Dyslexia is something I never studied in depth through all my years of teaching. Today’s guest, Lisa Parnello of Parnello Education, is sharing with us dyslexia myths and facts every teacher should know.
Defining Dyslexia
As Lisa defines it, dyslexia is a language based learning difference which means it affects all elements of language - both spoken, written, and reading. It is often categorized as the lack of phonological awareness and the struggled and labored reading that comes with it.
Dyslexia can be caused in two ways: hereditary (runs in families) and brain injuries. Many families have told Lisa that they had similar struggles in school and finally realized through the process of getting their child help that they too are dyslexic and never knew it. Unfortunately, dyslexia is not something that is often diagnosed.
1 in 5 students are sitting in your classroom right now with dyslexia. Lisa speaks with many teachers who are not aware that they have had a dyslexic student but actually might have two or three in their classroom right this minute.
Signs of Dyslexia to Look For
To help spot those 1 in 5 students that have dyslexia, Lisa gives us some ways to help identify those students. First, a student with dyslexia might be writing words with missing letters. An example might be writing the word sprint as spnt.
Another thing to look for is a lack of executive function skills. This might include a lack of desk organization or things exploding from their backpack. It might also be a lack of time management, forgetting to turn in their homework, and having ADHD is often a high correlation to having dyslexia. Another strange sign might be left handedness.
As early as preschool and kindergarten, we can begin noticing the students who are struggling behind the rest of the class learning their letter sounds. If a student is still struggling in a second grade class and they’ve had RTI or other forms of intervention and still continue struggling, this is a very high indication they should be referred for further testing.
The Public School Downside
Students attending private school can often receive a dyslexia diagnosis as early as first grade. However, if that student attends public school they are often not diagnosed until second grade or later.
As Lisa explains, public schools require a longer period of trying interventions and a significant learning gap to their peers before a diagnosis can be determined. This often leads parents to misunderstanding that their child doesn’t have dyslexia because they hear back from the school that their child is not eligible for services.
What Teachers Can Do
Once a teacher hears back from the IEP team and their student did not qualify, there are still actions a teacher can take. First, continue to service that student in small groups within your classroom. The student still needs instruction to bridge those learning gaps.
Two of the ways you can work with students are to focus on phonemic awareness skills and using Elkonin boxes to tap out the sounds in words. Stretching out the sounds in words and finding all the sounds will be a crucial part of their learning.
Another way we can help is to teach explicit phonics. For example, teaching all the different ways “o” makes the “o” sound. Sound walls can be extremely helpful in providing a resource for not just the students that are struggling but all students in your classroom. It is also helpful to teach students where these patterns are often found in words. For example, oa is not usually found at the end of words except of course exceptions like cocoa.
Using tactile and visual cues can be very helpful for students. Teach students to make the correct mouth shapes or putting hands on the throat to hear different sounds.
Where to Find Help for Dyslexia
Lisa’s podcast, Dyslexia Devoted, is chockfull of information about dyslexia myths and facts. Another great resource is the website understood.org. This would be a great resource to share with families that are concerned their child has dyslexia.
- International Dyslexia Association
- IMSE - Institute for Multi-Sensory Education
More Dyslexia Myths
One of the biggest dyslexia myths is thinking that students see the letters backwards. Dyslexia is not a vision problem. Students with dyslexia are often seeing only the big picture and missing the details. We have to teach them the details.
Students with dyslexia will often form letters from the bottom up and need explicit direction to learn to form their letters from the top down. As Lisa says, “What is essential instruction for kids with dyslexia is good instruction for all kids.”
Teaching students to overcome and bridge their learning gaps from being dyslexic will take as long as it takes. There is no magic formula or amount of time until a student starts to “get it.”
Lisa works on a systematic list building phonics skills and doesn’t move on unless a student masters the first skill. As Lisa says, schools want quick, fast results and often interventions that work for dyslexia take time. “Kids don’t come with a timetable.”
Last Thoughts
Students with dyslexia are as smart if not smarter than the other students in your classroom. Often this is how they fly under the radar for so long. For every weakness there is a strength.
Resources Helpful with Today’s Podcast
- FREE Dyslexia Tip Sheet
- 20% off Dyslexia Courses on Parnello Education - with code SHAREDTEACHING