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Developmental dyslexia and how it relates to brain function are complicated topics that researchers have been studying since dyslexia was first described over a hundred years ago.

W. Pringle Morgan (cited in Shaywitz, 1996), a doctor in Sussex, England, described the puzzling case of a boy in the British Medical Journal: "Percy ... aged 14 ... has always been a bright and intelligent boy, quick at games, and in no way inferior to others of his age. His great difficulty has been - and is now - his inability to read" (p. 98).

Almost every teacher in the United States has at least one student who could fit the same description written so many years ago. This situation leads many school personnel to wonder why their articulate, clearly bright student has so many problems with what appears to be a simple task - reading a text that everyone else seems to easily comprehend.

Having information about the likely explanation for and potential cause of the student's difficulties often relieves teachers' fears and uncertainties about how to teach the student and how to think about providing instruction that is relevant and effective. Current research on dyslexia and the brain provide the most up-to-date information available about the problems faced by over 2.8 million school-aged children.

When talking with teachers about their students who struggle with reading, we have encountered similar types of questions from teachers. They often wonder, What is dyslexia? What does brain research tell us about reading problems and what does this information mean for classroom instruction?

The purpose of this article is to explain the answers to these questions and provide foundational knowledge that will lead to a firmer understanding of the underlying characteristics of students with dyslexia. A greater understanding of the current brain research and how it relates to students with dyslexia is important in education and will help teachers understand and evaluate possible instructional interventions to help their students succeed in the classroom.

What is dyslexia?

Dyslexia is an often-misunderstood, confusing term for reading problems. The word dyslexia is made up of two different parts: dys meaning not or difficult, and lexia meaning words, reading, or language. So quite literally, dyslexia means difficulty with words (Catts & Kamhi, 2005).

Despite the many confusions and misunderstandings, the term dyslexia is commonly used by medical personnel, researchers, and clinicians. One of the most common misunderstandings about this condition is that dyslexia is a problem of letter or word reversals ( b/ d, was/ saw) or of letters, words, or sentences "dancing around" on the page (Rayner, Foorman, Perfetti, Pesetsky, & Seidenberg, 2001).

In fact, writing and reading letters and words backwards are common in the early stages of learning to read and write among average and dyslexic children alike, and the presence of reversals may or may not indicate an underlying reading problem. See Table 1 for explanations of this and other common misunderstandings.

One of the most complete definitions of dyslexia comes from over 20 years of research:

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by 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 effective classroom instruction. (Lyon, Shaywitz, & Shaywitz, 2003, p. 2)

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability in reading that often affects spelling as well. In fact, reading disability is the most widely known and most carefully studied of the learning disabilities, affecting 80% of all those designated as learning disabled. Because of this, we will use the terms dyslexia and reading disabilities (RD) interchangeably in this article to describe the students of interest.

It is neurobiological in origin, meaning that the problem is located physically in the brain. Dyslexia is not caused by poverty, developmental delay, speech or hearing impairments, or learning a second language, although those conditions may put a child more at risk for developing a reading disability (Snow, Burns, & Griffin, 1998).

Children with dyslexia will often show two obvious difficulties when asked to read text at their grade level. First, they will not be able to read as many of the words in a text by sight as average readers. There will be many words on which they stumble, guess at, or attempt to "sound out." This is the problem with "fluent word recognition" identified in the previous definition.

Second, they will often show decoding difficulties, meaning that their attempts to identify words they do not know will produce many errors. They will not be very accurate in using letter-sound relationships in combination with context to identify unknown words.

These problems in word recognition are due to an underlying deficit in the sound component of language that makes it very difficult for readers to connect letters and sounds in order to decode. People with dyslexia often have trouble comprehending what they read because of the great difficulty they experience in accessing the printed words.

What areas of the brain relate to language and reading?

The human brain is a complex organ that has many different functions. It controls the body and receives, analyzes, and stores information.

The brain can be divided down the middle lengthwise into a right and a left hemisphere. Most of the areas responsible for speech, language processing, and reading are in the left hemisphere, and for this reason we will focus all of our descriptions and figures on the left side of the brain. Within each hemisphere, we find the following four brain lobes (see Figure 1).

The frontal lobe is the largest and responsible for controlling speech, reasoning, planning, regulating emotions, and consciousness.
In the 19th century, Paul Broca was exploring areas of the brain used for language and noticed a particular part of the brain that was impaired in a man whose speech became limited after a stroke. This area received more and more attention, and today we know that Broca's area, located here in the frontal lobe, is important for the organization, production, and manipulation of language and speech (Joseph, Noble, & Eden, 2001). Areas of the frontal lobe are also important for silent reading proficiency (Shaywitz et al., 2002).

The parietal lobe is located farther back in the brain and controls sensory perceptions as well as linking spoken and written language to memory to give it meaning so we can understand what we hear and read.

The occipital lobe, found at the back of the head, is where the primary visual cortex is located. Among other types of visual perception, the visual cortex is important in the identification of letters.

The temporal lobe is located in the lower part of the brain, parallel with the ears, and is involved in verbal memory.
Wernicke's area, long known to be important in understanding language (Joseph et al., 2001), is located here. This region, identified by Carl Wernicke at about the same time and using the same methods as Broca, is critical in language processing and reading.

In addition, converging evidence suggests that two other systems, which process language within and between lobes, are important for reading (see Figure 2).

The first is the left parietotemporal system (Area A in Figure 2) that appears to be involved in word analysis - the conscious, effortful decoding of words (Shaywitz et al., 2002). This region is critical in the process of mapping letters and written words onto their sound correspondences - letter sounds and spoken words (Heim & Keil, 2004). This area is also important for comprehending written and spoken language (Joseph et al., 2001).

The second system that is important for reading is the left occipitotemporal area (Area B in Figure 2). This system seems to be involved in automatic, rapid access to whole words and is a critical area for skilled, fluent reading (Shaywitz et al., 2002, 2004).

What does brain imaging research tell us about dyslexia?

Structural brain differences

Studies of structural differences in the brains of people of all ages show differences between people with and without reading disabilities.

The brain is chiefly made up of two types of material: gray matter and white matter. Gray matter is what we see when we look at a brain and is mostly composed of nerve cells. Its primary function is processing information.

White matter is found within the deeper parts of the brain, and is composed of connective fibers covered in myelin, the coating designed to facilitate communication between nerves. White matter is primarily responsible for information transfer around the brain.

Booth and Burman (2001) found that people with dyslexia have less gray matter in the left parietotemporal area (Area A in Figure 2) than nondyslexic individuals. Having less gray matter in this region of the brain could lead to problems processing the sound structure of language (phonological awareness).

Many people with dyslexia also have less white matter in this same area than average readers, which is important because more white matter is correlated with increased reading skill (Deutsch, Dougherty, Bammer, Siok, Gabrieli, & Wandell, 2005). Having less white matter could lessen the ability or efficiency of the regions of the brain to communicate with one another.

Other structural analyses of the brains of people with and without RD have found differences in hemispherical asymmetry. Specifically, most brains of right-handed, nondyslexic people are asymmetrical with the left hemisphere being larger than the same area on the right.

In contrast, Heim and Keil (2004) found that right-handed people with dyslexia show a pattern of symmetry (right equals left) or asymmetry in the other direction (right larger than left). The exact cause of these size differences is the subject of ongoing research, but they seem to be implicated in the reading and spelling problems of people with dyslexia.

Functional brain differences

We lack space here for a detailed explanation of imaging techniques. For excellent descriptions of several techniques, readers are directed to Papanicolaou, Pugh, Simos, and Mencl (2004) and Richards (2001).

One commonly used method for imaging brain function is functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), a noninvasive, relatively new method that measures physiological signs of neural activation using a strong magnet to pinpoint blood flow. This technique is called "functional" because participants perform tasks while in (or under) the magnet, allowing measurement of the functioning brain rather than the activity of the brain at rest.

Several studies using functional imaging techniques that compared the brain activation patterns of readers with and without dyslexia show potentially important patterns of differences. We might expect that readers with RD would show underactivation in areas where they are weaker and overactivation in other areas in order to compensate, and that is exactly what many researchers have found (e.g., Shaywitz et al., 1998).

This type of functional imaging research has just begun to be used with children. This is in part because of the challenges involved in imaging children, including the absolute need for the participant's head to remain motionless during the scanning.

We will present the largest, best-specified study as an example of these new findings with children. Shaywitz et al. (2002) studied 144 righthanded children with and without RD on a variety of in- and out-of-magnet tasks. They compared brain activation between the two groups of children on tasks designed to tap several component processes of reading:

identifying the names or sounds of letters

sounding out nonsense words

sounding out and comparing meanings of real words

The nonimpaired readers had more activation in all of the areas known to be important for reading than the children with dyslexia.

Shaywitz et al. (2002) also found that the children who were good decoders had more activation in the areas important for reading in the left hemisphere and less in the right hemisphere than the children with RD.

They suggested that for children with RD, disruption in the rear reading systems in the left hemisphere that are critical for skilled, fluent reading (Area B in Figure 2) leads the children to try and compensate by using other, less efficient systems (Area A in Figure 2 and systems in the right hemisphere).

This finding could explain the common experience in school that even as children with dyslexia develop into accurate readers, their reading in grade-level text is often still slow and labored without any fluency (e.g., Torgesen, Rashotte, & Alexander, 2001).

In summary, the brain of a person with dyslexia has a different distribution of metabolic activation than the brain of a person without reading problems when accomplishing the same language task. There is a failure of the left hemisphere rear brain systems to function properly during reading.

Furthermore, many people with dyslexia often show greater activation in the lower frontal areas of the brain. This leads to the conclusion that neural systems in frontal regions may compensate for the disruption in the posterior area (Shaywitz et al., 2003). This information often leads educators to wonder whether brain imaging can be used as a diagnostic tool to identify children with reading disabilities in school.

Can we screen everyone who has reading difficulties?

Not yet. It is an appealing vision of putting a child we are concerned about in an fMRI machine to quickly and accurately identify his or her problem, but research has not taken us that far.

There are several reasons why a clinical or school-based use of imaging techniques to identify children with dyslexia is not currently feasible. One is the enormous cost of fMRI machines, the computers, and the software needed to run them. Another part of the cost is the staff that is needed to run and interpret the results.

Also, in order for this technology to be used for diagnosis, it needs to be accurate for individuals. Currently, results are reliable and reported for groups of participants, but not necessarily for individuals within each group (Richards, 2001; Shaywitz et al., 2002).

The number of children who would be identified as being average when they really have a problem (false negatives) or as having a problem when they are average (false positives) would need to be significantly lower for imaging techniques to be used for diagnosis of individual children.

Can dyslexia be cured?

In a word, no. Dyslexia is a lifelong condition that affects people into old age. However, that does not mean that instruction cannot remediate some of the difficulties people with dyslexia have with written language. A large body of evidence shows what types of instruction struggling readers need to be successful (e.g., National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, 2000; Snow et al., 1998; Torgesen, 2000).

Now researchers can also "look" inside the brains of children before and after an intensive intervention and see for the first time the effects of the intervention on the brain activity of children with RD. The following are two such studies.

Aylward et al. (2003) imaged 10 children with dyslexia and 11 average readers before and after a 28-hour intervention that only the students with dyslexia received. They compared the two groups of students on out-of-magnet reading tests as well as the level of activation during tasks of identifying letter sounds.

They found that while the control children showed no differences between the two imagings, the students who received the treatment showed a significant increase in activation in the areas important for reading and language during the phonological task. Before the intervention, the children with RD showed significant underactivation in these areas as compared to the control children, and after the treatment their profiles were very similar.

These results must be viewed with caution because of several limitations. One limitation is the lack of specificity about the intervention that was provided, another is the small sample size, and the last is the lack of an experimental control group (i.e., a group of children with RD who did not receive the treatment). Without an experimental control group, we cannot be certain that the intervention caused the changes found in the brain activation because of so many other possible explanations.

Shaywitz et al. (2004) addressed these limitations in their investigation of brain activation changes before and after an intervention. They studied 78 second and third graders with reading disabilities who were randomly assigned to three groups:

the experimental intervention

school-based remedial programs

control

A summary of the instructional intervention is provided in Table 2 and a full and detailed description of the intervention and out-of-magnet reading assessments can be found in Blachman et al. (2004).

Before the intervention, all groups looked similar in their brain activity, but immediately after the intervention the experimental and control groups had increased activation in the left hemispheric regions important for reading.

One year after intervention, the experimental group showed increased activity in the occipito-temporal region important for automatic, fluent reading (Area B in Figure 2), while at both time points the level of compensatory activation in the right hemisphere decreased.

Shaywitz et al. (2002) concluded, "These findings indicate that ... the use of an evidence-based phonologic reading intervention facilitates the development of those fast-paced neural systems that underlie skilled reading" (p. 931).

Important considerations to keep in mind about the brain research

While research advances have allowed us to look more closely within the brain for the first time and revealed important information about how and where we think during reading, there are important considerations that must be remembered.

One is that with the exception of the research by B.E. Shaywitz, S. Shaywitz, and their colleagues, the sample sizes in each study are very small. The evidence from these small studies is converging into results that are reliable, but the results may change as more and more participants are included in the research base. This is especially true with children where both the number of studies and the sample sizes are quite small.

Second, we must consider the type of task being used in the magnet. Because of the requirement that the person's head not move during the imaging, researchers are not able to study people actually reading aloud. Instead, they give tasks that require the person to read silently and then make a decision that he or she indicates with a push button (e.g., Do the letters t and v rhyme? Do leat and jete rhyme?).

Because the researchers have worked carefully on these tasks and have specified the particular process that is being measured, we can trust their conclusions about what the activation levels mean; however, the tasks are quite removed from natural classroom reading and should not be interpreted as if they were the same. The area of brain research is developing rapidly; technological advances are being made that will address these issues as time goes on.

Recommendations for teachers

What does all of this information mean for school personnel and their students? Once teachers understand the underlying processes and causes of reading disabilities, they can use this information as they work with students and their families. The following are specific recommendations based on the neurological research:

Adequate assessment of language processing is important in determining why students struggle to learn to read.
Dyslexia, or reading disability, is a disorder of the language processing systems in the brain. Specific information about exactly what sorts of weaknesses are present is needed in order to determine the appropriate instruction to meet each student's needs.

Imaging research confirms that simple tasks can more reliably be interpreted as "red flags" suggesting that a young child may be at risk for dyslexia.

It is vital to begin using screening and progress monitoring procedures early on to measure children's understanding of sounds in speech, letter sounds in words, and fluent word recognition. Using such assessment in an ongoing way throughout a child's school career can help teachers know what skills to teach and whether a child is developing these skills.

Explicit, intense, systematic instruction in the sound structure of language (phonemic awareness) and in how sounds relate to letters (phonics) is needed for readers with dyslexia.

Imaging research confirmed that instruction in the alphabetic principle caused distinct differences in brain activation patterns in the students with RD (Shaywitz et al., 2004). Keep in mind that the intervention was explicit, intense, long term, and specifically focused on phonological processing, phonics, and fluency.

The roles of motivation and fear of failing are important when discussing reading problems.

Students do not struggle simply because they are not trying hard enough. They may have a brain difference that requires them to be taught in a more intense fashion than their peers. Without intense intervention, low motivation may develop as students try to avoid a difficult and painful task.

School personnel can use their knowledge of the neurological characteristics and basis of dyslexia to help their students understand their strengths and weaknesses around reading and language.

Understanding a possible reason why they find something difficult that no one else seems to struggle with may help relieve some of the mystery and negative feelings that many people with a disability feel. Sharing our knowledge of brain research may demystify dyslexia and help students and their parents realize that language processing is only one of many talents that they have and that they are not "stupid," they simply process language differently than their peers.

Recommendations for parents

The identification of a child with dyslexia is a difficult time for parents and teachers. We suggest that teachers can help parents learn more about their child's difficulty in the following ways:

Teachers can share information about the student's specific areas of weakness and strength and help parents realize the underlying causes of their child's difficulty.
This conversation can also include information about how to help their child use areas of strength to support areas of weakness.

It is critical to help parents get clear about what dyslexia is and is not.

Sharing the common misconceptions and the correct information found in Table 1 with parents may help clear up any confusion that may exist.

Early intervention with intense, explicit instruction is critical for helping students avoid the lifelong consequences of poor reading.

Engaging parents early in the process of identifying what programs and services are best for their child will ensure greater levels of success and cooperation between home and school.

There are many organizations devoted to supporting individuals with RD and their families.

Accessing the knowledge, support, and advocacy of these organizations is critical for many families. A list of several large organizations to share with parents can be found in Table 3.

Finally, teachers can often best help families by simply listening to the parents and their concerns for their children.

Understanding a disability label and what that means for the future of their child is a very emotional process for parents and many times teachers can help by providing a sympathetic ear as well as information.

Imaging research has demonstrated that the brains of people with dyslexia show different, less efficient, patterns of processing (including under and over activation) during tasks involving sounds in speech and letter sounds in words. Understanding this has the potential to increase the confidence teachers feel when designing and carrying out instruction for their students with dyslexia.

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Dyslexia and the Brain: What Does Current Research Tell Us?

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Developmental dyslexia and how it relates to brain function are complicated topics that researchers have been studying since dyslexia was first described over a hundred years ago. W. Pringle Morgan (cited in Shaywitz, 1996), a doctor in Sussex, England, described the puzzling case of a boy in the British Medical Journal: "Percy ...

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The early years are when the brain develops the most, forming neural connections that pave the way for how a child -- and the eventual adult -- will express feelings, embark on a task, and learn new skills and concepts.

Scientists have even theorized that the anatomical structure of neural connections forms the basis for how children identify letters and recognize words. In other words, the brain's architecture may predetermine who will have trouble with reading, including children with dyslexia.

But teaching can change that, a new University of Washington study finds.

Using MRI measurements of the brain's neural connections, or "white matter," UW researchers have shown that, in struggling readers, the neural circuitry strengthened -- and their reading performance improved -- after just eight weeks of a specialized tutoring program. The study, published June 8 in Nature Communications, is the first to measure white matter during an intensive educational intervention and link children's learning with their brains' flexibility.

"The process of educating a child is physically changing the brain," said Jason Yeatman, an assistant professor in both the UW Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences and the Institute for Learning & Brain Sciences (I-LABS). "We were able to detect changes in brain connections within just a few weeks of beginning the intervention program. It's underappreciated that teachers are brain engineers who help kids build new brain circuits for important academic skills like reading."

The study focused on three areas of white matter -- regions rich with neuronal connections -- that link regions of the brain involved in language and vision.

"We tend to think of these connections as being fixed," said co-author Elizabeth Huber, a UW postdoctoral researcher. "In reality, different experiences can shape the brain in dramatic ways throughout development."

After eight weeks of intensive instruction among study participants who struggled with reading, two of those three areas showed evidence of structural changes -- a greater density of white matter and more organized "wiring." That plasticity points to changes brought about by the environment, indicating that these regions are not inherently inflexible structures. They reorganize in response to experiences children have in the classroom.

Dyslexia, a learning disorder that affects the ability to read and spell words, is the most common language-related learning disability. While estimates vary, between 10 to 20 percent of the population has some form of dyslexia. There is no quick and simple cure, and without intervention, children with dyslexia tend to struggle in school as the need for literacy skills increases over time.

Yeatman, who launched the Brain Development & Education Lab at I-LABS, conducted the study during the summers of 2016 and 2017, when a total of 24 children, ages 7 to 12, participated in a reading intervention program offered by Lindamood-Bell Learning Centers. The company did not fund the study but provided the tutoring services for free to study participants. The participants' parents had reported that their child either struggled with reading or had been diagnosed with dyslexia.

Over eight weeks, the children received one-on-one instruction for four hours a day, five days a week. They took a series of reading tests before and after the tutoring program and underwent four MRI scans and behavioral evaluation sessions at the beginning, middle and end of the eight-week period. A control group of 19 children with a mixture of reading skill levels participated in the MRI and behavioral sessions but did not receive the reading intervention.

The researchers used diffusion MRI measurements to determine the density of three areas of white matter -- areas that contain nerve fibers and connect different specialized processing circuits to each other. Specifically, they looked at the rate at which water diffuses within the white matter: A decline in the rate of diffusion indicates that additional tissue has formed, which allows information to be transmitted faster and easier.

The analysis focused on the left arcuate fasciculus, which connects regions where language and sounds are processed; the left inferior longitudinal fasciculus, where visual inputs, such as letters on a page, are transmitted throughout the brain; and the posterior callosal connections, which link the two hemispheres of the brain.

Subjects in the control group showed no changes in diffusion rates or structure between MRI measurements. But for subjects who took part in the tutoring program, reading skills improved by an average of one full grade level. In the majority of these subjects, diffusion rates decreased in the arcuate and inferior longitudinal fasciculus. For the few children who showed no significant decline in diffusion by MRI, Yeatman said there could be compounding differences in individual capacities for brain plasticity, age of the participants (younger brains may be more susceptible to change than slightly older ones) or other factors.

The callosal connections showed no changes between treatment and control groups, results that support past research suggesting that this structure, though relevant for reading acquisition, may already be mature and stable by age 7, Yeatman said.

Just what kind of tissue was created among reading program participants is likely to be the subject of future study, the authors said. For example, the measurements might be picking up on increases in the number or size of certain types of cells that help nourish and maintain the white matter, or on added insulation for existing neural connections, Huber said. The challenge with MRI data, Yeatman pointed out, is that they reflect an indirect measurement -- not a hands-on examination of the brain.

But the structure of this experiment underscores the importance of the findings, he added: Children participated in a tightly controlled, short-term educational intervention, with measurable, identifiable growth in brain tissue from start to finish.

"Much of what we know about brain plasticity comes from research done in animals," Yeatman said. "The beauty of educational interventions is that they provide a means to study fundamental questions about the link between childhood experiences, brain plasticity and learning, all while giving kids extra help in reading."

Yeatman believes the findings can extend to schools. Teachers have the potential to develop their students' brains, regardless of whether they have the resources to provide individualized instruction for each student in their class.

"While many parents and teachers might worry that dyslexia is permanent, reflecting intrinsic deficits in the brain, these findings demonstrate that targeted, intensive reading programs not only lead to substantial improvements in reading skills, but also change the underlying wiring of the brain's reading circuitry," Yeatman said.

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How instruction changes brain circuitry with struggling readers

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The early years are when the brain develops the most, forming neural connections that pave the way for how a child -- and the eventual adult -- will express feelings, embark on a task, and learn new skills and concepts.

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Children each learn and develop at their own pace, and reading is no different from other skill building. It's common for kids to find reading challenging at one point or another. But if learning to read becomes an ongoing struggle that leaves a child falling behind their peers, it's possible that they have a learning disorder known as dyslexia.

Dyslexia is most commonly associated with trouble learning to read. It affects a child's ability to recognize and manipulate the sounds in language. Kids with dyslexia have a hard time decoding new words, or breaking them down into manageable chunks they can then sound out. This causes difficulty with reading, writing and spelling. They may compensate by memorizing words, but they'll have trouble recognizing new words and may be slow in retrieving even familiar ones.

Dyslexia is not a reflection of a child's intelligence - in fact it's defined as a gap between a student's ability and achievement. Some youngsters with dyslexia are able to keep up with their peers with extra effort at least for the first few grades. But by the third grade or so, when they need to be able to read quickly and fluently in order to keep up with their work, they run into trouble.

With help and strategies for compensating for their weakness in decoding, students with dyslexia can learn to read and thrive academically. But dyslexia is not something one grows out of.

How common is dyslexia?

It is estimated that as many as one in five kids has dyslexia, and that 80 to 90 percent of kids with learning disorders have it. Sally Shaywitz, MD, co-director of the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity, notes that many children go undiagnosed as struggles in school are incorrectly attributed to intelligence, level of effort or environmental factors.

Although experts used to say that dyslexia occurred more often in boys than in girls, current research indicates that it affects boys and girls equally.

A young person with dyslexia may:

Struggle with learning even simple rhymes

Have a speech delay

Have trouble following directions

Repeat or omit short words such as and, the, but

Find it difficult to tell left from right

In school, children with dyslexia are likely to:

Have difficulty sounding out new words

Lack fluency compared to other children their age

Reverse letters and numbers when reading (read saw as was, for example)

Find it difficult to take notes and copy down words from the board

Struggle with rhyming, associating sounds with letters, and sequencing and ordering sounds

Stumble and have difficulty spelling even common words; frequently they will spell them phonetically (hrbr instead of harbor)

Avoid being called on to read out loud in front of classmates

Become tired or frustrated from reading

Dyslexia affects children outside of school as well. Kids with dyslexia may also:

Find it difficult to decode logos and signs

Struggle when trying to learn the rules to games

Have difficulty keeping track of multi-step directions

Struggle with getting the hang of telling time

Find it especially challenging to learn another language

Become incredibly frustrated, which can effect their mood and emotional stability

Social and emotional impacts of dyslexia

Dyslexia affects a lot more than reading - it can also impact a child socially. "A dyslexic person who has word-finding difficulties can have trouble with their expressive language," says Scott Bezsylko, the executive director of Winston Preparatory School, which specializes in teaching kids with learning disorders. "That has a social impact, in addition to your difficulties with reading and writing, that make you feel not so good about yourself."

Kids with dyslexia - particularly those who have yet to be diagnosed - often suffer from low self-esteem because they worry that there is something wrong with them, and are often accused of not trying hard enough to learn to read. "A lot of our work with dyslexic kids is to help them rediscover that they are smart and capable," notes Beszylko, "because they've stopped believing in themselves."

How is dyslexia diagnosed?

If your child isn't meeting expectations for reading, as parents you can ask the school district to perform an evaluation and share the results with you. The evaluation will test your child's intellectual capacity and reading skills, to see if there is an achievement gap. It should also rule out other potential causes like environmental factors or hearing impairment.

The school should then make recommendations on how they can support your child and maximize her learning.

If you are unhappy with the quality of the evaluation, you can also secure a private evaluation by a psychologist, a neuropsychologist, a reading specialist, a speech and language therapist, an educational evaluator or a school psychologist. This external evaluation can also be used to advocate for your child and get the accommodations and services she might need.

When should a child be evaluated?

Dyslexia can begin to reveal itself at a young age, and there are preschool evaluations that look at the child's awareness of the sounds that make up words, and ability at word retrieval. However, Matthew Cruger, PhD, a clinical neuropsychologist at the Child Mind Institute, suggests waiting until kids are at least six years old and have had some formal instruction in reading to seek out a formal evaluation.

But Dr. Shaywitz notes that as soon as a gap between intelligence and reading skills is apparent - and evidence shows it can be seen in first grade - it's a good idea to get help. Schools sometimes encourage parents to wait until the third grade to see if their child truly needs an intervention, but Dr. Shaywitz argues that the earlier intervention is important not only to help kids catch up but to boost their fragile self-image, which is damaged by continuing struggle in school and comparisons with peers.

How to help kids with dyslexia

A dyslexia diagnosis does not mean your child will never learn to read. Dr. Cruger says there are a number of programs that can help, which might include these features:

Multi-sensory instruction in decoding skills

Repetition and review of skills

Intensity of intervention - that is, more than being pulled out of class once a week for extra help

Small group or individual instruction

Teaching decoding skills

Drilling sight words

Teaching comprehension strategies, to help kids derive meaning from what they're reading

Reading programs that been shown to help kids with dyslexia include:

Dr. Cruger points out that traditional tutoring may actually be counter-productive for a child with dyslexia, particularly if it is not a positive experience. "If the child hates the experience of reading help, it's not helpful," Dr. Cruger notes. "And it's not treating the source of the problem, the decoding weakness."

Instead, Dr. Cruger emphasizes that one of the most important ways to help kids with dyslexia is to make them more comfortable reading. This can be done in part by celebrating even small victories and accomplishments, while focusing less on correcting their errors.

Accommodations for kids with dyslexia

Kids with demonstrated dyslexia are eligible for accommodations in school. "Dyslexia robs a person of time," Dr. Shaywitz explains, "and accommodations give the time back to her." Accommodations may include:

Extra time on tests

A quiet space to work

The option to record lectures

The option to give verbal, rather than written, answers (when appropriate)

Elimination of oral reading in class

Exemption from foreign language learning

Other ways to support a child with dyslexia

One of the best ways to support a child with dyslexia - or any child who is struggling - is to encourage those activities that they like and feel good at, whether it is music, joining a sports team or anything else that helps build her confidence.

To help reinforce that dyslexia is not a marker of intelligence, it can also be helpful to talk about successful people - like Whoopi Goldberg and Steven Spielberg - who have also been diagnosed with dyslexia.

Other things that may help your child with dyslexia include:

Listening to audio books as an alternative to reading

Typing on a computer or tablet instead of writing

Apps that can make learning fun by turning decoding into a game

Using a ruler to help kids read in a straight line, which can help keep them focused

Emotional support

Dyslexia can result in frustration, embarrassment, avoidance and low self-esteem as a result of difficulties performing tasks that seem to come naturally to others. Demystifying the learning disorder with your child can help him develop the tools - and resilience - necessary to manage it, both in school and in social circumstances. Some things you can do to help include:

Discuss the specific challenges that result from dyslexia: "You know how you have a hard time reading signs or copying notes from the board? That's dyslexia."

Acknowledge their effort and celebrate hard work, even if there are still mistakes: "I know how difficult that reading homework was. I am so proud of how hard you tried."

Help them recognize their strengths: "You showed such great sportsmanship and teamwork in the soccer game the other night, and that was a great goal you scored!"

Combat negative self-talk: If your child starts saying things like, "I'm just stupid," don't ignore it. Instead, check out these ideas for helping kids who are too hard on themselves.

Frequently Asked Questions

How does dyslexia work?

How common is dyslexia?

What helps students with dyslexia?

What are the signs of dyslexia?

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Understanding Dyslexia - Child Mind Institute

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Find out how to recognize dyslexia, the most common learning disability. The Child Mind Institute on how to help kids who have trouble learning to read.

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Reading: On the 2019 Nation's Report Card, reading proficiency for 4th and 8th grade students dropped from 2017. In 2019, 34% of 4th and 8th graders were proficient readers. Scores dropped in 17 states/jurisdictions, stayed the same in 34 states/jurisdictions, and increased in one state (Mississippi).

Learning

IDA Dyslexia Handbook: What Every Family Should Know - how to recognize signs and symptoms of dyslexia in speaking, reading and writing; includes information on assessments, effective teaching approaches, self-advocacy ideas, and resources that will be useful through the child's life. Download.

NELP Report: Developing Early Literacy. Summary from Reading Rockets. The National Early Literacy Panel looked at studies of early literacy and found many things that parents and preschools can do to improve the literacy development of young children and that different approaches influence the development of a different pattern of essential skills. Download Report (pdf)

Preventing Early Reading Failure "We have tools to reliably identify the children who are likely destined for early reading failure. Most importantly ... if we intervene early, intensively, and appropriately, we can provide these children with the early reading skills that can prevent almost all of them from ever entering the nasty downward spiral ..."

Catch Them Before They Fall By Joseph Torgesen. Identification and Assessment To Prevent Reading Failure in Young Children. Published by the American Federation of Teachers, American Educator.

Why Children Succeed or Fail at Reading, Research from National Institute of Child Health and Human Development's Program in Learning Disabilities.

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Teaching Children to Read

Teaching Reading IS Rocket Science, What Expert Teachers Should Know and Be Able to Do by Louisa Moats, published by the American Federation of Teachers.

IDA's Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading (International Dyslexia Association). "Reading difficulties are the most common cause of academic failure and underachievement." These Standards provide a content framework for courses and delineate proficiency requirements for practical application of this content (e.g., interpretation of assessments, delivery of differentiated instruction, and successful intervention with a child or adult with a reading disability).

"Reading disabilities are the most understood and effectively corrected learning disability ...
[but] if help is delayed until third grade, children rarely catch up with their peers ...

"75% of children who were poor readers in the 3rd grade remained poor readers in the 9th grade and could not read well when they became adults."

"If parents suspect that their child has dyslexia, the sooner they act on their suspicions,
the better it will be for their child."

From ABC to ADHD: What Every Parent Should Know About Dyslexia

What Content-Area Teachers Should Know About Adolescent Literacy. Report from the National Institute for Literacy (2007).

No Offense: But It's Alarming That So Many Children are Not Learning to Read. If your child was in 5th grade and reading on the 2.7 grade level, wouldn't you be alarmed? Wouldn't you want a research-based reading program that has a proven record of success before your child falls even further behind?

One Reason Kids Aren't Learning to Read by Sue Whitney. "We should not be surprised that people untrained to accomplish the goal are unable to accomplish the goal. If we were graduating and certifying people who could teach reading, they would be doing it."

Fifth Grader is Reading at 2.7 Grade Level. Should He Be Tested for Special Ed? The big question is whether anyone will teach him how to read if he goes into special ed. Several factors are working against him in special ed.

What Education Schools Aren't Teaching about Reading and What Elementary Teachers Aren't Learning. The National Council on Teacher Quality examined what aspiring teachers learn about reading instruction in college. NCTQ analyzed a representative sample of reading courses to assess the degree to which students are taught the five essential components of effective reading instruction: phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension.
Reading Recovery: What Do School Districts Get for Their Money? A Review of the Research by Dr. Melissa Farrall.
Decoding Dyslexia. Let's Take it Viral! Decoding Dyslexia, launched by New Jersey parents, is an excellent and inspirational story about how a small group of parents banded together to change education in their home state and in other states.

Watch video of Pete's Keynote at Decoding Dyslexia Day in Richmond, VA.

What Works in Teaching Children to Read, Whole Language or Phonics? by Dr. Reid Lyon.

Why Reading is Not a Natural Process by Reid Lyon from LD Online. To learn to decode and read printed English, children must be aware that spoken words are composed of individual sound parts termed phonemes.When we speak to one another, the individual sounds (phonemes) within the words are not consciously heard by the listener. Thus, no one ever receives any natural practice understanding that words are composed of smaller, abstract sound units.

Establishing an Effective Reading Program - This teleconference discussed how schools and their districts can find the best research-based reading program to meet the needs of their student population according to the mandates of the law.

Chat Transcript: Evidence-Based Research Policy with Dr. Reid Lyon, research psychologist and the chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch within the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity: Dr. Sally Shaywitz, author of Overcoming Dyslexia, an outstanding book on dyslexia, also has a superb website with a tremendous amount of information -- both facts and human interest stories.

Open Letter about Reading Recovery - In an open letter to policy makers, educational leaders, researchers, and federal agencies, more than 30 international reading researchers expressed serious concerns about the continued use of Reading Recovery in public schools. Why Reading Recovery is Not Appropriate for First Grade Children - Dr. Joseph Torgesen describes problems with Reading Recovery and why schools should not use this program, especially with children who have reading disorders.
Whole Language Lives on, The Illusion of "Balanced" Reading Instruction by Louisa Moats, published by the Thomas B. Fordham Foundation.
Teaching Decoding by Louisa Moats, published by the American Federation of Teachcers, American Educator.

What Reading Tests Measure . . . and Don't Measure by Dr. Melissa Farrall. Before educators can design an effective remedial program for a child, they must understand the exact nature of the child's weaknesses. This is not as easy as it sounds. Learn about the most commonly used tests of reading - what they measure, how they are administered, and their limitations.

Questions Parents Can Ask about Reading Improvement. These questions were compiled through a collaborative effort by parents, educational consultants, teachers, professors from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Charlotte, and staff from the Exceptional Children's Assistance Center.
Pop-Ups and Checklists
Assessing Reading Difficulties and Disabilities. Click on the pop-up box to learn about reading difficulties and disabilities, like dyslexia, and find out how reading is assessed. Get IDEA requirements for evaluations, see answers to your questions, find federal law or regulations that support these answers, and a list of additional resources.

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Writing

Understanding Dysgraphia. This fact sheet from the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) describes types and causes of dysgraphia, who can diagnose, appropriate treatment for dysgraphia, and whether children should use cursive writing or printing.

Testing Written Expression: Myths and Misconceptions. Dr. Melissa Farrall explains the importance of measuring specific skills when evaluating writing expression. You will learn what areas should be included in a written language test and learn what commonly used tests of written expression measure.

Could Your Child Have Dysgraphia? Take the Quiz from the Understood for Learning and Attention Issues.

The "Write Stuff" for Preventing and Treating Writing Disabilities - Written language disabilities are prevalent in children with learning disabilities. Although reading disabilities are often identified sooner than writing disabilities, writing disabilities are more persistent. This article focuses on early intervention to prevent writing problems and long-term remediation to treat writing disabilities. She describes types of writing difficulties - handwriting automaticity, spelling, and composition - and the coordinated components of a functional writing system.

Dysgraphia Information Page from the National Institute for Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS).

Fact Sheet from the Learning Disabilities Association (LDA) of Minnesota.

My Child Has Dysgraphia - How Can I Find a Tutor? If your child has dysgraphia - or dyslexia, dyscalculia (a learning disability in math), another learning disability - here's an article about where to start.

These questions were compiled through a collaborative effort by parents, educational consultants, teachers, professors from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and Charlotte, and staff from the Questions Parents Can Ask about Spelling, Writing, and Testing. Exceptional Children's Assistance Center.

How Spelling Supports Reading -And Why It Is More Regular and Predictable Than You May Think by Louisa C. Moats. Research has shown that learning to spell and learning to read rely on much of the same underlying knowledge. Spelling instruction can be designed to help children better understand that key knowledge, resulting in better reading.

Statistically, more American children suffer long-term life-harm from the process of learning to read than from parental abuse, accidents, and all other childhood diseases and disorders combined.

In purely economic terms, reading related difficulties cost our nation more than the war on terrorism, crime, and drugs combined." - Children of the Code

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Q & As

Q&A with Pete Wright: 'Kids are...Teaching-disabled'

My Son Can't Read - What Can I Do?

How Can I Get Help for My Child with Reading Problems?

How Can I Get a Trained Certified Reading Teacher?

Teaching a Child to Read: Special Ed or Reading First?

Double-Dipping: Are Kids with Disabilities Barred from Title I Programs? What Works in Teaching Children to Read?

What Works in Teaching Adolescents to Read?

How Can We Find a Tutor Who is Knowledgeable about Research-Based Reading Instruction?

Late Bloomers: Are We Teaching Kids to Read Before They Are Ready?

Is Retention an Appropriate Intervention?

Doing Your Homework. Sue Whitney, Research Editor at Wrightslaw, answers FAQs about Reading.

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Nation's Report Card

The Nation's Report Card for 2019. The average reaading score for 4th and 8th grade students decreased between 2017 and 2019. The NCES results show lower reading scores at both grades. Mathematics scores increase at grade four, and decrease at grade eight compared to 2017. Most states show no score change in math.

In 2019, 34% of fourth graders read below basic level. Only 26% are at proficient lever, a decrease from 2017. For eighth graders, 27% read below the basic level while 29% are proficient readers, a decrease from 2017.

Previous Years

The Nation's Report Card for 2017. Compared to 2015, there was a 1-point increase in the average reading score at grade 8 in 2017, but no significant change in the average score for reading at grade 4, or for mathematics at either grade. 36 percent of fourth graders are proficient readers - and more nearly 60 percent are not proficient. 4th grade scores remain the same from 2015, with no significant increase. 24 percent of eighth graders are " below basic" readers.

The Nation's Report Card, 2015. Average scores for reading in 2015 declined at grade 8; there was no significant change in the reading score for fourth-grade student. Thirty-six percent of fourth-grade and 34 percent of eighth-grade students perform at or above the Proficient level in NAEP reading. Thirty-one percent of fourth-grade and 24 percent of eighth-grade students perform at the below basic level in reading.

The Nation's Report Card, 2013 Mathematics and Reading, shows some improvement nationally from the last assessment in 2011 among fourth- and eighth-grade students in mathematics, and among eighth-grade students in reading. The performance of 4th graders in reading shows no improvement.

The Nation's Report Card 2011 shows improvement reading comprehension at grade 8, but no significant change at grade 4. The overall average score for fourth-graders in 2011 was unchanged from the score in 2009. The average score for eighth-graders in 2011 was 1 point higher than in 2009. State results for grade 4 show higher scores in 2011 than in 2009 for 4 states, and lower scores for 2 states. At grade 8, scores were higher in 2011 than in 2009 for students in 10 states, and no states had a lower score than in 2009.

The Nation's Report Card 2009 reports reading scores up since 2007 at grade 8 and unchanged at grade 4.

The Nation's Report Card for 2007 states the average reading score for eighth-graders was up 1 point since 2005 and 3 points since 1992; however, the trend of increasing scores was not consistent over all assessment years. In comparison to both 1992 and 2005, the percentage of students performing at or above the Basic level increased, but there was no significant change in the percentage of students at or above the Proficient level.

According to the performance has not improved in 30 years. Nation's Report Card for 2005, 31 percent of 4th graders and 31 percent of 8th graders are proficient readers. Minority students score lower - just 16 percent of African American and 22 percent of Hispanic 12th graders are proficient readers. Graph

Reading, math and science

Free Pubs

NELP Report: Developing Early Literacy (2009). Summary from Reading Rockets. The National Early Literacy Panel looked at studies of early literacy and found that there are many things that parents and preschools can do to improve the literacy development of their young children and that different approaches influence the development of a different pattern of essential skills. Download Report (pdf)

Framework for Informed Reading and Language Instruction: Matrix of Multisensory Structured Language Programs. This publication from the International Dyslexia Association explains different reading programs and what they cover. These programs, when properly implemented, have been successful in teaching students to read, write, and use language.

A Child Becomes a Reader: Birth Through Preschool.

A Child Becomes a Reader: Proven Ideas from Research for Parents (K-Grade 3) . What to do at home, what to look for in classrooms, what every child should be able to do by the end of K, 1st, 2nd, 3rd grades.

Put Reading First: Building Blocks For Teaching Children To Read: Kindergarten Through Grade 3. Describes the 5 essential components of reading instruction (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and text comprehension); summarizes what researchers know about each skill; implications for instruction; proven strategies for teaching reading.

Put Reading First: Helping Your Child Learn to Read - A Parent Guide. An overview of findings of the National Reading Panel; gives ideas for what to expect from a school's reading program based on evidence from the research (preschool through grade 3); suggests ways parents can reinforce reading instruction at home.
Teaching Children to Read: An Evidence-Based Assessment of the Scientific Research Literature on Reading and Its Implications for Reading Instruction--Reports of the Subgroups. Published by the National Institute for Literacy, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, and the U.S. Department of Education.

Using Research and Reason in Education. Because teachers say it is difficult to stay current on research about effective instruction, this paper helps teachers become consumers of educational programs and materials, provides guidance on how to recognize scientifically based instructional strategies, how to use the concepts of research in the classroom.

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Special Education Cases: Reading

Carter v. Florence County School District IV. Tuition reimbursement case that was appealed to the U. S. Supreme Court. Decision focuses on an appropriate program and IEP for Shannon, a child with dyslexia.

Carter v. Florence County, U. S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit After Florence County lost in District Court, they appealed to the Fourth Circuit. Florence County argued that four months a year of progress in reading was sufficiednt, and that because Trident Academy was not on the State's "approved" list, Shannon's parents should not be reimbursed for the placement. Court discusses "least restrictive environment" and a contrary Second Circuit case. This ruling for Shannon created a "split" among circuits that supported an appeal to the U. S. Supreme Court inFlorence County School District Four v. Shannon Carter.

New in 2021 - Rogich v. Clark County School District, US District Court, Nevada, 2021. Methodology and procedural safeguards case. School district failed to provide an IEP that identified and utilized an Orton-Gillingham based methodology or structured literacy format that teachers would have to use to meet the needs of a child with dyslexia; school district refused to accept the parents' offer to pay to train teachers in an effective structured literacy method; IEP teams failed to adequately review evaluations provided by parents and failed to "meaningfully consider parents' concerns for enhancing their child's education." Judge held that telling parents "Trust us to provide what she needs" is "not sufficient."

Jarron Draper v. Atlanta Independent School System (N.D. GA 2007) - School district misdiagnosed a dyslexic child as mentally retarded, placed him in self-contained program for years, he did not learn to read. The Court ordered the school system to provide him with compensatory education at private special education school for four years or until he graduates with a regular high school diploma.

Evans v. Rhinebeck Central School District, U. S. District Court, Southern District of New York. Excellent case about tuition reimbursement, procedural and substantive issues, FAPE, dyslexia, objective measurement of progress.Joseph James v. Upper Arlington City Sch. District, U. S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit. Decision about tuition reimbursement for education of child with dyslexia, statute of limitations, procedural safeguards.

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Database of Service Providers

The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) maintains a national database of providers and others who can help, including:
In pdf In html

psychologists

diagnosticians

academic and educational therapists

tutors

speech language therapists

pediatricians

advocates

attorney

For information about the IDA database (or to be included in the database), contact the IDA Information and Referral Department at 410-296-0232, extension 125 or e-mail info@dyslexiada.org. Join IDA l IDA Provider Directory l IDA Branches

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Teaching Children to Read - Reading Research, Learning to Read, Teaching Children with Disabilities to Read

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Reading: On the 2019 Nation's Report Card, reading proficiency for 4th and 8th grade students dropped from 2017. In 2019, 34% of 4th and 8th graders were proficient readers. Scores dropped in 17 states/jurisdictions, stayed the same in 34 states/jurisdictions, and increased in one state (Mississippi).

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RIDE is highlighting supports and resources of prominence regarding dyslexia and related disorders to help educators and families work together to better support students who struggle with reading, writing, and math.

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Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, & Dyscalculia Resources

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RIDE is highlighting supports and resources of prominence regarding dyslexia and related disorders to help educators and families work together to better support students who struggle with reading, writing, and math.

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THE definitive guide to the science of reading.

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THE definitive guide to the science of reading.

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The Science of Reading: Defining Guide provides a firm definition of what the science of reading is, what it is not, and how all stakeholders can understand its potential to transform reading instruction.

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At the beginning of the video you had the opportunity to experience what it feels like to struggle through a written text. Dyslexia for a Day: A Simulation of Dyslexia is a kit with five simulations that can be implemented by anyone. Here is the writing simulation in full. Click here for complete information about Dyslexia for a Day.
Dyslexia is a complex construct with many different facets that need to be addressed. There are the jobs of finding the right intervention, working with the school district and becoming well-versed in dyslexia. This blog post includes a plethora of websites, articles and book suggestions to find out more.
Visit the Dyslexia Training Institute to become trained in the intervention that is widely accepted in the dyslexia community (Orton-Gillingham).
Decoding Dyslexia is a non-profit movement that is led by parents of children struggling with dyslexia. They are a local resource for parents in 25 states. This is the flagship branch that can send you in the right direction.
For information about Special Education Law and Dyslexia: www.dyslexiatraininginstitute.org and www.wrightslaw.com
Dr. Sally Shaywitz recently wrote, "In the case of dyslexia, (while there is always the desire for more), there is currently sufficient knowledge to do a far better job in identifying, intervening in and accommodating dyslexia. There is an unacceptable and harmful wide gap between the robust existing science of dyslexia and how this knowledge is implemented, typically not implemented, by schools. In dyslexia, there is not a knowledge gap but rather an action gap. As a consequence dyslexic children frequently go un-identified, un-remediated and un-accommodated with great harm to the children, to their families and to society. Educators must act to translate this body of converging science into policy and practice. Our children's lives and futures (human capital) is too precious to waste."

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What is dyslexia? - Kelli Sandman-Hurley

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Dyslexia affects up to 1 in 5 people, but the experience of dyslexia isn't always the same. This difficulty in processing language exists along a spectrum -- one that doesn't necessarily fit with labels like "normal" and "defective." Kelli Sandman-Hurley urges us to think again about dyslexic brain function and to celebrate the neurodiversity of the human brain.

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Dyslexia is the most common learning disability in the United States. It's not about lacking comprehension, having a low IQ or being deprived of a good education. It's about having a really hard time reading.

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Teaching, Reading, and Learning: The Reading League Podcast

Teaching, Reading, and Learning: The Reading League Podcast elevates important contributions to the educational community, with the goal of inspiring teachers, informing practice, and celebrating people in the community who have influenced teaching and literacy to the betterment of children. The podcast features people whose life stories are compelling and rich in ways that are instructive to us all. The podcast will focus on literacy as we know it (reading and writing) but will also connect to other "literacies" that impact children's learning; for example, emotional, physical, and social literacies as they apply to teachers and children.
Teaching, Reading, and Learning: The Reading League Podcast is taking a short break following our June 2022 episode.

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Teaching, Reading & Learning: The Podcast

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Teaching, Reading & Learning: The Podcast elevates important contributions to the educational community, with the goal of inspiring teachers, informing practice, and celebrating people in the community who have influenced teaching and literacy to the betterment of children.

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Language and Reading Research Consortium

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Language and Reading Research Consortium

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Language and Reading
Research Consortium (LARRC)

LARRC conducted a five-year study designed to substantially increase our understanding of language- and reading-comprehension development for children ages 4-8 years old (pre-kindergarten to grade 3). In total, 1,200 children in four states were followed longitudinally over five years.

As part of the study, the LARRC team developed a 25-week curriculum supplement for children in grades pre-kindergarten to third grade designed to improve children's language skills as a means to improving their reading comprehension: Let's Know! (Pre-Kindergarten to Grade 3, English language) and Vamos a Aprender! (Pre-Kindergarten only, Bilingual Spanish-English). These supplements are available to download for free.

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Language and Reading Research Consortium

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LARRC conducted a five-year study designed to substantially increase our understanding of language- and reading-comprehension development for children ages 4-8 years old (pre-kindergarten to grade 3). In total, 1,200 children in four states were followed longitudinally over five years.

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How and when primary and secondary school students will resume their schooling in the fall is still in question. Students across the country recently completed the school year from home, some without standardized experiences, access to technologies or engagement across school division.

In a recent op-ed in The 74, an education news oulet, Emily Solari, professor of reading education at the University of Virginia's Curry School of Education and Human Development, argued that the coronavirus pandemic has potential to amplify a critical and widening nationwide gap in reading.

According to Solari, the good news is that a robust, evidence-based practice exists that can inform how best to teach reading and support students. Unfortunately, too much of that practice is not making its way to teachers and students.

Solari discuss how she sees the pathway to increasing literacy skills in American students - and how now is a critically important time for it to happen.
Q. What is the "science of reading" and how does it relate to the evidence we have about teaching reading?
A. The science of reading is a large body of empirical research amassed over the past 50-plus years from several different disciplines (linguistics, cognitive psychology, neuroscience, etc.) that describe both typical and atypical reading acquisition. In the past decades, this scientific work has coalesced around several conclusions with implications for the field.

The science of reading is not necessarily comprehensive, nor is it conclusive for all aspects of reading development. For example, the field knows a whole lot more about how word-reading both develops cognitively and knows evidence-based practices to teach these skills. We know less about effective instructional practices to help students comprehend what they read.

In the field of education and teacher preparation, the science of reading is important because understanding the cognitive processes that are imperative for successful reading acquisition has the potential to translate into reading instructional practices. Many argue - and I think there is evidence of this in our schools - that what we know about the science of reading acquisition has not adequately transferred into classroom practice, nor has it sufficiently been incorporated into how teachers are taught to understand reading and how to teach reading.

Evidence strongly suggests that reading comprehension, which is the ultimate goal of reading, is driven by two broad skillsets: the capability to read words - or decoding skill - and a child's oral language or language comprehension skills.
Q. Why has there been so much disagreement about how to teach reading?
A. These disagreements can be broadly conceptualized as two opposing camps: those who support an idea classically called a whole-language approach, and those who endorse an approach to early reading that is an explicit and systematic, cracking-the-code approach, sometimes referred to as a phonics-based approach or structured literacy.

The major differences in the two approaches are that in a whole-language approach, children are immersed in literature experiences and the instructional approach is based in helping children understand how the oral language system applies to reading whole words. Often this approach uses a cueing system for reading unknown words, teaching students to use certain cues (meaning-based, language structure and visual).

A phonics-based approach, which actually endorses more than phonics- only instruction, calls for structured and explicit instruction in developing word-reading skills, through explicitly teaching the relationship between letter sounds and their orthographic representation, oral language development and comprehension instruction.

The existing research is clear that the most effective early reading instruction, especially to develop efficient decoding (word reading), is structured and explicit phonics-based approach; this approach can be beneficial for all students, but is particularly important for students who are most vulnerable to reading difficulties.

These debates have been occurring for many decades, which undoubtedly has caused confusion for districts, administrators and teachers, impacting both individual children's reading development and nationwide reading achievement scores.
Q. Why isn't the robust evidence-based practice you mention making its way to teachers?
A. The implementation of evidence-based practices is complex. It is almost impossible to pinpoint one reason that the science of reading is not being translated into evidence-based instructional practices in schools.

One of the exciting things about scientific discoveries is that the research is ever-evolving. This is also the downside of science and empirical findings, when you think about it in educational contexts. It is difficult for the field to keep up as new findings emerge. And translating new evidence-based findings to teachers has proven to be a difficult task.

One important point is that, although we know a lot about how children learn to read, there has been much less research on a process that identifies how to implement these evidence-based practices at scale in authentic school settings; there is a lack of research in this area.

Teachers operate in a very broad and complex system. The day-to-day decisions of the curriculum that they use and the instructional approaches they employ are not entirely their choice. A lot of the time, curricular materials are chosen at the state or district level. If teachers are not provided instructional materials that align with the science of reading, it would be nearly impossible for them to implement these evidence-based teaching practices.

Additionally, I think we really need to pay attention to what is happening in our teacher preparation programs. Not all teacher education programs are preparing teachers with the adequate knowledge to address the diverse spectrum of readers they will encounter in schools. When our teachers attend preparation programs that do not provide the foundational knowledge in the science of reading, and then they teach in a school that does not provide adequate materials to implement science-based reading instruction, this is the fault of the broad educational system, not of our classroom teachers. Investments in building teacher knowledge of the science of reading should be a priority.
Q. How is this evidence being used at UVA to prepare reading teachers?
A. The reading program at UVA over the past 18 months, has undergone a substantial process of revision to ensure that the preparation we provide for reading specialists and teachers is aligned with the field's most current understanding of reading acquisition and evidence-based instructional practices. We are committed to ensuring that the reading specialists and teachers we prepare have deep knowledge of the science of reading acquisition and are also equipped with the very particular instructional approaches that are based in our knowledge of the science.

We are also committed to developing teachers that acknowledge how issues of access and equity impact literacy development. We want to develop teachers that recognize systemic inequities and know how to advocate for students when necessary.
Q. What else needs to happen to improve children's reading performance, especially in light of the pandemic?
A. It is important to remember that children have lost access to critical face-to-face reading instruction. This is particularly important for our youngest learners (K-3) and students who were experiencing difficulties with reading before the pandemic hit. It is likely that some children will need more intensive, targeted reading instruction at the beginning of the school year - more than we would normally see. As such, it is important for educators to have the ability to efficiently screen students and plan targeted reading instruction.

However, to make real change in reading achievement, there needs to be full engagement and commitment to systemic change. This would include many different levels of engagement - from state-level policies, to teacher preparation in institutes of higher education, and access to evidence-based curriculum and professional development for our in-service teachers. Investment in teachers and professional development should be a priority. Developing teacher knowledge around evidence-based reading assessment and instructional practices should be seen as a priority for districts.

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Q&A: Why the Science of Reading is as Important as Ever

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How and when primary and secondary school students will resume their schooling in the fall is still in question. Students across the country recently completed the school year from home, some without standardized experiences, access to technologies or engagement across school division.

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February 2016
by Carolyn Cowen
Carolyn D. Cowen, M.Ed., Social Media Editor/Strategist: Copyright © 2016 International Dyslexia Association (IDA). We encourage sharing of Examiner articles. If portions are cited, please make appropriate reference. Articles may not be reprinted for the purpose of resale. Permission to republish this article is available from .

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How Widespread Is Dyslexia? - International Dyslexia Association

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February 2016 by Carolyn Cowen Carolyn D. Cowen, M.Ed., Social Media Editor/Strategist: Copyright © 2016 International Dyslexia Association (IDA). We encourage sharing of Examiner articles. If portions are cited, please make appropriate reference. Articles may not be reprinted for the purpose of resale. Permission to republish this article is available from .

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NCTQ considered fifteen programs as exceptional, ones that ranged from Arkansas Tech University, the University of Florida, to two programs in Utah and Mississippi, respectively. They found that undergraduate university education programs were more likely to offer scientific-based courses, with 57% earning an "A" or "B" rating. Graduate programs lagged behind with 33% earning a top mark.

While NCTQ is encouraged by the uptick in evidence-backed reading programs, president Kate Walsh said she hopes that news of the report puts pressure on even more to join them.

"Getting programs to the halfway mark means that half of all programs doing this," she said. "We hope that by the next time we release new findings, we will make much more significant progress."

How the brain learns to read

The report outlines the importance of providing teachers who teach reading with the understanding of how the brain learns to read. Learning to read is a function of spoken language, in which the brain connects the speech sounds of spoken language to the visual written "code" of letters and words. When a child learns to read, according to cognitive scientist Stanislas Dehaene , author of Reading and the Brain , the brain essentially creates an "interface between your vision system in your brain and your spoken language system."

Creating this "interface" involves making the connections between the speech sounds (that she already knows from spoken language) and the sounds that letters and letter combinations make. Though some children make those connections without much help, most kids need explicit instruction in phonics to learn the relationship between spoken language sounds and written letters and words.

But for decades, most classrooms haven't focused on phonemic awareness (the ability to hear, recognize and apply the individual units of sound in speech) and phonics (connecting sounds to letters) as the first crucial step in learning to read. Instead, teachers were teaching reading based on philosophies they learned in their training programs, most commonly called "whole language" and "balanced literacy."

These philosophies, unsupported by scientific evidence on how the brain learns to read, emphasized that kids didn't really need much phonics if they had plenty of good books to read. They argued that there are several strategies that kids can rely on if they come to a word they don't know--like looking at the pictures or re-reading the sentence and guess what word made sense. If children had lots of exposure to printed words, they asserted, the rest would take care of itself.

Training teachers before they head into classrooms

Though how the brain learns to read has been well-established in the scientific community for years and is backed by thousands of studies, many teacher preparation programs don't include the mountain of research on reading instruction in their programs. Sometimes they have actively resisted it.

But recent attention from frustrated parent groups and the media has put the spotlight on asking why so many young American readers struggle, and has put pressure on teacher prep programs to re-evaluate how they prepare teachers heading into classrooms.

Both NCTQ and universities recognize the role that teacher training plays in ensuring teachers are equipped with knowledge of the science.

Eastern Tennessee State University, in Johnson City, Tennessee, where Hughes graduated in 2019, earned NCTQ's highest grade-an A+. But that's due to completely revamping their reading courses in 2015. Karen Keith, who became the elementary education department's chair that same year, said she and her team quickly realized that their reading courses needed a reboot.

They replaced existing courses they felt weren't serving students with evidence-based reading courses. For example, Keith said a course that taught undergrads how to write about general issues in education was replaced with a "foundations of literacy" course. The foundations course provided students with a deep dive into the brain science and the five pillars of reading. Then they created a second course that built on the foundations course, on how to use assessment data and differentiated instruction to target students who were struggling.

Teachers-in-training then have a chance to practice what they've learned at the on-campus lab school, as well as out in the field through student teaching. Hughes was placed in a fourth grade class for her student teaching, helping struggling readers. "We can learn definitions all day, but putting it into practice is the hard part," Hughes said. "There are so many needs, which is challenging. But then it's so rewarding when students are using the strategies you've taught them."

Education school leaders recognize how aligning teacher practice with methods backed by scientific research might start to crack the fortress of American illiteracy that many view as a crisis.

"It's a very clear cycle," said Merideth Van Namen, the Chair of Teacher Education, Leadership, and Research at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi, which also earned an A+ rating in the NCTQ report. "If we are better preparing teacher candidates when they enter the field, it's assumed that then they would better prepare those students to be fluent readers."

Could teacher training change how many American kids are able to read well?

Van Namen said the university has had a long legacy of teaching the science of reading, even when it wasn't popular to do so. But they recently strengthened the program that was already working, and have helped lead a statewide effort to get every Mississippi teacher trained.

"For the past several years, Mississippi institutions have collaborated through many efforts to enhance teacher preparation in the area of early literacy," as well, Van Namen said. "No one is working in isolation, and that's a likely factor [for the statewide gains]. We are all going in the same direction."

While NCTQ's rising numbers show promise, some teacher educators are skeptical about measuring something as broad and unruly as how teacher training translates into student achievement.

Researchers have been trying to untie that knot for years, said Nathan Stevenson, assistant professor of special education at Kent State University. Though research points to which instructional practices and strategies raise achievement, there are still many questions on how to scale them effectively.

"So then when you step back another level and say, how are we going to rank institutions that are producing these teachers that are trying to affect change for students?" Stevenson said, "You add a layer of complexity. We already didn't have a clean way to investigate these problems, not to mention doing it on a national scale. It's hard to capture what's really going on."

Teachers themselves seem to recognize that, even with good training, reaching individual students who struggle to read isn't easy. Hannah Hughes feels confident in her understanding of reading, but her students come to school with their own challenges. She has noticed, she said, that her struggling readers often don't read outside of school or are dealing with issues related to poverty-something over which she has little control.

Yet Hughes's training provided her with enough background knowledge to address some of those reading challenges, and she said her students have seen growth so far this year. Some of her "bubble kids"-students reading well who still need help with specific deficits- started the year at 40 words per minute and are now reading about 70 words per minute.

Karen Keith feels hopeful that the work that the university has put into giving teachers science-backed reading instruction methods will transform students' lives.

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How More Teachers are Being Trained in the Science of Reading | KQED

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NCTQ considered fifteen programs as exceptional, ones that ranged from Arkansas Tech University, the University of Florida, to two programs in Utah and Mississippi, respectively. They found that undergraduate university education programs were more likely to offer scientific-based courses, with 57% earning an "A" or "B" rating.

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What Teachers Should Know About the Science of Reading (Video and Transcript)

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Education correspondent Emily Hanford of APM Reports spoke with Education Week about her radio documentary on early reading and what teachers should know about reading science.

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What is dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability. Dyslexia refers to a cluster of symptoms, which result in people having difficulties with specific language skills, particularly reading. Students with dyslexia usually experience difficulties with other language skills such as spelling, writing, and pronouncing words. Dyslexia affects individuals throughout their lives; however, its impact can change at different stages in a person's life. It is referred to as a learning disability because dyslexia can make it very difficult for a student to succeed academically in the typical instructional environment, and in its more severe forms, will qualify a student for special education, special accommodations, or extra support services.

What causes dyslexia?

The exact causes of dyslexia are still not completely clear, but anatomical and brain imagery studies show differences in the way the brain of a person with dyslexia develops and functions. Moreover, most people with dyslexia have been found to have problems with identifying the separate speech sounds within a word and/or learning how letters represent those sounds, a key factor in their reading difficulties. Dyslexia is not due to either lack of intelligence or desire to learn; with appropriate teaching methods, students with dyslexia can learn successfully.

How widespread is dyslexia?

About 13-14% of the school population nationwide has a handicapping condition that qualifies them for special education. Current studies indicate that one half of all the students who qualify for special education are classified as having a learning disability (LD) (6-7%). About 85% of those students have a primary learning disability in reading and language processing. Nevertheless, many more people- perhaps as many as 15-20% of the population as a whole-have some of the symptoms of dyslexia, including slow or inaccurate reading, poor spelling, poor writing, or mixing up similar words. Not all of these will qualify for special education, but they are likely to struggle with many aspects of academic learning and are likely to benefit from systematic, explicit, instruction in reading, writing, and language.

Dyslexia occurs in people of all backgrounds and intellectual levels. People with dyslexia can be very bright. They are often capable or even gifted in areas such as art, computer science, design, drama, electronics, math, mechanics, music, physics, sales, and sports.

In addition, dyslexia runs in families; parents with dyslexia are very likely to have children with dyslexia. For some people, their dyslexia is identified early in their lives, but for others, their dyslexia goes unidentified until they get older.

What are the effects of dyslexia?

The impact that dyslexia has is different for each person and depends on the severity of the condition and the effectiveness of instruction or remediation. The core difficulty is with word recognition and reading fluency, spelling, and writing. Some individuals with dyslexia manage to learn early reading and spelling tasks, especially with excellent instruction, but later experience their most debilitating problems when more complex language skills are required, such as grammar, understanding textbook material, and writing essays.

People with dyslexia can also have problems with spoken language, even after they have been exposed to good language models in their homes and good language instruction in school. They may find it difficult to express themselves clearly, or to fully comprehend what others mean when they speak. Such language problems are often difficult to recognize, but they can lead to major problems in school, in the workplace, and in relating to other people. The effects of dyslexia reach well beyond the classroom.

Dyslexia can also affect a person's self-image. Students with dyslexia often end up feeling "dumb" and less capable than they actually are. After experiencing a great deal of stress due to academic problems, a student may become discouraged about continuing in school.

How is dyslexia diagnosed?

Before referring a student for a comprehensive evaluation, a school or district may choose to track a student's progress with a brief screening test and identify whether the student is progressing at a "benchmark" level that predicts success in reading. If a student is below that benchmark (which is equivalent to about the 40th percentile nationally), the school may immediately deliver intensive and individualized supplemental reading instruction before determining whether the student needs a comprehensive evaluation that would lead to a designation of special education eligibility. Some students simply need more structured and systematic instruction to get back on track; they do not have learning disabilities. For those students and even for those with dyslexia, putting the emphasis on preventive or early intervention makes sense. There is no benefit to the child if special instruction is delayed for months while waiting for an involved testing process to occur. These practices of teaching first, and then determining who needs diagnostic testing based on response to instruction, are encouraged by federal policies known as Response to Intervention (RTI). Parents should know, however, that at any point they have the right to request a comprehensive evaluation under the IDEA law, whether or not the student is receiving instruction under an RTI model.

A comprehensive evaluation typically includes intellectual and academic achievement testing, as well as an assessment of the critical underlying language skills that are closely linked to dyslexia. These include receptive (listening) and expressive language skills, phonological skills including phonemic awareness, and also a student's ability to rapidly name letters and numbers. A student's ability to read lists of words in isolation, as well as words in context, should also be assessed. If a profile emerges that is characteristic of readers with dyslexia, an individualized intervention plan should be developed, which should include appropriate accommodations, such as extended time. The testing can be conducted by trained school or outside specialists. (See the Dyslexia Assessment Fact Sheet for more information.)

What are the signs of dyslexia?

The problems displayed by individuals with dyslexia involve difficulties in acquiring and using written language. It is a myth that individuals with dyslexia "read backwards," although spelling can look quite jumbled at times because students have trouble remembering letter symbols for sounds and forming memories for words. Other problems experienced by people with dyslexia include the following:

Learning to speak

Learning letters and their sounds

Organizing written and spoken language

Memorizing number facts

Reading quickly enough to comprehend

Persisting with and comprehending longer reading assignments

Spelling

Learning a foreign language

Correctly doing math operations

Not all students who have difficulties with these skills have dyslexia. Formal testing of reading, language, and writing skills is the only way to confirm a diagnosis of suspected dyslexia.

How is dyslexia treated?

Dyslexia is a lifelong condition. With proper help, many people with dyslexia can learn to read and write well. Early identification and treatment is the key to helping individuals with dyslexia achieve in school and in life. Most people with dyslexia need help from a teacher, tutor, or therapist specially trained in using a multisensory, structured language approach. It is important for these individuals to be taught by a systematic and explicit method that involves several senses (hearing, seeing, touching) at the same time. Many individuals with dyslexia need one-on-one help so that they can move forward at their own pace. In addition, students with dyslexia often need a great deal of structured practice and immediate, corrective feedback to develop automatic word recognition skills. For students with dyslexia, it is helpful if their outside academic therapists work closely with classroom teachers.

Schools can implement academic accommodations and modifications to help students with dyslexia succeed. For example, a student with dyslexia can be given extra time to complete tasks, help with taking notes, and work assignments that are modified appropriately. Teachers can give recorded tests or allow students with dyslexia to use alternative means of assessment.

Students can benefit from listening to audiobooks and using text reading and word processing computer programs. Students may also need help with emotional issues that sometimes arise as a consequence of difficulties in school. Mental health specialists can help students cope with their struggles.

What are the rights of a person with dyslexia?

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act 2004 (IDEA), Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) define the rights of students with dyslexia and other specific learning disabilities. These individuals are legally entitled to special services to help them overcome and accommodate their learning problems. Such services include education programs designed to meet the needs of these students. The Acts also protect people with dyslexia against unfair and illegal discrimination.

Suggested Readings

Moats, L. C., & Dakin, K. E. (2008). Basic facts about dyslexia and other reading problems. Baltimore: The International Dyslexia Association.

Shaywitz, S. (2003). Overcoming dyslexia: A new and complete science-based program for reading problems at any level. New York: Knopf.
The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) thanks Louisa C. Moats, Ed.D., and Karen E. Dakin, M.Ed., for their assistance in the preparation of this fact sheet.
The International Dyslexia Association (IDA). IDA encourages the reproduction and distribution of this fact sheet.

If portions of the text are cited, appropriate reference must be made. Fact sheets may not be reprinted for the purpose of resale.
© Copyright 2020. The International Dyslexia Association (IDA). For copyright information, please click here.

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Dyslexia Basics - International Dyslexia Association

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Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability. Dyslexia refers to a cluster of symptoms, which result in people having difficulties with specific language

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Reading is making meaning from print. It requires that we do the following:

Identify the words in print: a process called word recognition

Construct an understanding from them: a process called comprehension

Coordinate identifying words and making meaning so that reading is automatic and accurate: an achievement called fluency

Sometimes you can make meaning from print without being able to identify all the words. Remember the last time you got a note in messy handwriting? You may have understood it, even though you couldn't decipher all the scribbles.

Sometimes you can identify words without being able to construct much meaning from them. Read the opening lines of Lewis Carroll's poem, "Jabberwocky," and you'll see what I mean.

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

Finally, sometimes you can identify words and comprehend them, but if the processes don't come together smoothly, reading will still be a labored process. For example, try reading the following sentence:

It isn't as if the words
are difficult to identify or
understand, but the spaces
make you pause between
words, which means your
reading is less fluent.

Reading in its fullest sense involves weaving together word recognition and comprehension in a fluent manner. These three processes are complex, and each is important. How complex? Here goes?

To develop word recognition, children need to learn:

How to break apart and manipulate the sounds in words - this is phonemic awareness
example: feet has three sounds: /f/, /e/, and /t/

Certain letters are used to represent certain sounds - this is the alphabetic principle
example: s and h make the /sh/ sound

How to apply their knowledge of letter-sound relationships to sound out words that are new to them - this is
example: ssssspppoooon - spoon!

How to analyze words and spelling patterns in order to become more efficient at reading words - this is
example: Bookworm has two words I know: book and worm.

To expand the number of words they can identify automatically, called their sight vocabulary
example: Oh, I know that word - the!

To develop comprehension, children need to develop:

Background knowledge about many topics
example: This book is about zoos - that's where lots of animals live.

Extensive oral and print vocabularies
example: Look at my trucks - I have a tractor, and a fire engine, and a bulldozer.

Understandings about how the English language works
example: We say she went home, not she goed home.

Understandings about how print works
example: reading goes from left to right

Knowledge of various kinds of texts
example: I bet they live happily ever after.

Various purposes for reading
example: I want to know what ladybugs eat.

Strategies for constructing meaning from text, and for problem solving when meaning breaks down
example: This isn't making sense. Let me go back and reread it.

To develop fluency, children need to:

Develop a high level of accuracy in word recognition

Maintain a rate of reading brisk enough to facilitate comprehension

Use phrasing and expression so that oral reading sounds like speech

Transform deliberate strategies for word recognition and comprehension into automatic skills

But if reading isn't pleasurable or fulfilling, children won't choose to read, and they won't get the practice they need to become fluent readers.

Therefore, reading also means developing and maintaining the motivation to read. Reading is an active process of constructing meaning. The key word here is active.

To develop and maintain the motivation to read, children need to:

Appreciate the pleasures of reading

View reading as a social act, to be shared with others

See reading as an opportunity to explore their interests

Read widely for a variety of purposes, from enjoyment to gathering information

Become comfortable with a variety of different written forms and genres

So ... what is reading?
Reading is the motivated and fluent coordination of word recognition and comprehension.
Quite an achievement for a six year old!

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Reading is a multifaceted process involving word recognition, comprehension, fluency, and motivation. Learn how readers integrate these facets to make meaning from print.

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Rhode Island Right to Read Act - Literacy - Instruction & Assessment - RIDE

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The Rhode Island Right to Read Act was passed in July of 2019. The law requires educators to exhibit either proficiency in or awareness of the knowledge and practices of the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy. In addition, Local Educational Agencies (LEAs) must provide professional learning…

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Hollis Scarborough-creator of the famous Reading Rope and senior scientist at Haskins Laboratories-is a leading researcher of early language development and its connection to later literacy.

Dr. Scarborough's association with the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) goes back to 1994 when she served as associate editor of the Annals of Dyslexia until 2002. In 2009, she received IDA's highest honor, the Samuel Torrey Orton Award. Dr. Scarborough continues her IDA affiliation as a member of both IDA's Council of Advisors and IDA's Scientific Advisory Board. Her contributions on a national level (e.g., the Research Council, Society for the Scientific Study of Reading, and the Committee on the Prevention of Reading Difficulties in Young Children) have positively influenced the reading instruction in the United States.

The genesis of the Reading Rope dates back to Scarborough's lectures for parents on the complexities involved in learning to read. Originally, she spoke of skilled reading as resembling the "strands" of a rope, using pipe cleaners to illustrate the interconnectedness and interdependence of all the components.

The Reading Rope consists of lower and upper strands. The word-recognition strands (phonological awareness, decoding, and sight recognition of familiar words) work together as the reader becomes accurate, fluent, and increasingly automatic with repetition and practice. Concurrently, the language-comprehension strands (background knowledge, vocabulary, language structures, verbal reasoning, and literacy knowledge) reinforce one another and then weave together with the word-recognition strands to produce a skilled reader. This does not happen overnight; it requires instruction and practice over time.

For many children, learning to read is a challenging undertaking. The Reading Rope, created by Dr. Hollis Scarborough, captures the essence of this task.
Copyright © 2018 International Dyslexia Association (IDA). Opinions expressed in The Examiner and/or via links do not necessarily reflect those of IDA. We encourage sharing of Examiner articles. If portions are cited, please make appropriate reference. Articles may not be printed for the purpose of resale. Permissionto republish this artilce is available from info@dyslexiaida.org.

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Scarborough's Reading Rope: A Groundbreaking Infographic - International Dyslexia Association

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Hollis Scarborough-creator of the famous Reading Rope and senior scientist at Haskins Laboratories-is a leading researcher of early language development and

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Science of Reading: The Podcast, hosted by Susan Lambert, delivers the latest insights from researchers and practitioners in early reading. Listen today!

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Dyslexia laws: What they are and how they work

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Some states have passed laws to make sure kids with dyslexia are identified and get the services they need. Learn more about dyslexia laws and how they work.