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.  

Dyslexia is also to be understood as one type of a “specific learning disability,” which is defined in California’s regulations pertaining to students who qualify for special education services. 

Title 5, California Code of Regulations, Section 3030(b)(10)(A) discusses specific learning disabilities and dyslexia as follows: Specific learning disability means a disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using  language, spoken or written, that may have manifested itself in the imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or to do mathematical calculations, including conditions such as perceptual disabilities, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental aphasia. 

Science continues to progress, and new knowledge about the epidemiology– the cognitive basis and neurobiology of dyslexia– is available. 

Dyslexia is an unexpected difficulty in reading for an individual who has the intelligence to be a much better reader, due most commonly to a difficulty in phonological processing– that is, in appreciating the individual sounds of spoken language– which affects the ability of an individual to speak, read, spell, and often learn a second language. 

Dyslexia is a paradox; an individual with dyslexia may have weakness in decoding that results in difficulties in accurate and fluent word recognition and strengths in higher-level cognitive functions, such as reasoning, critical thinking, concept formation, or problem solving. 

Early diagnosis is especially critical for narrowing the achievement gap, which is present as early as first grade; this is accomplished by screening, followed by identification and remediation with evidence-based approaches. Early diagnosis is also critical for ensuring that students with dyslexia receive focused, evidence-based intervention leading to self-awareness, self-empowerment, and the provision of necessary accommodations for success in school and life. 

According to the IDA (201b), dyslexia affects people from different cultural, ethnic, and socioeconomic backgrounds nearly equally. 

Dyslexia is heritable, so it runs in the families. When assessing a student for dyslexia, it is important to ask about family history. 

Dyslexia often occurs in combination with other handicapping conditions (e.g., dysgraphia, dyscalculia, oral language impairment, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]).

Dyslexia is a neurobiological disorder with brain patterns (“neural signatures”) that reflect poor phonological and orthographic processing. 

Other brain measures that are important for communication across brain cells and regions– for example, amount of chemicals in certain parts of the brain and degree of synchronization of brain waves (neural oscillation), as well as small differences in the structure of a large number of risk genes for dyslexia– are also important difference that neuroscientists are finding in dyslexia. 

Regardless of age, these “neural signatures of dyslexia” are often seen in students with dyslexia. 

A child at high risk for dyslexia may have a related family member (e.g., a parent or sibling) with dyslexia, or the child may demonstrate weakness in foundational measures of reading (e.g., letter identification, letter-sound knowledge, phonological awareness, and rapid naming). 

Neural signatures for dyslexia are likely to change with reading intervention and can show a pattern that becomes similar to that seen in students without dyslexia.

Interestingly, students with dyslexia show these neural signatures (the left temporo-parietal dysfunction) regardless of how they are defined (i.e., whether there is a discrepancy between reading ability and cognitive measures like IQ or when looking at reading ability alone– without a discrepancy).

Neurological research shows that dyslexia is a real condition and that scientists have been able to locate unique identifies, 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. 

Scientists have discovered that the structure of some genes out of the many genes that are likely to be important for dyslexia are different in people with dyslexia compared to those without it. 

Each of these many genes likely increases the chances of having dyslexia, each by a very small amount. 

Neuroscience is showing new evidence that aligns with earlier work on the importance and possibility of earlier identification (even before a child is able to read) in individuals with a high risk for developing dyslexia, on the basis of information such as a family history of dyslexia or a weakness in critical pre-reading skills (e.g., letter identification, letter-sound knowledge, phonological awareness, and rapid naming).

Despite people commonly referring to themselves as either having or not having dyslexia, dyslexia exists on a continuum extending from mildly affected to severely impaired.

4 common characteristics that are indicative of someone having dyslexia are the inability to sound out new words, limited sight-word vocabulary, listening comprehension exceeding reading comprehension, and inadequate response to effective instruction and intervention.

Indicators of dyslexia can be identified in a child as early as preschool, yet many do not get diagnosed until high school or go undiagnosed.

Some indicators of a preschool-age child having dyslexia include struggling with speech development, recognizing their name in print, rhyming, following multi-step directions, and basic literacy concepts like letter recognition and sequencing.

Some indicators of a K-1st grade student having dyslexia include difficulty rhyming, manipulating sounds, tracking words while reading, and remembering letter names, as well as a reliance on pictures rather than decoding text.

Some indicators of a 2nd-3rd grade student having dyslexia include struggles with decoding multi-syllabic words, applying phonics rules, remembering spelling patterns, and reading fluently. These challenges can extend to other areas as well such as math, language processing and organization, causing challenges with word retrieval, sequencing, time management, and fine motor coordination.

Some indicators of a 4th-8th grade student having dyslexia include exhibiting persistent decoding difficulties, slow and labored reading, poor spelling, trouble with written composition, and organizational struggles, often leading to frustration and avoidance of reading tasks.

Some indicators of high school - college aged students having dyslexia include slow reading, word retrieval, spelling, and mispronunciations of words. Students in this age group with dyslexia often require extra effort, study time, and accommodations to succeed as areas such as note-taking, multiple-choice tests, time management, and project organization are impacted.

Some strengths of people with dyslexia include visual-spatial thinking, problem-solving, creativity, and hands-on learning. This makes people with dyslexia well-suited for careers in fields like engineering, medicine, and the arts.

People with dyslexia also can have strong listening comprehension, an ability to grasp the "big picture," and a talent for experiential learning, allowing them to develop innovative approaches to problem-solving and acquiring knowledge.

A child with dyslexia generally first presents as having difficulty decoding or translate phonemes into their corresponding letters and blending those sounds into words.

Those with dyslexia experience a deficit in phonological memory, phonological processing, and speed of naming causing them to struggle with letter-sound and sound-letter correspondence.

Phonological awareness is the building blocks of language as it allows us to acknowledge that language can be broken down into words and sounds that can be manipulated further to form more complex words and change meaning. Difficulty with phonological awareness is a key predictor of dyslexia.

Children that have dyslexia may also struggle with phonemic awareness or understanding and manipulation of individual sounds which is a more complex skill that allows us to create new words from root words that have been introduced.

Phonological memory is an important part of language that is affected by dyslexia as it is what helps us to decode the meaning of new words. These phonemes aren't coded or stored correctly in the brain making it challenging to learn new language.

Being able to access long-term memory to rapidly recall letter and sounds is another phonological process that students with dyslexia struggle with.

Rapid naming and phonemic awareness challenges cause difficulty in learning to read fluency and accurately.

The primary cause of a majority of the cases of dyslexia stem from a significant deficit in one of the three phonological processes discussed above.

Dyslexia can often present itself much younger as challenges with spoken words, but language problems will become more apparent with they are learning to read and write since they are so closely related.

Delayed speech and language development will often be seen in children who struggle with dyslexia. It will present itself as impairment in articulation and phonological awareness.

It is important to look at multiple symptoms/indicators of dyslexia in an individual when they are getting screened because of measurement error, risk and protective factors, the individual's learning history (possible prior interventions targeting and improving decoding but not really honing in on fluency), and individuals at the college level being able to decode words but still struggle with writing, spelling etc.

Universal Screening Assessments should target phonemic awareness, letter naming; sound-symbol correspondence; single word decoding for real and pseudo-words; sight-word recognition; rapid naming for letters and numbers; spelling; listening comprehension and oral expression; reading comprehension (if applicable); oral reading fluency; and written expression, including handwriting.

Multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS) can be used to identify and support students with learning disabilities such as dyslexia.

MTSS intervention tiers for dyslexia: Tier 1 - universal screening; Tier 2 - targeted small-group instruction focusing on reading, spelling and writing; Tier 3 - more intensive instruction on the above.

Key aspects of progress monitoring tools that teachers need to know are: identifying patterns of strengths and weaknesses in students; understanding which skill components are assessed and how they are measured; ensuring outcome measures align with classroom instruction; and interpreting progress and regression lines on student performance graphs with specific, not general, meaning.

Some essential skills that can be tested to see if a student qualifies for a dyslexia diagnosis are: phonological awareness, rapid naming (letters, numbers, colors, objects), grapheme-phoneme and vice versa association, decoding, alphabet knowledge, reading comprehension, oral reading fluency, spelling, phonological memory, oral language (receptive and expressive), syntactic processing, morphological processing, orthographic processing, handwriting, and writing composition/mechanics/fluency.

In order to identify a student as having dyslexia, the following areas should be assessed: challenges with precise and fluent word recognition, as well as difficulties in spelling and decoding; phonological weaknesses; challenges that are inconsistent with other cognitive strengths; and challenges despite receiving effective classroom instruction.

When assessing English Language Learners for dyslexia, teachers should keep in mind the English language proficiency level of the student, as difficulties in reading a second language does not mean they have a disability.

When assessing bilingual students for a learning disability in, they should be assessed in their native language and English.

Knowing the family history of a child helps to predict the level of risk of the child developing dyslexia.

Under IDEA, examinations and IEP documents may utilize terminology such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, and dyscalculia.

To appropriately address a child's educational requirements, it is essential to document specific learning difficulties.

In order to improve clarity regarding the requirements' effects on learning, this letter from OSERS encourages the inclusion of particular conditions in eligibility discussions.

Section 504 guarantees access to required accommodations and protects students with disabilities from discrimination.

Students who do not meet the requirements for an IEP under IDEA may still be eligible for support under Section 504.

Specific adjustments may be needed by students with dyslexia, and these should be specified in their Section 504 plan.

Section 504 and IDEA both offer crucial frameworks for assisting students with particular learning difficulties.

By comprehending and following these rules, students can be sure they get the assistance they need to succeed academically.

In order to effectively serve students with learning difficulties, educators, parents, and specialists must work together.

Schools must stay up to date on these rules in order to effectively accommodate students' varied learning requirements.

Educational services for students with dyslexia is defined by the California Education Code as evidence-based, multi sensory, direct, explicit, structured, and sequential approach to instructing students with dyslexia collectively defined as "Structured Literacy".

Since studies have shows that well-trained and informed teachers best serve students with dyslexia, it is important for teachers to stay up to date with evidence based strategies to support their students. This supports only the most severe cases needing special education services.

Three evidence-based principles guide how Structured Literacy or the simultaneous multisensory approach is taught in the classroom: systematic and cumulative, explicit, and diagnostic. This ensures that all information follows logical order, is taught with step-by-step procedures, and taught with continuous teacher-student interaction.

Using multiple modes of instruction combines visual, auditory, and kinesthetic to support learning and memory for students that struggle to receive and recall information.

Not only is the how an important part of teaching, but the content of what is being taught. Phonology, semantics, syntax, morphology, phonology, syllables, and sound-syllables are concepts that are taught within Structured Literacy that can help students learn to read, write, and decode. It is important to individualize content an instruction for students with dyslexia to their level of ability.

Several types of educators are trained to be able to help students with dyslexia. Each student is unique as is their level of dyslexia, so it is imperative that a variety of educators and support staff be well versed in techniques to support them.

There are a variety of accommodations that can be provided to assist the student with their learning, classwork, and assessments from modality given to reducing homework to using tools that can aid in learning.

Any teachers that implement interventions in their classrooms should give pre and post assessments after the intervention period to determine success or the need for further intervention techniques.

These results should be tracked and available to all members and levels of the support system.

Over time, as demands and expectations change, student's needs, accommodations, and compensatory strategies will change and become more complex.