In honor of dyslexia awareness month, I would like to take a little deeper dive into dyslexia, which is a reading
disability that, despite instruction and intelligence, impacts the child’s ability to accurately and fluently read words. Years of research have informed us that dyslexia is always linked to deficits in what we call phonological processing, or the ability to discern, manipulate and connect speech sounds to letters. Virtually all dyslexic children struggle to learn letter names and sounds, apply phonics skills to decoding words, spell words accurately and build a large vocabulary of words (sight words) that can be accurately and quickly recognized while reading. There is much variation in what we know as dyslexia, which exists on a continuum from
less to more severe. Profiles of different students who are dyslexic may vary along other dimensions. Some dyslexic people evidence language processing problems, but some do not. Comprehension may be affected, or not. Math skills may be impacted, or not. Organizational skills may suffer, or not. It is this variability that brings us back, time and again, to the word reading deficit that all dyslexic people do share to one degree or another.
Dyslexia is a learning disability that impacts as many as 15-20% of our student population. It is a field of active research, including much agreement, and more than a few nuanced details to study in more depth. Magnetic resonance imaging studies (MRI) are shining a brighter light on this disorder and may eventually enable us to meaningfully intervene even earlier, when the brain plasticity is at its peak.
The illustration on the left depicts the major areas of the brain tasked with skilled word reading. A comparison with the image of a dyslexic brain processing written language on the right contrasts the obvious differences. The dyslexic brain shows deficits in two areas essential to word identification and recognition: 1) the part of the brain that processes speech sounds (in purple); and 2) the part that processes letters and text (in green). Not only are these areas under-activated, but the connections themselves between them are not as robust. What is even more amazing are brain images of pre-literate children, some at risk for dyslexia and others not, that already show obvious differences in the processing of oral language years before reading instruction commences. Dyslexic brains are different, and these differences can be detected early in life with sensitive instruments.
What have we learned that informs reading instruction? Reading, unlike language, is not hardwired into the brain. Reading circuitry must be built pretty much from scratch, and most brains are able to accomplish this given instruction. Some require more instruction and more time, while others quickly advance to the stage where they are able to accurately decode and “teach” themselves unknown words when they encounter them in print. The latter is the goal defining skilled word reading. Dyslexic children start school with brains that are different, they are not primed for reading. The differences have nothing to do with intelligence. It is crucial to identify dyslexic children early. Their reading development must be carefully nurtured through well crafted, sequenced, explicit, responsive instruction that encourages the growth and development of a functioning reading circuit in the brain. Dyslexic brains need to be taught to perform tasks non-dyslexic brains perform with greater ease. Early intervention is essential to achieving higher success rates.
What might this look like at an elementary school? Our kindergarten teachers in the school where I work are using evidence-based instructional methods, coupled with frequent progress monitoring. They actively cultivate phonological awareness in all children with short, daily lessons, they teach letter names and sounds using mnemonic aids (embedded alphabets where the letter is paired with a picture illustrating it and sound walls to help children articulate and hear letter sounds), carefully sequence skill instruction and regularly monitor the mastery of these foundation skills. Children who do not respond are identified and provided with additional support within the regular classroom. Children who continue to struggle are eventually referred to our reading specialist for more intensive small group intervention. When we complement good first teaching with tiered interventions in K and first grade, we can identify most of the children who are at risk for dyslexia and improve outcomes.
I hope the visuals were helpful. It is not necessary to learn the names and functions of the parts of the brain, but it is powerful to see the differences between the brains of dyslexics and nondyslexics to get an appreciation for what our dyslexic children are dealing with. Their challenges are real. In next week’s installment, I would like to address the status of universal screening in California and discuss ways parents can support reading development in the home, especially with their preschool-age children.
Julia Lewis is a Reading Specialist and Special Education Teacher
This article is part of a four-week series Macaroni Kid Upland, Claremont & La Verne is featuring on Dyslexia this month. We hope to bring awareness and education regarding dyslexia to our community. For more information regarding dyslexia
visit Decoding Dyslexia
Part One: What Is Dyslexia?
