Dyslexia Webinar

DYSLEXIA

A teacher who knows the signs of dyslexia can change a life!

index

The Science ofDyslexia

Co-Occurring Disorders

What is dyslexia?

Making a Friendly Classroom

Characteristics

Misconceptions

Voices of Dyslexia

Instructional Practices

Turning the Tide

Glossary

Meet the Team

Resources

DYSLEXIA: DEFINITION

This means people are born with dyslexia. It can affect people of any race, gender, socio-economic class, language, or intelligence. People do not outgrow dyslexia, but the right instruction can greatly change the outcome of their education.

Dyslexia is a neurobiological disorder that affects how people learn to read and process language.

The Surprising DATa

There are dyslexic students in every classroom.

Subtypes of dyslexia

1. Phonological 2. Surface 3. Deep 4. Double Deficit 5. Atypical

Click the arrows to hear definitions of the subtypes. *Slide 5 further explains a few of these subtypes of dyslexia.

Neuroscience: The dyslexic brain

Click here for a brief explanation of how the brain of a dyslexic reader differs from the brain of a typical reader.

Correlates of Dyslexia

Listen

characterstics

Click arrows to learn more!

Misconceptions

Myths that Persist

The Fact is

• Dyslexia is not real. The child just needs to try harder.

• Comparison of brain images show that fluent readers and dyslexic readers are using different parts of the brain. Dyslexic children are trying hard, but need explicit and systematic instruction.

• They'll outgrow it.

• It is a lifelong condition that can be lessened with help.

Dyslexic children see things backward.

• Dyslexic people see like all people, but their brain comprehends what they are seeing differently. Reversals are common in young children, but most outgrow it. Not all dyslexics will reverse letters or numbers.

• Dyslexic children have low IQs, and that's why they can't read.

• Most dyslexic children have normal or above normal IQs.

Misconceptions

Myths that Persist

The Fact is

• Phonics has always been important. Even in whole language and balanced literacy, word work and phonics has a role. But, the way phonics was taught was text-to-speech. The paradigm shift is that we now know better. We need to teach speech-to-text, and continue building oral vocabulary and syntax.

• Well, you know education. The pendulum always swings back. We used to do phonics, then it was whole language, and now we're back to phonics again.

Dyslexia Friendly Classrooms

are designed to be inclusive and supportive of students who have dyslexia or other reading difficulties.

Understanding of Dyslexia

Data Driven

Encouraging Self-Adocacy

data determines instruction

teacher training

communicate needs, challenges, and issues

Structured Literacy

Emotional Support

Non-Judgemental

Cultivate Strengths

explicit, systematic, cummulative instruction

living with dyslexia can be hard

it is not the student's fault

a dyslexic person has strengths

Accomodations

are used to ensure that dyslexic students can access content and showcase their knowledge and skills.

Avoid Calling on Students

Break Down Directions into Smaller steps

Visual Aids

Technology and Assistive Technology

Vary Ways to Demonstrate knowledge

Grade for Content

Extra Time

How to support in Classes

• Use Multi-Sensory Approaches

- Multisensory learning is a teaching method that uses more than one sense to help students learn. - It involves sight, sound, touch, taste, smell, and movement.

• Provide Clear and Simple Instructions
• Allow Extra Time and Reduce Pressure
• Encourage Collaborative Learning
• Use Visual Supports and Graphic Organizers
• Adapt Assessments to Focus on Strengths

Instructional Practices

Dyslexic students can learn to read!

Instruction that helps children with dyslexia learn to read helps all children learn to read.

Systematic

Explicit

Cummulative

Multi-modal

Sufficient Intensity

Based on Research

Multi-Modal

Science of Reading

Five Components of a reading program

05

04

03

01

02

Comprehension

Using background knowledge and reasoning skills to make meaning of text.

Fluency

The ability to decode words quickly and accurately while attending to context and punctution.

Vocabulary

All of a person's known words and how they are used, including figuraitive language. and morphemes.

Phonics

Understanding how the 26 letters of the alphabet combine to make 44 sounds.

Phonemic Awareness

The ability to hear and manipulate words, syllables, and sounds.

Phonemic Awareness

Phonics

fluency

Vocabulary and Comprehension

Reading great books aloud or together is still vital to a well-crafted reading program. Allow dyslexic students to access them using assistive technology.

voices of students with dyslexia

Meet Sophia, age 9

Sophia was first evaluated when she was in 1st grade. She received her official diagnosis in 3rd grade.

"Spelling words has always been hard for me. I have a hard time remembering what sound letters make."

"I am a creative writer and have the ideas but its hard for me to spell out words"

"My teachers and parents have supported me with homework and stuff when I am not understanding."

Sophia was interviewed on 8/7/2023

"My 504 has helped me in my classes because I get to use a multiplication chart so I don't have to remember all the formulas"

"Don't worry about it," is Reid's advice to children that are newly diagnosed with dyslexia.

Meet Reid, age 11

Reid was diagnosed with dyslexia early during his 2nd-grade year. However, he was flagged for early literacy difficulties in Pre-K.

"Kindergarten was when I started to realize that reading and writing were hard. My test scores were always the lowest in the class and I was in a "bucket" all by myself (reading intervention group)."

Reid's 1st and 2nd grade teachers had a meeting with Andrea shortly after 2nd grade began. "Reid is too smart and tries too hard...there is something else going on, but we aren't quite sure." Andrea researched on her own, contacted the necessary resources, and had a 504 in place for Reid prior to Christmas of that year; which Reid still benefits from.

Reid and mom, Andrea, interviewed on 8/4/23. Reid will be in 6th grade.

"I get a little anxious when I have a lot of homework, but I always get it done. I still have a tutor one time a week, and she helps a lot." "Essays are getting a little easier, but I don't enjoy reading books. I like when I can read books out loud at school because I understand them better. When I read on my own, I don't understand as well."

Andrea recalls Reid's feelings when they learned about his diagnosis in 2nd grade.

Meet Garrett. Age 16

Garrett was diagnosed with dyslexia and dysgraphia in 3rd grade after his mom noticed him struggling to learn to read and spell throughout his early elementary years. Since then, he has been tutored with the Wilson Reading Program. "Reading and spelling were hard in elementary." "When I was first diagnosed with dyslexia, I was confused, but now I am ok." "When teachers explain things well and show it (like Miss Dorothy), it helps me remember it a lot better." "Getting tests read aloud and having extra time, so I have time to think about the question multiples times and see if it makes sense have been helpful." "I do things differently and think about things differently, so it pushes me to do things better." Advice for those just diagnosed with dyslexia: "Do what you want to do, work hard, and you will overcome it (dyslexia)."

Meet John. Born in the '70s

" This was the era where trades were being phased out of the schools. I did great in spatial and hands-on classes" " To get a B in a class would be exceptional for me but it required vastly more work for me than other students."

Impacting his childrens education

Being misunderstood

Challenges growing up

John was diagnosed late in life. He has two children who received a diagnosis when they were in elementary school. John sees their educational challenges and helps advocate for them in their school.

a note to educators

Turn the Tide in Iowa!

Communicate with Stakeholders

Principal

Parents

Legislators

Dean of Students

Turn the Tide in Iowa!

Mikaela NewburyM.A,CCC-SLP

1. As a speech-language pathologist, what language disorders do you typically work within students?

2. What are effective intervention strategies or techniques that you use to help individuals with language disorders with their language skills?

3. Dyslexia intervention often involves a collaborative effort between SLPs, educators, parents, and other professionals. How do you foster effective communication and collaboration among these stakeholders to ensure the best outcomes for your clients?

4. As a language speech pathologist what advice would you give to educators, parents, or individuals who suspect someone may have a language-based learning disability? How can they best seek help and support?

2013

2018

A small group of concerned parents and educators met to discuss problems students with dyslexia face in Iowa

Dyslexia Task Force Established

TIMELINE

Fall, 2021: The University of Iowa offers the first cohort of their "dyslexia specialist" endorsement. Grand View University follows in May, 2023.

Change in Iowa Administration CodeTeachers are required to know about dyslexia and the structure of language

2016

2021 2023

Turn the Tide

Our WHY. Hear from the webinar creators on why we believe in learning more about dyslexia and creating change in Iowa!

karynyager

katypumphrey

cassieascheman

JaimeBrecher

Resources

Birsh, J. R. (1999). Multisensory teaching of basic language skills. http://ci.nii.ac.jp/ncid/BA79840541 British Dyslexia Association (n.d.) Signs of dyslexia (adult) British Dysleixa Association. https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/advice/adults/am-i-dyslexic/signs-of-dyslexia Common Signs of Dyslexia. (2019, December 30). Reading Rockets. https://www.readingrockets.org/article/common-signs-dyslexia-0 Dyslexia Support South. https://www.dyslexiasupportsouth.org.nz/school-toolkit/specific-learning-difficulties-and-processing- disorders/slower-processing-abilities/. EBLItube. (2018, January 16). Sound lines instruction [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eMD0MuohpqU Eide, F ((2019, April 4). Dyslexic Laws 2021. Dyslexic Advantage. http://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/dyslexia-laws-2018 Hoksbergen, E. (2023, June 20). The Science of Dyslexia: Co-Occurring Disorders of Dyslexia [Lecture]. Intro to Science of Reading. (n.d.). https://www.readingscienceacademy.com/intro-to-science-of-reading

Ldrfa. (2020, November 11). How To Spot Early Signs of Dyslexia in Children - LDRFA. LDRFA. https://www.ldrfa.org/how-to-spot-early-signs-dyslexia-children/

Resources

Mather, N., & Wendling, B. J. (2011). Essentials of Dyslexia Assessment and Intervention. John Wiley & Sons. Moats, L. C. (2020). Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers. Brookes Publishing Company. Morphological Awareness. (n.d.). Dyslexia Help at the University of Michigan. https://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/professionals/dyslexia-school/morphological-awareness Slower processing abilities. (n.d.). Reading Rockets. (2019c, September 5). Learning ‘b’ and ‘d’ and Reading Short Vowel Words with Aiko, Second Grader [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=apQ2-dwu4AE Shaywitz, S. E., & Shaywitz, J. (2020). Overcoming Dyslexia: Second Edition, Completely Revised and Updated. Hachette UK. Understood. (2020, December 15). Signs of Dyslexia at Different Ages [Video]. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lkOd0GFu5k0

Signs of Dyslexia - Yale Dyslexia. (n.d.). Yale Dyslexia. http://dyslexia.yale.edu/dyslexia/signs-of-dyslexia/

Team, U. (2021). Dyslexia in Middle School. Understood. https://www.understood.org/en/articles/dyslexia-in-middle-school

Let's turn the tide in Iowa! Thanks for listening

Glossary

Decoding

AssistiveTechnology

Accommodations

Dyslexia

Encoding

Grapheme

Morpheme

OrthographicMapping

Morpholoy

PhonemicAwareness

Orthography

Phoneme

Glossary

Science of Reading

Phonics

Rapid AutomatizedNaming (RAN)

StructuredLiteracy

Additional Resources

Dear Mrs. Christie Stover, I am writing today to address an important matter that occurs within our educational environment. Within our classrooms, dyslexia is present in one in five children (Shaywitz,2020). At Bergman Academy, where class sizes are capped at 16, it is reasonable to expect that about three students will have dyslexia. Dyslexia is a neurobiological disorder that affects how people learn to read and process language. It is a lifelong language-processing condition that students will not outgrow. Despite being intelligent and motivated, students with dyslexia have difficulty learning to read, write, and spell effectively, leading to wrongful labeling. While our school has made significant strides in implementing multisensory teaching approaches in kindergarten through fifth-grade classrooms, I believe that we have an opportunity to support students with dyslexia further. As the Support Services lead, I request that we prioritize the following for the 2023/2024 academic school year: -Professional development for all teachers -Early identification screeners -Differentiated instruction within each classroom -Accommodations in the form of a 504 or Individualized Education Plans (IEP). I am eager to work together to ensure the best learning environment for all students while focusing on Bergman's key value, individuality. By addressing dyslexia within our school and taking these steps, I am confident that we will create an environment where all students can thrive. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Cassie Ascheman

An Open Letter to Parents of Students with Dyslexia: Dear Parents, Please know that there are teachers who are working hard to change the way children with dyslexia are identified and taught. We are advocating for early screening and early intervention with structured literacy so that your child does not have to face the same struggles people with dyslexia had before. Maybe that was you? Maybe you went through school thinking you were dumb or stupid or maybe you even gave up. Maybe you feel the struggle made you tougher, more successful. Maybe you even settled on a different career because you didn't think college was for you. Dare to imagine a different outcome for your child. Early diagnosis and intervention can help rewire your child's brain so that reading becomes more efficient and automatic. Accommodations allow students to demonstrate their considerable gifts and knowledge in different ways, even at the college level. Let the principal, superintendent, or school board know that structured literacy is important to your child's education and helps all students learn to read well. Write to legislators insisting that education tax dollars be spent on quality programs and teacher trainings that help all children learn to read. Together we can turn the tide in Iowa. Sincerely, Karyn Yager Fourth Grade Teacher

Encoding

A person encodes a word when they break a word apart to hear each sound.

cat = /c/ /ă/ /t/

The child must hear each sound and determine which letter or letter corresponds to the sound. In addition, they must know certain spelling rules. In "cat" the <c> is used for the /k/ sound because it is followed by an <a>

Meredith Critchfield, Dean of Students College of Education Grand Canyon University 3300 West Camelback Rd. Phoenix, AZ 85017 Dear Dean Critchfield: As a current graduate student in the field of dyslexia and a previous teacher in the state of Iowa, I am writing you to inquire about the future potential of Grand Canyon University’s College of Education adding an endorsement and graduate-level work specifically in the area of dyslexia. I see GCU offers numerous bachelor and master degree options in the field of education including coursework in language development for mild to moderate disorders, brain-based neuroscience, and implementation of literacy intervention, but I do not see any endorsements or coursework in dyslexia specifically. Research estimates that up to one in five children have dyslexia (Shaywitz, 2020). To give more students reading success and to boost reading scores across the country, we need more teacher prep programs and universities to step up, offer in-depth coursework in dyslexia and the science of reading, and supply all classrooms with confident and knowledgeable teachers. We all want to do better, we just don’t know how to…YET. Teachers simply need more learning, opportunities, support, and experience before they enter the classroom. Will you consider how GCU can have a role in turning the tide of reading instruction in the state of Arizona for ALL children? Kind Regards, Jaime Brecher Grad Student at Grand View University