Dyslexia

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Dyslexia
Dyslexic Profile Referral Process Delivery
of Services
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Common Myths

• Dyslexic people see words backwards.
• Children outgrow reading problems.
• Dyslexia effects mostly boys. (Journal of
  American Medical Association in 1990 proved it
  was comparable in both boys girls)
• People who struggle to read are not very smart.
  (Dyslexia occurs at all levels of intelligence
  average, above average, and highly gifted.)
• -A Conversation with Sally Shaywitz, M.D.,
  author of Overcoming Dyslexia

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TEA accepted definition of DyslexiaDyslexia is
a specific learning disability that is
neurological in origin. It is characterized by
difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word
recognition, 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
classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may
include problems in reading comprehension and
reduced reading experiences that can impede
growth in vocabulary and background
knowledge.(Updated, January, 2004)
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What Do I Look For?
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Dyslexic Traits

• Difficulty with directions and directional words
• Difficulty with discerning left and right
• Difficulty with handwriting
• Poor small motor skills
• Difficulty with reading words in isolation
• Difficulty with decoding nonsense words
• Slow, inaccurate, or labored reading
• Difficulty with phonological awareness, including
  segmenting, blending, and manipulating sounds in
  words

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What to Look for continued

• Difficulty with learning letter names and sounds
• Difficulty with phonological memory (holding
  information about sounds letters in memory)
• Difficulty with rapid naming of familiar objects,
  colors, or letters of the alphabet
• Difficulty copying accurately (far point, near
  point, or both)
• Difficulty remembering what was read
• Difficulty with spelling
• Difficulty with written composition

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Dyslexic Strengths

• Oral Language
• Oral Comprehension
• Math
• Science/Social Studies
• Athletics
• Art
• Drama

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What dyslexia is notDyslexia is not a visual
disability. Dyslexic individuals do not see
letters or numbers as backwards, blurred, or
floating. Dyslexia is a language difficulty due
to under activation of the word forming part of
the brain resulting in an unexpected difference
when compared to oral abilities and/or IQ and a
students reading, writing, and spelling
abilities.
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What should NOT be considered for a dyslexia
referral? - head injuries - transient
history - excessive absences - non English
speaking students - documented history of lack
of conventional schooling - poor
reading/listening comprehension
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Dyslexia Referral Process
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Pre-Referral

• Tier 1
• Make and document accommodations/modifications
  for the student in class including intensifying
  reading instruction inside the classroom. Be sure
  parents have been informed of your concerns and
  what is being done.
• Tier 2
• Provide more intensive intervention in addition
  to the regular reading instruction. In other
  words, Reading Recovery, Literacy Groups, Read
  180, extra work during Success time for them,
  before/after school tutoring, having a mentor
  work with them any time outside of the classroom,
  and etc...
• (

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Pre-Referral

• The 1st two tiers of intervention should equal up
  to a minimum of 10 weeks.)
• Tier 3
• 1-Take them to the C.A.R.E. team! The committee
  will discuss concerns, interventions that have
  been used, and look at samples of work. As a
  committee they will decide if the student should
  be screened.
• 2-If a screening is decided upon, then the
  counselor will administer the K-TEA-II and
  K-BIT-II. The screenings should indicate
  discrepancies between ability and reading
  achievement.
• 3- The committee will then decide whether to
  send the student on for a Dyslexia Referral.

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Dyslexia Referral

• 1- The Dyslexia referral paperwork will be given
  to the teacher and parents to complete. The
  parents will receive 504 rights when they receive
  the referral packet, as well.
• 2- A vision and hearing screening will be
  completed and recorded. If the student doesnt
  pass one of them, the referral is stopped until
  it is taken care of by a doctor.
• 3- Once the above is completed, the paperwork is
  sent to the district Dyslexia Office.

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Dyslexia Referral continued

• 4- Next, it goes to the district Dyslexia
  diagnostician. She will test according to the
  order the files come in. It should be completed
  within 60 calendar days after the referral packet
  is received by the Dyslexia Office.
• 5- After the testing is complete, the file goes
  on to the Dyslexia Selection Committee (composed
  of dyslexia therapists, dyslexia diagnostician,
  and the program supervisors). They will determine
  eligibility and admittance into the Denton ISD
  Dyslexia Program.
• 6- A letter and/or a parent consent form will be
  sent to the parents informing them of the
  committees recommendations.

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Keep In Mind

• The Dyslexia Committee looks for a significant
  discrepancy in reading ability and reading
  achievement.
• Careful consideration must be made before
  referring a student receiving Special Education
  Services to the Dyslexia Program. The Alphabetic
  Phonics/Scottish Rite Program used by the
  district is a systematic, sequential, fast-paced
  program and may not meet the needs of all
  students with learning disabilities.
• The Alphabetic Phonics/Scottish Rite Program is a
  systematic, sequential, fast-paced program that
  requires every student admitted to start at the
  beginning of the program and should be dismissed
  within 3 to 4 years.
• A student usually needs a year of therapy before
  a significant improvement in the childs reading,
  writing, and spelling shows through.

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Dyslexia Services
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In Dyslexia Class? We work on alphabet
properties/skills, grapheme and phoneme
recognition, fluency/instant words,
phonological rules in reading and spelling,
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Instruction continued

• oral/written expression,
• listening/reading comprehension with each
  presented via explicit, direct instruction in a
  multisensory manner.

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Accommodations for the Classroom Teacher

• (Or Now What Do I Do?)

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Besides a daily multisensory class to address a
dyslexic students needs for the delivery of
instruction in reading, handwriting and spelling,
an identified dyslexic student will need
accommodations in the regular classroom. These
could be, but are not limited to, the following
list

• Write the assignments on the board and leave it
  there all day for the student to look at.
• Keep an assignment notebook.
• Shorten assignments.
• Use graph paper for math problems.
• Have student take spelling tests orally or reduce
  the amount of words.
• Assign a study buddy to help the student with
  particularly difficult reading passages.

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More accommodations

• Allow student to prepare reading assignments
  before reading aloud in front of the class OR
  refrain from calling on the dyslexic student to
  read aloud during class.
• Allow extra time to complete work.
• Provide student with a copy of the overhead
  notes.
• Have student repeat the directions back to you.
• Check often for understanding.
• Encourage use of a place marker (book mark or
  paper) when reading.
• Allow the use of cursive for those who know it.
• Dont count off for spelling.

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Dyslexia is an inherited learning disability.
There is no cure for dyslexia. The dyslexic
individual will always have struggles with
reading, handwriting and spelling. However, with
early and appropriate intervention, the gap
narrows between performance and ability.
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Questions?

• See me or email me at kkirkland_at_dentonisd.org