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Dyslexia is due most commonly to a difficulty in phenological processing, which is appreciating the individual sounds of spoken language.

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Individuals with dyslexia may have weaknesses decoding that result in difficulties in accurate and fluent recognition of words and display strengths in some higher-level cognitive functions.

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Early diagnosis is critical in reducing the achivement gap and for ensuring that students receive appropriate supports that promote achievement and success in their education.

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Dyslexia is heritable, and runs in families. Knowing the student's family medical history is important.

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Dyslexia usually presents itself with other disabilities, such as  dysgraphia, dyscalculia, oral language impairment, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

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Dyslexia is neurobiological in origin.

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The International Dyslexia Association defines Dyslexia as  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. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge. (IDA 2002)

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Dyslexia Connection is an e-newsletter bublished by the IDA for parents and families of people with dyslexia and it offers new and current information related to dyslexia.

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In September 2016, the United States Senate passed Senate Resolution 576, which called upon Congress, schools, and state and local educational agencies to “recognize the significant educational implications of dyslexia that must be addressed” and designated October 2016 as National Dyslexia Awareness Month.

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The IDA provides a series of Fact Sheets covering topics such as “Dyslexia Basics” and “Helpful Terminology.” The organization also maintains a list of Frequently Asked Questions.

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Dyslexia is a neurobiological disorder that exibits brain patterns that reflect poor phonologicial and orthographic processing.

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Neural signs of dyslexia are often seen in children, even before they learn to read.

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The neural signs of dyslexia are evident in people even if they speak and write in languages other than English.

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Neural signatures of dyslexia are reliable.

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Neural signatures of dyslexia are predictive of dyslexia risk and outcome

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Neural signatures of dyslexia change with intervention.

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Neural signatures of dyslexia are present even in gifted students whose discrepant reading may be masked because it is within the average range, resulting in misdiagnosis as not having dyslexia.

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It is still too early to use neural signatures of dyslexia to determine an instructional plan for individual students

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Advances in neuroscience show that, with appropriate reading interventions, the unique identifiers in the brain can be altered to resemble the reading patterns seen in the brain of a person who does not have dyslexia

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Neurological research shows that dyslexia is a real condition and that scientists have been able to locate unique identifiers, not only in different areas of the brain and how they function but also in variation of important chemicals in the brain and in the way brain cells communicate with each other

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Dyslexia is one type of a language-learning disability that negatively affects an individual’s written language skills

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Bloom and Lahey's model describes language consisting of three components... form (phonology, morphology, and syntax); content (semantics); and use (pragmatics).

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Language form relates to the structure of language. “Phonology is the sound system of a language and the rules that govern the sound combinations. Morphology is the system that governs the structure of words and the construction of word forms. Syntax is the system governing the order and combination of words to form sentences, and the relationships among the elements within a sentence” (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association 1993).

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Language content pertains to the meaning of language. “Semantics is the system that governs the meanings of words and sentences” (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association 1993). Language use refers to the function of language. “Pragmatics is the system that combines the above language components in functional and socially appropriate communication” (American Speech-Language-Hearing Association 1993). Pragmatics also includes the purposes for using language (i.e., conversational, narrative, expository, and persuasive discourse).

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The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association has defined a language disorder as an impairment in the “comprehension and/or use of a spoken, written and/or other symbol systems.”

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The disorder may involve (1) the form of language (phonology, morphology, and syntax); (2) the content of language (semantics); and/or (3) the function of language in communication (pragmatics), in any combination (American Speech-Language-Hearing 10 | CALIFORNIA DYSLEXIA GUIDELINES Association 1993). Students who are identified as having both a language disorder and a specific learning disability may also be referred to as students with a language-learning disability

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Students are typically identified as having dyslexia when they exhibit a deficit that primarily affects their ability to decode (i.e., to translate graphemes, which are a letter or letters that represent a single speech sound [phoneme] into their corresponding speech sounds [phonemes] and synthesize [blend] these sounds to form words) (Paul and Norbury 2012).

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Dyslexia involves a specific deficit in single-word decoding that is based on a weakness in the phonological aspect of language and has only a secondary impact on reading comprehension, which distinguishes it from other types of reading disabilities (Catts and Kamhi 2005). However, spelling is almost always affected.

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Phonological processing includes phonological memory, phonological awareness, and speed of naming

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Phonemic awareness is a subset of phonological awareness that refers specifically to the understanding of and ability to manipulate the discrete, individual sounds of language called phonemes—and the understanding that it is possible to create words with different meanings simply by adding, deleting, or substituting individual sounds (phonemes) within a word.

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Students with dyslexia have an inability to sound out new words. A convenient way to assessing the ability to sound out unfamiliar words is to ask the individual to decode non-words.

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Another characteristic of dyslexia is limited sight-word vocabulary. If a sufficient number of words cannot be decoded relatively automatically , fluency for reading connected text can be limited to the point that comprehension is disrupted.

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A third characteristic of dyslexia is listening comprehension exceeds reading comprehension. individuals who struggle at reading words on a page often are able to better comprehend material by listening to it rather than reading it.

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A fourth characteristic of dyslexia is inadequate response to effective instruction and intervention. It is important to rule out the possibility that the observed poor reading is caused by a lack of opportunity to learn to read. Factors to take into consideration is the limited amount of reading exposure due to absences, or exposure to poor reading instruction.

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Fifth key finding: Signs of dyslexia in pre-school aged children

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Fifth key finding: Signs of dyslexia in pre-school aged children

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Some of the signs of dyslexia in pre school aged children include a lack of interest in books, a delay in talking or speech that is difficult to understand or baby talk, difficulty recognizing own name in print, and confusion over letter names, especially ones that look or sound familiar.

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Sixth Key Finding: Signs of dyslexia in Kindergarten- 1st grade.

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Sixth Key Finding: Signs of dyslexia in Kindergarten- 1st grade.

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Students will be unable to manipulate sounds in words, such as in an exercise to change the "n" sound in "can" to a "p" sound, difficulty with letter sound correspondence, a heavy reliance on the pictures in a story to "read", confusion over the letters "b" and "d" especially when writing.

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Signs of dyslexia in the 2nd and 3rd grade include avoidance of reading aloud or frustration with reading tasks, ongoing difficulty with common high- frequency words such as "what/ want" and "these/those", difficulty applying "word attack" strategies and phonic rules to unknown words, difficulty remembering spelling words over time and spelling rules, and difficulty learning the connection between letters and sounds.

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Eighth Key finding: Signs of dyslexia for students in the 4th-8th grade. 

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Eighth Key finding: Signs of dyslexia for students in the 4th-8th grade. 

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Signs of dyslexia in the 4th through 8th grade include a history of struggling to read or poor reading skills, a demonstration of reading error patterns normally observed in younger children, difficulty learning new vocabulary, difficulty learning a foreign language, poor performance on written, timed tests and better performance on oral exams, and difficulty with word problems in math.

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Ninth Key finding: Signs of dyslexia for students in high school through college.

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Ninth Key finding: Signs of dyslexia for students in high school through college.

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Many individuals go undiagnosed once they reach high school or college. Some of the signs to look out for in this age group include a tendency to read with great effort and at a slow pace, although reading skills have developed overtime, an avoidance for reading for pleasure and aloud, and difficulty with note taking

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Tenth key finding: Strengths observed in individuals with Dyslexia. 

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Tenth key finding: Strengths observed in individuals with Dyslexia. 

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Dyslexia often exists in persons with aptitudes, talents, and abilities that enable them to be successful in many other domains. A few of these strengths include an advanced maturity level, a talent at building objects, good listening comprehension, a strong understanding of vocabulary through listening comprehension, and experiential learning.

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One of the greatest contributing factors to lower achievement scores in reading is the lack of early and accurate identification of students with dyslexia.

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Universal screening is when all students are screened, entire grade level or class. General education teachers, reading specialists, and response to intervention specialist can all administer the test. The information found from the screening will help support students each school year.

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Third Key Finding: Multi- tiered system of support

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Third Key Finding: Multi- tiered system of support

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Is a school wide approach that addresses the needs of all students, including struggling learners and students with disabilities. This system integrates assessment and intervention within a multilevel instructional and behavioral system to maximize student achievement. The supports include universal support, supplemental support, and individualized support.

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Fourth Key finding: Response to Intervention and Instruction

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Fourth Key finding: Response to Intervention and Instruction

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Is designed to be a collaborative, comprehensive, multi-tiered system for identifying students who are struggling academically and providing them with appropriate interventions before referral for special education.

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A student with Dyslexia does not necessarily need special education and is not automatically eligible to receive it.

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Only after resources and supports have been implemented in general education with little to no improvement, an IEP is considered.

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Special Education provides a full continuum of program options to meet the students needs and includes resource specialists, pull-out program, and home instruction.

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California regulations describes three ways for determining whether a student has a specific learning disability.

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If a severe discrepancy between intellectual ability and achievement in oral expression, listening comprehension, mathematical calculation, or mathematical reasoning exists then the student can be described as a student with a specific learning disability.

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If a student does not achieve adequately for his age or meet state-approved grade-level standards in one or more specific areas even though research-based interventions were implemented, the student may qualify as a student with a specific learning disability.

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If the student exhibits intellectual strengths and weaknesses in performance, achievement, or both, that is relative to state-approved-grade-level standards yet does not achieve adequately for his/her age group with learning experiences and instruction that meets state-approved-grade-level standards then a team will implement assessments to determine if the student has a specific learning disability.

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The school team should partner with families to address academic concerns regardless of the eligibility decision that is made.

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Students that do not qualify for an IEP may be provided accommodations through a 504 plan.

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Accommodations that may be included in a 504 plan are individual or small-group instruction, written materials that are read by the teacher, outlines, study guides, organizers, audio recordings of books, recordings of lectures, and use of highlighters to organize written information.

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Fifth Key finding: Tier 1- Universal support

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Fifth Key finding: Tier 1- Universal support

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All Students should be screened starting from Kindergarten and no later than the 1st grade.

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Sixth key finding: Tier 2- progress monitoring

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Sixth key finding: Tier 2- progress monitoring

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Students with targeted skills needs will receive more intensive instruction. Intervention will last anywhere from 4 to 8 weeks. Taking place two times a week.

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Seventh key finding: Tier 3- individualized intervention with intensified progress monitoring

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Seventh key finding: Tier 3- individualized intervention with intensified progress monitoring

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Students with the most intensive skill needs will receive more intensive instruction. Also, over a period of 4 to 8 weeks. If progress is not being seen in the student towards instruction and intervention then adjustments will be made.

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California Education Code 56335(a) states that students with dyslexia are to have educational services the are evidence -based, multisensory, direct, explicit, structured, and have a sequential approach.

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In 2016 the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) Board of Directors identified “Structured Literacy” as a term that encompasses approaches to reading instruction that conform with IDA’s Knowledge and Practice Standards for Teachers of Reading.

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Teachers should become familiar of the progress monitoring tools and choose which to use.
- patterns of strengths and weaknesses.
-The specific components of a skill that are assessed.
-How the outcome measure is related to what is being taught in the classroom.
-What a line on a graph indicating progress means specifically for the student.
-What a line on a graph indication regression means specifically for the student.

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Simultaneous Multisensory or Multimodal provides students with dyslexia an approach that incorporates two or more modalities simultaneously. The nature of every oral and written language task requires integration of at least two sensory pathways like copying words requires visual to kinesthetic-motor ability needed for writing.

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Ninth key finding: Screening and assessment of English learners

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Ninth key finding: Screening and assessment of English learners

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English learners are often identified as having dyslexia much later, if ever, in comparison to their peers. Teachers should keep in mind english learners may have may have difficulty reading in a second language, or a language they may not be proficient in. For that reason provision of targeted intervention is important.

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To identify if a student has dyslexia the following areas should be assessed:
1. Difficulties with accurate and fluent word recognition, and poor spelling and decoding abilities.
2. Deficits in the phonological component of language.
3. Difficulties that are unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities.

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Direct and Explicit instruction is taught to students with continuous student-teacher interaction, and learning is never assumed. All concepts and skills are taught with teacher guidance and feedback with the goal of eventual independence.

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Structured instruction follows step-by-step procedures for introducing, reviewing, and practicing concepts. Teachers must individualize instruction based on continuous formal and informal assessments with the goal of eventual independence.

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Sequential and Cumulative implementation is a presentation of concepts and skills that follows the logical order of the structure of language. Instruction is scaffolded and begins with basic language concepts and elements, then progresses systematically to more complex concepts of language.

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According to the Structured Literacy Primer the sequential order of concepts to be taught begins with phonology, then sound-symbol association, syllables, morphology, syntax, and lastly, semantics.

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Orthography is the conventional spelling system of a language. Orthographic processing, or coding, is the ability to use letters-symbols to read and spell words.

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There is no single strategy for every person with dyslexia. The level of training and experience required for educators who teach students with dyslexia depends on the student, the instructional approach, and the severity of the dyslexia.

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Accommodations followed by progress monitoring are the key to effective instruction for students with dyslexia. Accommodations can include reducing homework assignments, allowing typewritten assignments, allowing extra time for completion of assignments, providing audio books, group or individual instruction, speech to text software, minimizing need to copy information/notes, and providing graphic organizers. Progress monitoring includes determining if teaching strategies and accommodations are working, did the accommodation allow the student to produce grade level work, and will the strategy need to be included in the student's academic portfolio in the future?