familial in nature
• Social-Emotional Health inclusive of Attention or other issues
• Past School History (previous test data, anecdotal reports, work samples, previous interventions and responses to intervention, speech/language therapy, etc.)

Have a look at The International Dyslexia Association’s Dyslexia Assessment Fact Sheet for more information. A skilled clinician has the ability to:

• interpret test scores 
• analyze errors 
• note possible learning issues via direct observation of and interaction with the child 
• utilize the information gathered to synthesize the information gathered in order to determine if the child meets the constellation criteria resulting in a diagnosis of dyslexia. 

One thing to bear to mind is that dyslexia is NOT due to letter/number reversals, letters moving on a page of text, or a discrepancy (or difference) between a student’s intelligence and his/her achievement. In addition, many students who have dyslexia end up with reduced reading experiences due to their struggles. This may result in them falling farther behind their peers in terms of vocabulary development, the accrual of background information, and oftentimes reading comprehension. Likely the pandemic did its best to make this situation worse for many students.

That said, not only is dyslexia a constellation of characteristics, but can also occur on a continuum from mild..to moderate..to severe.  

Most, but not all, students with dyslexia have difficulty with the phonological components of language. Some students have difficulty with the orthographical components of language. And some students have difficulty with RAN (and weaker Working Memory–holding information in one’s head for a limited time). If a student is able to decode and comprehend well, but has difficulty with the written components of language, that student may have mild dyslexia that is more orthographic in nature. If a student has both phonological and orthographic issues, it may be indicative of moderate to severe dyslexia depending on the age of presentation, background, interventions, etc. Lower RAN scores may further compound the severity of dyslexia. It is important to note that students with dyslexia may have other overlapping conditions including, but not limited to, ADD and ASD, as well as perhaps qualify as gifted. Sally Shaywitz’s famous quote, “dyslexia is an island in a sea of strengths” comes to mind. 

S., whose writing sample appears at the top of this post, presented with severe dyslexia early in the primary grades. I am happy to report that she is a college graduate who is gainfully employed and is, as she stated, “a normal kid like you.” I love how she says, “it is not ‘kuntagise’ (contagious–LOL)…and she is right! S. wrote this fairly early on her literacy journey.

IF YOU HAVE AN OLDER CHILD..ACT SOONER RATHER THAN LATER

Most families state finding out the causes of their child’s learning difficulties provides relief for them, as well as for their child. It’s as if a dark cloud has been lifted with the provision of a path forward. Families are grateful to get the needed help in terms of specific interventions with likely success and attain access to skilled professionals accustomed to working with students with dyslexia.  

Why act sooner? Who here doesn’t want relief sooner? And more importantly, it allows your child to get to work immediately so that he/she doesn’t fall further behind. Time is our most precious resource; there is no time to waste.

WHY GET A DIAGNOSIS?

Several reasons:

• The student can begin immediately to work on needed skills with evidence based interventions with the appropriate level of intensivity (number of lessons/week; number of minutes/lesson) ASAP. In my experience, students need a minimum of 50-60 minute lessons a minimum of twice weekly. Many students with dyslexia receive such services during the school day. It is important for parents (and teachers) to realize their children (and students) who have dyslexia need more practice than non-dyslexic children (students)…therefore, more instructional time is warranted for these evidence based interventions ‘to work’. Be mindful that a ‘quick fix’ typically does not exist and ask what you can do as a parent to help your child. After all, you are part of ‘the team’.

• The student will likely be eligible for accommodations in the classroom under a 504 Plan with the child, parents, school personnel, and sometimes an outside clinician working as a team even if the student does not qualify for special education services..

• The student will have a ‘paper trail’ which follows them throughout his/her education so that any accommodations requested in the future have a sound basis.

• Most importantly, let’s go back to the sense of relief most experience once they find out the causes of the difficulty in learning to make sense of the print system of our English language. Most recently, I listened to a webinar where one of the presenters included experiencing dyslexia in the classroom daily as one of the ‘traumas’ a child may experience. All children want to learn to read—to be told, “if he/she only tried harder” or “read more at home” just does not sit well with me. 

Contact The International Dyslexia Association and/or your state Decoding Dyslexia organization for more information regarding clinicians who can assess dyslexia.