When I was in teacher credentialing school I received barely any instruction about dyslexia. This is tragic because the International Dyslexia Association says that “as many as 15 to 20 percent of the population as a whole … have some of the symptoms of dyslexia.”
My first real experience with dyslexia was with a smart third-grade girl named “Estella.” Estella was supposed to be in fourth grade but the school held her back because she read at the kindergarten level.
In my complete arrogance as a first-year educator, I thought her other teachers must not have cared enough. “I’ll show up an hour early every Monday and give Estella private tutoring until she can read,” I told myself.
The first morning I brought muffins and phonics flashcards. As we ran through the phonemes Estella became frustrated. “OK,” I said as I put the stack of flashcards down. “Let’s switch to sight words like ‘the’ and ‘when.’ ”
Not only were the sight words a bust, but at one point Estella grabbed my wrist to hold the flashcard steady. “The letters keep wiggling,” she explained.
I’m not a person who usually uses swears, but I remember thinking “Oh, s—t. I have no idea how to help.”
I did not teach Estella how to read. But I helped her mother write a letter in English and Spanish asking that the school district assess Estella for special education services. The district ignored this request, so I contacted a not-for-profit lawyer even though I could have lost my job. When Estella entered fourth grade she finally had an Individual Education Plan in place.
Since then I have learned everything I could about dyslexia. Books, documentaries, the Internet, parental experience; every year I understand more, but I’ll never be able to go back to that Monday morning with Estella and be a better teacher. At least now I can answer the question: What does help look like?
Dyslexics need immediate researched-based intervention that is systematic, sequential and multi-sensory. A gold standard for dyslexic reading programs is anything based on the Orton-Gillingham Approach.
Tablets, computers and spell check can make life easier. With an official diagnosis of dyslexia an individual can purchase an inexpensive subscription to LearningAlly.org, which provides access to over 80,000 audio books. From England comes a program called Nessy.com, which teaches dyslexic children how to read through fun games and videos.
Here in Washington State we are blessed to have a multitude of resources, including Lindamood-Bell, Slingerland and Wired for Reading. But they are all expensive and can be hard to find in schools.
As many as one in five students may have dyslexia, but not all of those students receive adequate help. Until Oct. 23, 2015 when the Department of Education issued a clarifying letter many schools districts were hesitant to even say the word “dyslexia.”
The next time the discussion turns to standardized testing and failing schools, remember that statistic: up to one in five children might have dyslexia. The real conversation should be about why our system fails to deliver proven methods that work for bright, intelligent children like Estella.
Jennifer Bardsley lives in Edmonds. Her book “Genesis Girl” is scheduled to be released in 2016. Find her online on Instagram @the_ya_gal, Twitter @jennbardsley or at teachingmybabytoread.com.
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