, the most common of which is dyslexia. Of students with reading difficulties, up to 80 percent are likely to have some form of dyslexia. Unfortunately, many of these children go undiagnosed until well after the primary grades, leading to significant difficulty with reading and subject-area studies.
Fortunately, awareness of dyslexia is rapidly growing. In 2015, the U.S. Department of Education issued a new policy affirming that students with dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia are specifically eligible for school support funded through the聽.
At the time of this publication,听, and an increasing number of school districts are increasing diagnostic and instructional services for students with signs of dyslexia. While state mandates are not always fully funded, the fact is that there is strong research supporting specific evidence-based instructional practices that enable dyslexic students to become successful readers and strong academic achievers.聽
Here are eight research-based instructional recommendations for students with signs of dyslexia:
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1. Multisensory Learning Modalities
Multisensory learning is a method of learning that includes more than one sense, such as visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and tactile.聽Because multisensory learning activates multiple parts of the brain, it鈥檚 been shown to increase engagement and enhance memory in聽all聽learners鈥攂ut especially those with dyslexic characteristics.
International Dyslexia Association (IDA)聽recommends incorporating two or three of the senses into reading instruction to help dyslexic children better understand new information and make the lesson stick.
2. Explicit Instruction
Explicit instruction, as defined by the IDA, is 鈥渢he deliberate teaching of all concepts with continuous student-teacher interaction. It is not assumed that students will naturally deduce these concepts on their own.鈥�
This student-teacher interaction is critical because very few students have the motivation or confidence to teach themselves, especially if they鈥檙e already struggling with dyslexic characteristics.
3. Fluent/Automatic Reading
When a student has achieved adequate reading fluency, that means that they鈥檙e able to read text quickly, smoothly, and accurately. When they鈥檙e reading aloud, they can place the proper expression and intonation on the words, and they can comprehend what they鈥檙e reading without pausing to decode each individual word.
Poor reading fluency is a very common characteristic of dyslexia and other reading disabilities; problems with reading fluency can linger even when students鈥� accuracy in word decoding has been improved through effective phonics intervention.
However, when students switch from oral reading practice to silent reading practice, you can no longer hear these pauses or mispronunciations, so it鈥檚 much more difficult to discern whether or not a student is struggling with fluency.
To help dyslexic students develop fluency, the IDA recommends that teachers:
- Interpret fluency assessments accurately to understand each students鈥� fluency level
- Provide appropriate types and levels of texts for reading instruction
- Encourage students to engage in independent reading practice, and
- Provide structured fluency interventions for students as needed.
4. Vocabulary
Knowledge of word meanings is critical to comprehension. When we read, we recognize words and word families we know. That鈥檚 why vocabulary acquisition is an essential element of reading growth.
In fact, cognitive scientists have suggested that聽.
As the IDA states, 鈥渞esearch supports both explicit, systematic teaching of word meanings and indirect methods of instruction such as those involving inferring meanings of words from sentence context or from word parts.鈥�
5. Morphology
A morpheme is the smallest unit of language that still holds meaning. Morphology, then, is the study of base words, roots, prefixes, and suffixes.
When educators incorporate morphology into reading instruction for students with dyslexic characteristics, they help them more quickly and easily decipher unfamiliar words in a text.
For example, when a student understands that the word聽expectation聽means 鈥渁 belief about the future,鈥� then they can also easily infer the meanings of聽expected,听expectancy,听补苍诲听unexpected.
6. Diagnostic Teaching
Diagnostic teaching is an instructional approach that aims to pinpoint exactly why a particular student is struggling and then provide individualized instruction to meet that student鈥檚 needs.
The IDA recommends that educators take both informal (for example, by observing the student in explicit instruction) and formal assessments (for example, by assigning standardized tests) of their students鈥� needs.
7. Systematic and Cumulative
According to the IDA, effective reading instruction for students with signs of dyslexia is both:
- Systematic, meaning that the reading material is organized in a logical, coherent manner, beginning with the most basic concepts and progressing to more difficult ones; and
- Cumulative, meaning that each step builds upon concepts previously learned.
Rather than allowing students to fall back into less difficult texts or frustrate themselves by moving ahead too quickly, you should structure the lessons in a way that enables students to strengthen their existing skills while developing new ones.
8. Syntax and Semantics
Syntax and semantics deal with the grammatical, mechanical, and sensible structure of language. They are the set of rules and principles that allow us to both convey and decipher meaning in a text.
The IDA recommends that educators include instruction in both syntax and semantics to help students with signs of dyslexia understand the mechanics of language, the relationship between words, and the contextual meaning of texts.
The Evidence-Based Reading Intervention Program for Students with Signs of Dyslexia
Incorporating all eight IDA recommendations into the ELA curriculum can be difficult. Fortunately,听research has shown that Reading Plus is effective in meeting the needs of students with various reading needs, including those with signs of dyslexia.
The program is designed to help students establish efficient reading habits that enable them to spend their mental resources on interpreting and appreciating what they read, rather than battling with the mechanics of reading. Key components of the program specifically meet the IDA recommendations.
Additionally, the program helps educators聽use data to diagnose individual student needs and drive effective literacy instruction for all learners.
Supporting all students in their learning journeys calls for reliable strategies, content, and curriculum. When it comes to learning disabilities like dyslexia, identifying the “right” strategies can make all the difference.
