What is Dyslexia?

And how do we help students who struggle with reading fluency and comprehension?

Dyslexia is a language-based disorder that interferes with learning to read. This difficulty happens at both the letter-sound level of learning (sublexical) and at the word level of learning (lexical).

Learning to read and write are two abilities tied to our underlying oral language skills. When we learn to read and write, we repurpose many of the foundational skills we use to listen and speak.

Foundational skills include word-level skills that need to become automatic in order to read fluently and spell accurately.

Dyslexia is a weakness at an even deeper level, known as sublexical skills. Children with dyslexia find it difficult to learn and recall the sound-to-letter connections needed to easily and quickly read words.

These sublexical skills include:

• phonological processing (discriminating between sounds and identifying sounds within words)

• phonological memory (recall of sound sequences needed for blending sounds into words)

• learning letter names easily and rapidly

• learning sound-to-letter connections easily and rapidly

• developing automatic sound-to-letter connections for fast recall in reading and writing

Because students with dyslexia have a combination of sublexical (sound-to-letter connections) and lexical (word storage and retrieval) weaknesses, this impedes the development of the automatic word skills needed for fluent reading and accurate spelling. As a result, they experience a significant cognitive fatigue when trying to read and write. 

Without efficient reading skills, students struggle to access the higher-level thinking skills needed for advanced literacy tasks, resulting in:

• cognitive overload

• increased fatigue

• poor attention

• poor word recognition

• poor spelling

• resistance to reading and/or writing

• weak reading comprehension (not necessarily listening comprehension)

• reduced writing output

• writing below grade level

Use this checklist to help you determine if your child may have dyslexia.

Dyslexia is often identified by these common indicators:

• Difficulty in learning letter names and reciting the alphabet

• Difficulty in learning letter sounds

• Problems reading words

  • Slow decoding skills

  • Weak sound blending skills

  • Weak sight word development 

• Poor reading fluency

  • Slow reading rate

  • Difficulty with appropriate pausing and natural phrasing

• Problems with reading accuracy, resulting in many reading errors

  • Guessing at words

  • Skipping words

  • Adding words

  • Changing or omitting suffixes

• Weak reading comprehension

  • May need to re-read text multiple times

• Poor Reading persistence

  • Gives up or tires easily

  • Avoids reading

How Can I Help My Student with Dyslexia?

Kids with dyslexia need caring adults who take the time to support them and find the teaching methods and resources they need. Kudos to you for gaining knowledge and pursuing answers to help your learner! 

Teaching children with dyslexia demands specific instruction that includes the following:

• Research-based teaching strategies

• Explicit and systematic instruction to establish strong sound-to-letter connections

• Teaching reading and writing together with spelling

• Working from the student’s oral language system to their growing literacy system

• Establishing the phonological strategy of the student saying sounds as they write words

• Consistent and targeted practice routines at least four-five days per week

• Periodic review to help solidify new learning

• All skills practiced in meaningful context

Are There Tests for Dyslexia?

Testing looks at a child's skill level in three key sublexical skill areas that indicate dyslexia:

• Phonological Processing

• Phonological Memory

• Rapid Automatic Naming

Assessments also determine the student’s grade-level skills in the following lexical areas:

• Spelling

• Reading accuracy

• Reading fluency

• Reading comprehension

• Listening comprehension

Because some students with dyslexia may also have an underlying Developmental Language Disorder, an inventory of the student’s speech and language development should be obtained. If there is a history of delay, the assessment should also evaluate skills in the following areas:

• Language Working memory

• Syntax

• Sentence formulation

• Vocabulary

If you are still unsure about testing but would like answers to your specific questions, schedule a consultation appointment. We can guide you in the next steps to help your student.