One of the most common question asked by parents to educators is “I think my child has dyslexia, what can I do about it?” And most probably they will get the run-around answer from educators in our area, “Well, people disagree about the definition of dyslexia.” Which is no help at all!
The reason the parent is asking is that their otherwise normal child is having a terrible time learning to read and most likely is reversing numbers and letters when they read and spell. The easy answer is, “If your child is of normal intelligence and can’t read, they have some form of dyslexia.” The scholarly answer is the definition adopted by the National Institute for Child Health and Human Development, quoted below:
"Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological 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."
Well, that’s great but what do I DO about it? The first step is getting a full battery of tests by a school psychologist. If you can afford it, get the testing done by a private individual who is allowed to be more in-depth and creative with their testing. The cost runs between $500-$800 and no, sorry, insurance does not pay for it. If you can’t afford the testing you will have to holler real loud, and then get in line for your school system to test for free. The squeaky wheel gets the oil.
Good testing should be composed of four things… a good I.Q. test such as the Wechsler (WISC) which will show you of course how smart your child is and therefore how much you can expect academically from him/her. The WISC also shows processing issues, which means you will be able to see from the test if the problem is primarily visual, auditory, or memory. Attention issues can also be picked up at this point.
The next step is academic testing, also done 1-1 and will show, usually painfully so, what great level your child is on in reading words in a list, phonics, reading comprehension, basic math, word problems, and in spelling and writing sentences. The test used for this is usually the Woodcock-Johnson.
Yet another step can be added to the process and that is testing for language processing – does your child have trouble finding the right words when trying to tell you a story? Do they reverse words or parts of words when they speak?
The interesting thing to me, as a school psychologist, is that rarely is the child referred to an optometrist who specializes in reading. Of course their eyes need to be checked out. The school systems and actually the regular eye doctor will do a simple screening of “can you see the letters on the wall?” However, when you are looking at reading you are also discovering if the child can focus well up close, can their eyes, track smoothly across a line of print, and a myriad of other small tests that all tell you if a child needs help with glasses, but may also need help with vision therapy. Vision therapy helps develop the focus and muscles around the eye area. But you can try this at home - hold a pencil in front of your child’s face and ask them to follow the tip back and forth and back and forth five times, without moving their head. Then move the pencil in a circle five times both directions and see if they can do that. Are the movements smooth? Can they hold their head still and just move their eyes? Now hold the pencil out in front about 12 inches and move it toward their nose, can they cross their eyes? The real question is do both eyes come in together or does one move in more slowly? Obviously, these are not perfect tests for dyslexia, but they will tell you if your child is having eye muscles or developmental issues with their eyes. If your eyes can’t go back and forth smoothly, you know you can’t follow a line of print in a book.
After all the testing is completed, then what happens? The eye doctor is the first line, what do they suggest? It can be glasses, vision therapy (which is expensive and time consuming but worth it) or simple things like using a finger to trace words while reading, or a book mark under the line of print. Most educators will recommend a reading system such as Wilson Reading, Orton-Gillingham, or Lindamood-Bell. Each is a regulated way to learn phonics and the systematic teaching of reading. The school system usually uses Wilson, but there is usually not enough time in the day to do it properly. Orton-Gillingham now offers an on-line program for children to follow. The Lindamood-Bell system offers intensives, such as four weeks, half a day, which can be done during the summer. In my experience the latter shows the best results.
And if the child is still struggling by 4th or 5th grade what do you do? You go for “books on tape” or have the student listen as they follow along with the book. There are actually free services that offer this online. The two main ones at this time are “Learning Ally” and the old and true, “Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic.” They even have college textbooks on CD.
The other issue is accommodations. This means that with the psycho-educational report, an IEP or Individual Education Plan is drawn up with the school, or even the college. It is a legal document that states how the school will help the student access the academics. Do they need tests read out loud to them? Do they need more time to take tests? Do they need to use a computer with “spell check”? The list can go on and on. And an easy fix for a young child, age 6-8, hold them back a grade and let them mature.
This is a lot of information for grown-ups to process. But one more very important step that is often overlooked, the child. Of course the child is quickly amassing low self-esteem and thinks they are stupid, “everyone else can read and I can’t, so I am dumb.” If the child won’t listen to your encouragement get someone in authority to tell them, “You are not dumb, you just have trouble reading, lots of smart people had trouble learning to read.” And then, emphasize what they can do, if it is art, get them art supplies and lessons, if it is sports, go full steam into their sport. Each of us has a talent, focus on how God has made them special. Because they are.
(Susan Sasse, M.Ed. is a school psychologist and licensed psychological examiner with a private practice in Chattanooga. To contact her with questions or comments email at sassesusan@yahoo.com)