So, I'm moving this blog to a website to make it a bit more dynamic and also more user-friendly.
This blog will still be up and running, but the web addresses will change slightly. Going to dyslexiaeugene.com will still get you to the right place, it just won't be THIS place.
I'm going to make the leap in a few days so hopefully, it goes smoothly!
If you haven't heard of Emily Hanford then you haven't been around the reading instruction/dyslexia world long enough. Emily Hanford is one of the reasons that the Science of Reading is such a big conversation right now. And...she's a fabulous journalist and weaver of stories. Not fictional stories, but the real horrifying truths about reading in the US.
You may have seen on my Educate Yourself page, the link to APM Reports. Originally, that was a link to the series Hard To Read and now it is also a link to Sold a Story. In fact, you can listen to a whole series of stories by Emily Hanford that will be enlightening, disturbing, and anger-inducing - whatever your emotion is, it will be provoked by these stories.
You know, I started work at the University of Oregon in February 2004. My then-fiancé was still overseas and I was deep into planning my wedding. My first day on the job? An Institute on Beginning Reading (IBR) that was being held at a Jantzen Beach hotel in Portland. It was the first of several IBRs that I would attend over the next few years because I was the event planner for the Oregon Reading First Center (ORFC) and the Western Regional Reading First Technical Assistance Center (WRRFTAC).
If you've been following Sold a Story, you may know where this is going.
I was 28 years old. I had a bachelor's degree in creative writing. I was about to get married. I was planning to start a family (as soon as my soon-to-be husband was out of the National Guard). And I knew absolutely NOTHING about teaching reading, how kids learned to read, or that there were different camps of belief in how to go about that teaching. It would be much later that I would connect my own slow, laborious reading with dyslexia.
It turned out that I didn't need to know any of those things to do my job. But as it happened, my job was really pretty much done once people were settled in their seats and listening to presenters. That meant I could sit down and listen if I wanted to as well. And I absorbed information as the years passed - listening to people like Anita Archer and Jan Hasbrouk talk about good instruction and assessment.
Sidebar: if you haven't ever heard Anita Archer speak, I encourage you to find some of her presentations online. She's wonderful. Here's a quick video that you can watch.
As Reading First (RF) started to implode nationally, I was on to thinking about having another baby, our first being born in 2006. The funding for RF was going to end and I was going to have to find another position. But, because I knew I was planning to get pregnant again, I didn't think I wanted to change departments. The director of ORFC was also changing positions. She was starting a little free reading clinic right there in our department and she needed an assistant. She told me that the job was mine. That it would not be challenging and I might even find it boring, but I could keep my .8 FTE Schedule. Since the first task was to build a website for the new clinic, I decided I was in.
So there I was, in 2008, helping to start a reading clinic that provided reading instruction one-on-one to students in Kindergarten through 5th grade. We did a soft launch with flyers in schools. We had more than 100 kids on our waitlist before we even got started. I think we started by serving 16 kids...I can't remember, but once we got going, we served 30 kids every term.
Originally the idea for this clinic was to bring kids up to grade level and send them on their way. We discovered in that first year that proving good instruction for 45 minutes a day, twice a week wasn't going to do it and we continued to have a growing waitlist even though we didn't advertise. So, we put a cap on it and served kids for up to 5 terms.
Maybe this should have been a glaring red flag to me that reading instruction was broken in our area, but remember, my only experiences with reading instruction was LITERALLY with the people who wrote the Direct Instruction programs that are talked about in Sold a Story.
Evidence is only as good as the fidelity with which the program is implemented.
I cannot stress enough how important it is for teachers to STOP TELLING KIDS TO GUESS WORDS BASED ON PICTURES! It is harmful to EVERYONE, even the kids who do learn to read without proper instruction! Those kids who learn to read without proper instruction? Many of them will develop problems later - when they no longer have pictures and the words are more complex.
I'm cautiously optimistic about the implementation of Wit & Wisdom in our school district. It's a pretty good program and it does have a scope and sequence. It also builds upon prior knowledge which is very important.
Off the top of my head:
I hate to end on a low note, but facts are facts. I am going to drop a few resources here to help with some understanding:
Not sure what I'm talking about when I discussed Tiers of Support? Check out this graphic (designed by the lovely people at the Lead for Literacy Center (L4L) and then polished into a graphic by yours truly (I am part of the Lead for Literacy dissemination team). You can read the brief that goes with the graphic too. L4L has a ton of really great resources for school, district, and state level leadership - because everyone from top to bottom should understand what good reading instruction looks like.
Sidebar: I love this video from my friend Jess Surles. She can tell you better than I can, what effective instruction looks like:
All kids are going to learn to read at a different rate. Like I said above, some will pick it up like it's nothing and that's great, but not everyone can do that (in fact, MOST people can't). But what we DO know is that systematic, cumulative, instruction (that hopefully has an evidence base) is the best way (that we know of right now) to teach MOST kids to read (like, virtually anyone). Sorry for all the parenthetical phrases there, but I wanted to make sure that I was qualifying things - because it turns out that science is ever evolving and we should change practice as new evidence comes to light.
So, call it what you want - dyslexia, a specific learning disability in reading, struggling reader - if we were providing the appropriate instruction to all kids, the labels wouldn't matter so much.
I also think that some people find the word dyslexia to be a little scary. It's scary to think that your child has a disability and maybe it's easier to just use the term struggling reader.
Did you know that October is Dyslexia Awareness Month? For those of us who see the struggles of our children, dyslexia awareness is every day, but it's always good to try and bring attention to this disability that affects around 15% of the population.
The National Center on Improving Literacy will be sharing resources all month long.
Start with this video to learn about the resources that are currently available.
Or you can find a list on the Dyslexia Awareness Month Resource Page.
K-5 Literacy Framework - Community and Professionals Input Survey
Needs for teaching literacy
Every teacher needs training in how to teach based on the Science of Reading with deep dives into professional development in systematic, evidence-based reading instruction.
Every elementary school teacher should get training in LETRS or a similar program to help them understand what they need to do to teach reading. Programs in addition to LETRS are: The Reading League Online Academy, CORE Learning Accelerated Reading Achievement with the Science of Reading, AIM Institute for Learning & Research Pathways to Proficient Reading Course, The Center for Literacy and Learning has a couple of options for virtual coaching and online learning, The Big Dippers, EBLI For educators, and Keys to Literacy Keys to Beginning Reading PD course.
The state needs to get involved in Higher Ed Colleges of Education. They need to be teaching future teachers how to teach reading. It needs to happen NOW. Look to Eastern Oregon for a model.
That schools are NOT teaching our children to read. Just providing a list of evidence-based programs to choose from isn't enough. Teachers need systematic professional development to get them to STOP asking kids to guess words based on pictures and context. If the teacher continues to use strategies that are proven to not effectively teach most kids, even the most evidence-based program is not going to help.
Ongoing support is KEY. Literacy coaches should be funded, and they should have extensive knowledge in how to teach reading effectively.
As part of that ongoing support, providing PD around effective ways to use data to support students often gets pushed aside. Schools do the required screening, but if they are still looking at data in first grade and saying things like, "oh, he's fine, he'll catch up, so he doesn't need any help," that data is useless. Often data is collected but there are no tiers of support and that is how kids fall through the cracks.
Systematic, evidence-based instruction based on the 5 big ideas of beginning reading (phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, comprehension), Instruction should be evidence-based, engaging, systematic, cumulative, and explicit.
Data-based decision making - using screening data to make sure that students who need additional instruction and intervention are actually getting it.
Tutoring or intensive intervention for students in middle school who lost so much in the last few years of elementary school.
I want to know if schools and districts will get professional development around literacy and the Literacy Framework. Again, making changes to the literacy framework so that it aligns with best practices in teaching reading, isn't going to change anything at the school level unless PD is provided and ongoing support happens for ALL schools.
My son was diagnosed with a specific learning disability in reading and writing just after the 2nd grade, but it took us 3 months after he started 3rd grade to get him any services. He never once met any of his goals on his IEP, and the ONLY reason he's ever learned to read is that I shell out thousands of dollars a year to have him tutored with instruction that aligns with the science. I didn't trust that the school would take care of him or help him and I was right.
It's that time of year again. When you get messages from the school about how excited they are for your kids to be back and all of the fantastic learning they have in store for the year.
Really, all it does is ratchet up my anxiety. Who will his teachers be? Will they understand dyslexia? Will they accommodate his disability? Do they have any idea what Universal Design for Learning is?
Sidebar: you should check out UDL, they are actually supposed to use it in the district, but I'm pretty sure that not one teacher has had any professional development around it.
Check out these pages for information about Universal Design:
Understood.org: What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)?
CAST: Universal Design at a Glance
Reading Rockets: Universal Design for Learning: Meeting the Needs of All Students
Every year at this time I try to decide if I'm going to be "that mom." You know the one. The one who contacts all of the teachers for her 15-year-old child to tell them how they need to teach her child. Reminds them that he has an IEP and to save them time, adds all of his accommodations to the email, perhaps highlighting the few that are the most important for that particular class.
So far, I've only done this once. It was in the 6th grade and all the teachers I contacted responded with, "I already know that your kid has an IEP." And when I did it late in the year for 8th grade, the teacher completely focused on "need for praise" which got left in from elementary school and my son HATED it. He does not ever want people to praise him. He would rather float under the radar.
But this year, as he enters 10th grade, I feel like, I need to take that first step. I'll reach out to the teacher, provide the information, and let them know that he's working on self-advocacy, but he struggles with that when he is with unfamiliar teachers. He HATES to ask for help.
UPDATE: I did it! I sent messages to all of his teachers and I feel like I've gotten a pretty positive response. Today was the first day of school so we shall see how things progress. What to know what I said? Here's my email with names removed to protect the innocent or not-so-innocent.
My name is Anna Ingram and my son is in your [specific class name] class this fall. As you may know my son has an IEP for a Specific Learning Disability in reading and writing.
He is extremely bright and remembers nearly everything he hears. His listening comprehension is in the 96th percentile while his reading and written language skills have hovered in the single-digit percentiles. He still spells many things phonetically.
I wanted to reach out to you and highlight some of the accommodations that are most beneficial to him.
My son will also likely reach out, but he is still working on advocating for himself and will sometimes not ask questions when he doesn’t fully understand something. This is especially true when he’s unfamiliar with the teacher.
General Accommodations
Example of the finished product to help with the understanding of expectations.
Alternative assessment - Allow understanding to be demonstrated in different ways, like oral reports, posters, and video presentations. (For assignments where the goal is to make sure that content is understood rather than an assignment that is strictly about writing.)
Break assignments into more manageable "chunks"
Frequent comprehension check-ins, check his work to show understanding and that he knows how the start assignment
Some of this can be alleviated just by having clear directions that are bulleted and/or by someone going over all of the directions with him.
Opportunity to retake the test after demonstrating a relearn, option to test in the learning center
Preferential seating near instruction away from distractions
Extra time to complete assignments/assessments as negotiated with the teacher with full credit;
Option to have a teacher/EA read questions on tests or assignments
Reading and Writing
When applicable access to the second set of textbooks or access codes for online use at home
Access to technology for audiobooks, speech-to-text, text-to-speech, and editing software.
Option to use the computer over handwriting in classes
Graphic organizer for writing assignments
Access to repeated adult (teacher or EA) editing assistance
Organizational
Access to class notes/slides (teacher/peer)
During note-taking, Garret can listen only then write down what he heard
Access to tech for organizational support
Access to digital copies of assignments and any resources that go home.
Thank you for your time and please feel free to reach out to me or his Case Manager if you have any questions or concerns.
I am a firm believer in encouraging strengths and building confidence. I think that is an excellent thing to do for your child especially if they are struggling with something. For example, we have ensured that our son has access to art and sword fighting classes. These are things he's interested in and doesn't have anything to do with reading - which is his struggle.
But I do not subscribe to the "dyslexia is a superpower" school of thought. Do I think that people with dyslexia think differently? Yes. Do I think that people with dyslexia may approach a problem in a unique and different way? Sure.
But I don't think that it's healthy or fair to tell people with dyslexia that they will turn out to be a billionaire or a professional athlete. People with dyslexia are not uber-intelligent. They can be, but just like anyone else, they can be of average intelligence or even below average intelligence.
And I really don't believe that it makes any sense to tell someone who struggles with reading that dyslexia is a "gift." Louisa Moats probably sums this up the best:
Let’s start with the claim that dyslexia – whether mild, moderate, or severe – is a “gift”. This assertion appears grounded in the observation that some people who have trouble learning to read, write, spell or use language become very successful in life. People who have real trouble remembering printed words are said to “see things differently” or have special cognitive powers. Our best science indicates, however, problem-solving and creative abilities are not more dominate because a person has dyslexia. People with dyslexia may be very good at mechanical problem solving, graphic arts, spatial navigation, athletics, or abstract reasoning – or they may not be.
People who succeed in spite of their academic learning difficulties are a marvel – but their talents exist separate from, not because of, their language-based reading, spelling, or writing problems. Those who experience dyslexia often experience anxiety and other affective challenges. We should not assert that dyslexia and giftedness go hand in hand, or that students are better off because they are afflicted with this condition.
See the whole article on the International Dyslexia Association website. And if you don't know who Louisa Moats is, definitely check out her writing (Teaching Reading IS Rocket Science)and presentations - Here is a recent presentation from the PaTTAN Literacy Symposium, but you can just put her name into the search bar on YouTube and there's a host of other options to check out.
EdWeek just posted this article about LETRS Training that I found very interesting. You can check the article out here: What Is LETRS? Why One Training Is Dominating ‘Science of Reading’ Efforts
The briefest explanation is that LETRS is a professional development program that helps teachers understand how children learn to read and the basics of how to teach foundational reading skills. Or if you want a more commercial definition, you can check out the Lexia Learning site for LETRS
Is LETRS the only option? It's absolutely not.
Is it the only option that people generally know about and will help increase teacher knowledge about evidence-based reading instruction? Yes.
Does something need to happen RIGHT NOW to help teachers teach kids how to read? Absolutely.
Is LETRS too expensive? Probably, but we have to start somewhere and this is what is readily available. Administrators have heard of it because Mississippi was the only state to make gains in reading and it's what they used.
Is LETRS a cure for what ails schools' ability to teach reading? Probably not? I think that you can't just provide LETRS training to teachers and expect that things will be magically fixed. There has to be a fundamental change at the district (or state) level. If the district doesn't think that they need to teach kids how to read (obviously district leaders wouldn't characterize it this way, but this is what it IS), all the LETRS training in the world isn't going to shift the needle.- Fun fact: Carrie Beck who used to run the CTL Reading Clinic and who used to be the state level dyslexia specialist for Oregon is the Director of Literacy at CORE.
- Fun fact: They put on a fabulous conference every year called Plain Talk about Literacy and Learning. It's in New Orleans and always attracts the big names in the science of reading community.
This looks like a fantastic opportunity. If you have a little one at home and you need some guidance, check out this article:
If your child has been taught to guess based on pictures or the first letter of a word, you should definitly sign up for this program to get your child on the right path to actually learn how to read.
So, I have a couple of opinions on this, so I'm just going to bullet a list and then I'll explain.
It totally depends on
First - Is this just something that you have observed? Or has the teacher expressed concern as well?
If the teacher hasn't expressed concern, start by asking the teacher about your child's reading and tell her that you are concerned. Need some questions to ask?
Route to Reading: Do Regular Performance Checks
Route to Reading: Avoid a Lemon
Or watch this video:
If your concern runs deeper than just thinking your child is struggling and you want the school to test your child, you will need to Request an Evaluation. You have to use that terminology and you have to do it in writing.
Sidebar: I think that all coorespondance with the school should be in writing. It's the only way to track that things are happening (or not happening).
Here is a great little article from Understood.org that breaks down how to request a School Evaluation
6 Steps for Requesting a School Evaluation
You know your child best. If you think something is wrong, there probably is. Maybe it's a learning disability, maybe it is the instruction that your child is receiving, but either way, it's important to act fast. Children who receive systematic evidence-based instruction and interventions in the earliest grades are less likely to fail or fall behind later (3rd or 4th grade) when teachers expect them to read to learn rather than learn to read.
While ultimately this will be a blog that I try to keep up with, right now you can navigate it like a website.
