We wanted to take this conversation a step further and dig into some common co-occurring struggles we see in our students with dyslexia. Specifically language, attention, mathematics, and social-emotional difficulties.

So let’s dive in!

Many students struggle to learn how to read effectively or efficiently.

RESEARCH INDICATES THAT THERE ARE THREE DIFFERENT TYPES OF READING DISABILITIES.

These three types of disabilities relate to (if you know us…you’re probably guessing it right now!!!)

YEP…..

The Literacy Processing Triangle

In honor of dyslexia awareness month, we wanted to take this opportunity to dispel some common myths about dyslexia and to provide further information to go check out if you’re worried your child or one of your students may have dyslexia.

Let’s dive right in…

Happy Friday, Everyone! We absolutely can not believe that October is already over. Holy moly! With October coming to a close, that means we are also finishing up with Dyslexia Awareness month. Our team was lucky enough to get to travel to the International Dyslexia Association’s National Conference last week - which was AMAZING.

My name is Mackenzie, and I am dyslexic.

Some of my earliest memories of school are feelings of frustration, confusion, sadness, and feeling lonely. Another memory that still makes my stomach hurt today is trying to memorize math facts. I have a great memory for some things; song lyrics, things people say, and pictures. But, remembering letters and numbers is a totally different story.

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If you have a Pre-School or Kindergarten aged child, then you are aware that a large part of their reading readiness instruction at school is focused on the alphabet. The alphabetic principle is one of the first, and most important, skills a student needs to learn in order to be a successful reader. 

The alphabetic principle means developing the understanding that letters are symbols that have a specific sound or sounds.

Unveil the secret to teaching the alphabet effectively! Discover how to connect letters to sounds, foster phonemic awareness, and enhance literacy skills. Explore hands-on activities and strategies for early literacy success.

Prepare your students for summer with strategies to combat the dreaded "summer slide" and prevent learning loss. Learn how to identify signs of dyslexia and guide families toward appropriate testing and intervention to ensure a successful new school year.

Research is very clear that Phonological Awareness is a foundational strategy for students to obtain the necessary literacy skills to read and spell effectively and efficiently. However, teaching older students phonological awareness skills can be difficult because many of the resources out there are geared towards younger students and the images, worksheets, and resources can be insulting to older students.

A hallmark of dyslexia is an inconsistency between a child’s reading level and oral language level. Often, dyslexic students are highly verbal; talkative, inquisitive, articulate, and have amazing vocabularies!

One of my all-time favorite students who happened to be dyslexic had the most amazing vocabulary as a young student, he still does today! He would hear a new word used in the context of a book or adult conversation and immediately add it to his repertoire.

“Oh, she’ll catch up,” is what Jane recalled her daughter Susan’s teachers saying throughout first and second grades. Susan, now 12, was in the lowest reading group in her classroom but teachers assured Jane that Susan was very bright and would catch up shortly.

In truth, Susan wasn’t catching up. As peers began moving past her in reading, Jane became more anxious and worried.

Is your child in the gray area?

“She has trouble spelling and reading fluently, but she’s doing okay for the most part

“He’s about a year behind, but don’t worry, it will click soon…”

“She has a hard time with reading grade level text, but she is fine compared to other kids in her class who struggle so much more…”

“I understand he has a diagnosis of dyslexia, but he’s not that far behind…”

Talking to your child about dyslexia can be anxiety-provoking. On the one hand you want them to understand why learning has been so difficult but on the other hand - you don't want to worry them or have them think anything is wrong. Using these 8 tips you will be well on your way to empowering your child to understand more about dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a brain-based learning difference. It is a language processing disorder and not a vision or eye problem. In contrast to dyslexia specialists and most pediatricians, some optometrists may try to convince you that your child’s reading difficulties are due to vision problems and may recommend vision therapy or glasses. Some well-intentioned (but misinformed) therapists or teachers may even suggest colored overlays to “fix” the problem.

Dyslexia is often referred to as a hidden disability because it can go undetected for so long. On the surface, everything looks fine. It has been my experience that dyslexic students are good at coping, they know how to play school. They work hard, they are highly verbal, love to answer questions in class, they are curious, can make the most amazing connections, and at an early age – when texts are predictable, repetitive, and have strong picture support – these students can look like readers. It’s not until you dig deeper and begin to analyze their phonemic awareness skills or their ability to rhyme and manipulate sounds that you may realize there is a hiccup.

When I begin to suspect that a child may be dyslexic, one of the sure-fire things to tip me off is observing a really bright student struggle with reading a simple text.

When discussing my concerns with teachers, they often say, “But, he’s so smart, he can’t be dyslexic!”

Dyslexia does not have any correlation to a person’s intelligence and in fact, people with dyslexia often have above average IQ’s. We assume that if a person is smart that they are a strong reader. Dyslexia defies this assumption.