Literacy Round Up

Dyslexia is a common difference in the way the brain is wired to read, write and spell. Dyslexia is the most common learning difference, affecting about 20% of people. Learn how you can support positive reading habits at home and ensure that your child is getting what they need at school.

Learn more and find resources:
Go Beyond Grades

Texas Education Agency

At Go Beyond Grades we know that when parents and teachers are working together, great things can happen. YOU are your child’s best advocate. We hope that with information from a literacy screening, you will have what you need to speak to your child’s teachers and get great results.

We are committed to partnering with you from start to finish. We will begin with a basic literacy screening to see how your child is reading and then review the results with you and answer any questions you might have.

If you decide you would like us to go with you to meet with your child’s school/teacher, WE CAN DO THAT!

When we are supporting our children both at school and at home, they will become confident, independent readers!

YOUR CHILD DESERVES THE BEST!

Here’s what we know:

• If literacy instruction needs are not met early, then the gap widens between proficient and struggling readers.
• If a child is not reading grade-appropriate materials by the time they are in fourth grade, the odds of that child ever developing good reading skills are very slim.
• When children are taught to develop phonemic awareness (letter sound correlation) they are more likely to develop good word decoding skills faster and earlier than children who are not taught to be aware of letter sounds in words.
• Although characteristics of dyslexia vary, people with dyslexia generally have trouble matching the sounds of language to their symbols. This makes reading challenging, along with other essential literacy skills, such as writing and spelling.
• The human brain develops speech naturally, but we are not wired to read. Our brains must construct this ability. While people with dyslexia don’t “grow out of it,” with proper instruction, especially when provided early in life, people with dyslexia can learn to read.
• Dyslexia has no bearing on intelligence. Although these individuals learn differently, they often excel in analytical thinking, complex problem-solving, innovating, creativity and more. 

Dyslexia looks different for everyone, but here are some common signs, some of which may be recognized in children as young as three years old:

• Difficulty segmenting words into their parts (cowboy broken into cow-boy)
• Blending individual sounds (b/a/t into bat)
• Manipulating sounds (what’s bat without the /b/ sound at the beginning?)
• Difficulty recognizing rhyme
• Difficulty matching letter names to their sounds (ph make the sound /f/)

Additional signs of dyslexia in older students:

• Frustration, such as avoiding reading or complaining that reading is too hard
• Slow and laborious reading
• Spelling and writing
• Difficulty understanding or remembering what one reads or summarizing a story
• Having trouble understanding idioms or puns 
• Frequently making the same mistakes

THESE STRUGGLES WHEN NOT IDENTIFIED AND REMEDIATED CAN CONTRIBUTE TO ANXIETY AND LOW SELF-ESTEEM.

How Can YOU Support Positive Reading Habits at Home:

You don’t have to be a teacher! Your child will learn phonics at school, but there are some great ways you can support your child at home. And they’re all easy to do.

• Find opportunities to explore letters and sounds and words with your child.
• When you’re driving or at the store, look at signs and try to spot the letter your child’s name starts with. Or point out words your child can decode, like pet or stop.
• Keep a variety of books at home for your child. Include read-aloud books to discuss vocabulary and early decodable texts for phonics practice (like consonant, vowel, consonant words like “hot”). Trace the text with your finger and talk about the story as you read.
• Discuss what they like and don’t like about the stories… modeling enjoyment of reading is so important!
• Encourage your child with love and keep reading fun. Stay relaxed, praise their efforts, and step in if they get frustrated. You’re their best supporter!
• Make reading together a priority and build daily habits like reading at bedtime. 

Ask questions, here are a few to get a conversation with your child’s teacher started:

• What curricula are being used to teach reading and what are their purposes? (Best practice in literacy instruction includes: Phonemic Awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary and comprehension… they should be taught in an explicit, systematic way)

• Is the reading curriculum at the school/classroom utilizing research-based approaches? Can you describe them?

• How and when is my child’s progress being assessed?

• What information will parents get about these assessments? (There should be regular assessments both formal and informal, and parents should be given this information)

• How will I know if my child is struggling to read?

• What supports are available?

• How is technology integrated in reading instruction for my child?

The teacher may use terms you are unfamiliar with, take notes, do your research and don’t be afraid to ask questions!

What are your rights: 

• Texas has a long history of supporting the fundamental skill of reading. This history includes a focus on early identification and intervention for students with dyslexia. This page includes resources to assist in identifying and providing services for students with dyslexia and related disorders in Texas schools. Among your rights are several pertaining to timeline and testing.
• WHEN PARENTS REQUEST, OR WHEN STUDENTS ARE REFERRED FOR, A SPECIAL EDUCATION EVALUATION: Districts must respond to a parent’s written request for a special education evaluation for their child not later than the 15th school day after the date the district receives the request.
• The district then has 45 school days to complete the testing.
• A copy of the written evaluation report must be provided to the student’s parents as soon as possible after completion of the report but no later than five school days prior to the initial admission, review, and dismissal (ARD) committee meeting 
• Initial ARD committee meeting must be held within 30 calendar days from the date of the completion of the evaluation report.
• Universal screeners for dyslexia are required in kindergarten at the end of the year and in first grade by January 31. 
• When dyslexia is a suspected disability, the Multi Disciplinary Team responsible for the comprehensive evaluation of the student must include as a member someone with specific knowledge of the reading process, dyslexia and related disorders, and dyslexia instruction. 
• If an ARD committee determines the student has dyslexia (which is a disability under IDEA as an SLD), the ARD committee will determine whether the student requires the provision of special education and related services. If the student is determined to require dyslexia instruction, the student meets eligibility for special education and related services because dyslexia instruction is considered specially designed instruction (SDI). 

*More TEA Dyslexia Resources may be found at https://tea.texas.gov/academics/special-student-populations/dyslexia-and-related-disorders

Do you have questions about how to partner with teachers to support your child’s learning and well-being?

Visit gobeyondgrades.org/tarrant/for-families/ to get help!