Spotting dyslexia

  • 14 minutes

Oral comprehension vs. silent comprehension

  • One sign of dyslexia is when a student struggles to understand what they read silently but understands what is read aloud.
  • Reading can be fatiguing for a student with dyslexia because decoding words isn't an efficient process.
  • Similar to reading comprehension, students may not perform as well independently as compared to when the content is read to them in subjects like math and science.
  • When children listen to teachers reading aloud, we're modeling strong reading fluency. This modeling helps students hear the inflection, pauses, and other key features that are key for strong comprehension.

Reflection

  • How can you determine if a student’s struggle is in decoding or in their understanding of the concept?
  • Why is it important to evaluate more than silent reading when a child is struggling?
  • Outside of decoding, what are other areas of learning you can examine to help spot dyslexia?

Other resources

Manipulating sounds and rapid automatic naming

Manipulating sounds

A strong indicator of dyslexia is a struggle with the phonemes inside of language.

  • A phoneme is the smallest unit of sound. Phonemes are the foundation of language and, therefore, the sound-symbol relationship that provides the code necessary for reading.
  • Young children should be able to break apart and put sounds back together are examples of phonemic awareness skills.
  • Students who struggle with phonemic awareness skills are likely dyslexic, as they're struggling with the foundations of language.

Reflection

  • Why is it important for a student to be able to segment sounds within a word?
  • How does assessing a student’s ability to rhyme target the sounds within a word?
  • Where can you include phonemic awareness activities in your reading instruction?

Other resources

Rapid automatic naming

Rapid automatic naming is the ability to quickly and accurately name familiar items. Trouble naming known colors, shapes, or objects on demand is an indicator of dyslexia.

  • Students who struggle with rapid automatic naming might use the wrong word to name an item, have long pauses in their speech, or talk around terms and use general names for specific items. These are all indicators of a language-based learning difficulty like dyslexia.
  • Trouble naming known colors, shapes, or objects on demand is an indicator of dyslexia.
  • Nonphonetic, or sight words, are often the hardest for learners with dyslexia to read and spell because they have to quickly recall specific information.

Reflection

  • How will a child with naming difficulties struggle with reading?
  • What are some ways you can informally assess a student’s ability to retrieve information quickly?
  • Why should we teach phonetic and nonphonetic words differently?

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Oral language vs. written language

Many students with dyslexia are great storytellers and use oral language to captivate people. This same expressiveness doesn't always translate into their writing.

  • An indicator of dyslexia might be a student who demonstrates a strength in their oral language, but whose written expression is basic, simple, and/or lacks elaboration.
  • Using strategies like allotting time for brainstorming, connecting writing to content areas of interest, and utilizing technology can help fuel students to express themselves on paper

Reflection

  • What difficulties might affect the writing process for a student with dyslexia?
  • How does brainstorming allow a student to connect their oral language to written expression?
  • How does technology help a student with dyslexia demonstrate a strength?

Other resources