DYSLEXIA

The International Dyslexia Association defines "dyslexia" as 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. (Adopted by the International Dyslexia Association Board of Directors, November 12, 2002)

Students identified as having dyslexia typically experience primary difficulties in phonological awareness, including phonemic awareness and manipulation, single-word reading, reading fluency, and spelling. Consequences may include difficulties in reading comprehension and/or written expression. These difficulties in phonological awareness are unexpected for the student’s age and educational level and are not primarily the result of language difference factors. Additionally, there is often a family history of similar difficulties.

RISD provides intensive, specialized support to students who have been identified as dyslexic. The interventions are delivered though a set of lessons that efficiently teaches the foundational skills that lead to strong decoding and fluent reading. The lessons systematically teach the essential phonics structures that unlock the English code in both simple and complex words. While the focus of program is word study (phonics and phonemic awareness), there is a high rate of transfer to students’ skills in other areas of reading, such as fluency and comprehension.

What is Dyslexia?

Texas Education Code Definition

Dyslexia means a disorder of constitutional origin manifested by a difficulty in learning to read, write, or spell, despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence, and sociocultural dysgraphia, and developmental spelling disability. Related disorders includes similar to or related to dyslexia such as developmental auditory imperception, dysphasia, specific developmental dyslexia, developmental dysgraphia, and developmental spelling disability.

International Dyslexia Association Definition:

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. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge. Adopted by the IDA Board, November 2002. This definition is also used by the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD), 2002.

Dyslexia and School District/Charter School Requirements

Texas Education Code §38.003:

  • Students enrolling in public schools in this state shall be screened or tested, as appropriate, for dyslexia and related disorders at appropriate times in accordance with a program approved by the State Board of Education. The program must include screening at the end of the school year of each student in kindergarten and each student in the first grade.

  • The board of trustees of each school district or charter school shall provide for the treatment (i.e., instruction) of any student determined to have dyslexia.

Texas Administrative Code §74.28: 

  • The board of trustees of a school district or charter school must ensure that procedures for identifying a student with dyslexia and for providing appropriate instructional services to the student are implemented.

  • A school district or charter school shall purchase or develop its own reading program for students with dyslexia, as long as the program is characterized by the descriptors found in The State Dyslexia Handbook ~ Revised
    2021.

  • Each school district or charter school must provide each identified student access at his or her campus to the services of a teacher trained in dyslexia and related disorders.

  • Each school district or charter school shall provide a parent education program for parents/guardians of students with dyslexia.

Teacher Training Requirements:

Teachers who provide instruction for students with dyslexia:

  • Must have valid Texas teaching certificates for the particular grade level(s) that they teach

  • Must be trained in dyslexia and related disorders

  • Must be trained in the program the district has developed or purchased for use with students with dyslexia as well as in instructional strategies that utilize individualized, intensive, multi sensory,phonetic methods

Common Risk Factors of Dyslexia

Parents Preschool – Third grade:

  • Failure to understand that words are made up of parts or individual sounds

  • Difficulty learning the letter names and their corresponding sounds

  • Difficulty reading single words in isolation

  • Difficulty reading fluently

  • Difficulty spelling phonetically

Fourth grade – High School:

  • History of reading and spelling difficulties

  • Difficulty reading aloud

  • Avoids reading for pleasure

  • Difficulty learning a foreign language

Post-secondary:

  • Difficulty with spoken vocabulary

  • Difficulty completing the reading demands for multiple course requirements

Contacts for further information:

State Dyslexia Consultant

Region 10 Education Service Center

400 E. Spring Valley Road

Richardson, TX 75083-1300

Texas Dyslexia Hotline: 1(800) 232-3030

Statewide English Language Arts/Reading Coordinator

Texas Education Agency Division of Curriculum

1701 N. Congress Avenue

(512) 463-9581

Dyslexia contacts at the Texas Regional Education Service Centers

Resources

Parent Resources