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Empowering students with dyslexia to succeed with the right tools and strategies

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A teacher assisting a child with school work in class

Students with dyslexia face unique challenges to learning. For example, they may find it difficult to memorize information or read aloud — both of which are skills that are critical to standard teaching practices. That’s why targeted interventions and accommodations are crucial.

Up to one in five people in the U.S. has dyslexia, representing 80% to 90% of all individuals with learning disabilities. With early intervention and proper accommodation, students with dyslexia can succeed in P-12 classrooms and graduate from rigorous postsecondary and graduate-level programs.

Educators can help make a difference by supporting these students and alleviating their challenges.

Understanding dyslexia and its impact on students

Dyslexia is a neurological-based learning disability that typically has a lifelong impact on language skills in affected individuals. Core difficulties are with word recognition, decoding, reading fluency, spelling, and written expression, with the impact depending on the severity of the condition. While the problems experienced by people with dyslexia may vary from individual to individual, some of the most common ones educators may recognize in their students include persistent difficulty with:

  • Learning letters and their sounds.
  • Recognizing words that begin with the same sound.
  • Understanding the rhyming of words.
  • Identifying written words and committing them to memory.
  • Reading with sufficient speed and accuracy to comprehend.
  • Expressing ideas in writing.

Without diagnosis and intervention, dyslexia can make it challenging for a student to succeed in an academic setting and beyond.

Tools to screen, diagnose, and monitor progress in students with dyslexia

Screening and diagnostic tools provide educators with valuable insights into students’ strengths and weaknesses, which can help determine whether a student has a disability like dyslexia and what type of supports may be needed. Once a student is diagnosed with dyslexia, regular assessments can also enable educators to gauge the effectiveness of interventions and adjust their strategies to better support learning progress.

Early identification and implementation of appropriate supports can reduce the impact of dyslexia on affected students and set them up for success in school and later life. While educators may be able to recognize signs of dyslexia in students, such as slow progress in reading, severe spelling difficulties, and struggles with written assignments, there are tools available to assist professionals in formally screening, assessing, intervening, and monitoring progress.

School-based processes and procedures for dyslexia identification vary widely. The following scenario exemplifies how a school system implements assessment tools for screening, assessment, and progress monitoring:

A school district implements a universal screening process whereby all students, starting in kindergarten, are screened for dyslexia using the Shaywitz DyslexiaScreen. Students who are identified as at risk are given a follow-up behavioral screener using the WIAT-4 Dyslexia Index. Following this two-step screening process, the student support team meets to determine next steps. Students at risk are given supplemental instruction using the SPELL-Links Wordtivities word study program for 9–12 weeks.

To monitor academic progress, aimswebPlus measures are administered weekly, and the team continually evaluates the progress monitoring data to determine if instructional adjustments are needed. The KTEA–3 Dyslexia Index subtests are administered using the alternate form every 3–4 months. The KTEA-3 growth scale values (GSVs) are charted and compared over time to determine if significant progress has been observed.

Students at high risk for dyslexia based on their screening results and students who have not responded to supplemental instruction are referred for a comprehensive evaluation that includes cognitive, language, and achievement measures, such as the WIAT-4 and WISC-V. Because dyslexia often co-occurs with other learning disorders (e.g., dyscalculia and dysgraphia), other neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]), and mental health disorders such as anxiety and depression, these conditions are ruled in or out as part of a comprehensive evaluation.

The student support team considers these test results and other sources of information, such as school grades/test scores, classroom observation, teacher reports, and parent/caregiver interviews, to determine what services a student is qualified to receive and how best to improve the student’s performance.

To find out more about the assessment tools mentioned in this scenario and the other resources available, refer to the Pearson Dyslexia Toolkit.

5 strategies to make learning accessible to students with dyslexia

As educators look to support students with dyslexia, there are strategies they can implement in classrooms to help make learning more accessible, such as:

1. Collaborate with parents/caregivers and other professionals

A critical component of effective, evidence-based assessment and intervention is a collaborative approach that involves the student, their parents, educators, and other professionals. Many professional and stakeholder groups — including school psychologists, speech-language pathologists, educational diagnosticians, reading specialists, general and special education teachers, and school administrators — support individuals with dyslexia in a variety of ways. Strong communication and collaboration among these professionals and stakeholders contribute to better outcomes for students with dyslexia.

2. Simplify the language of instruction

Use simple, single-step instructions. Wordy directions with numerous steps can be difficult for dyslexic students to process and complete. Keep the instructions short and give them orally and in written form for reference.

3. Implement a structured literacy approach

According to the International Dyslexia Association, “structured literacy approaches are more successful than many typical literacy practices for meeting the needs of children with dyslexia and other literacy problems.” Structured literacy emphasizes highly explicit and systematic teaching of literacy components, including foundational skills (e.g., decoding, spelling), higher-level skills (e.g., reading comprehension, written expression), and oral language abilities that support literacy development (e.g., phonemic awareness, sensitivity to speech sounds in oral language, and the ability to manipulate those sounds).

4. Offer flexible accommodations and supports

Accommodations are not a substitute for intervention. However, when used thoughtfully, they may be a critical component of a student’s education plan.

By offering classroom accommodations, educators make it possible for students to learn and demonstrate their learning through full participation in classroom instruction. Testing accommodations include changes to materials (e.g., offering materials in large print formats) or procedures (e.g., providing extended time) that enable students to exhibit their abilities during tests and exams. Without accommodations, an assessment may not fairly or accurately measure the skills and knowledge of a student with dyslexia.

Select accommodations according to the student’s needs and provide evidence to support the need for those accommodations. For example, although extra time on assignments or tests is a popular accommodation, it may not improve the student’s performance. Similarly, spell checkers are only useful for self-monitoring typos if the student can recognize the correct spelling; they do not help poor spellers generate correct spellings. Additionally, spell checkers cannot consistently identify when a word is misspelled if it is the correct spelling of a different word. With these limitations in mind, tools such as speech-to-text, text-to-speech, spelling and grammar checkers, and keyboarding are accommodations that may be considered. Reading tools to help focus attention may also be helpful, such as using a blank sheet of paper to reveal only one line of text at a time or providing reading rulers to direct attention to one section of text at a time.

Empower students by giving them choices and options for how to approach assigned tasks. For example, allow students to choose between several essay topics or to demonstrate their understanding of a text or concept through a variety of means, such as creative expression (e.g., illustration, diorama) and oral responses. If spelling homework typically requires students to write sentences using the target words, let students complete alternate tasks that are more effective for them, such as recognition spelling and partial recall activities (refer to Pearson’s Intervention Guide for LD Subtypes for more information and recommendations).

5. Test-teach-retest

When teaching a particular skill:

  1. Assess what students already know and need to be taught.
  2. Plan targeted instruction that begins with what they know and works toward the unknown.
  3. Assess whether the instruction was effective.
  4. Modify accordingly.

Instruction that follows this test-teach-retest cycle is responsive, tailored to students’ needs, and allows continuous evaluation and modification of the instruction based on student performance.

Setting students with dyslexia up for success

Educators are in a prime position to help students with dyslexia overcome language challenges and reach their full potential in school and in life. A comprehensive and effective approach combines understanding, assessment, and tailored strategies. For more information and resources to help you support students with dyslexia, check out the Pearson Dyslexia Toolkit.