Decoding Dyslexia

As a classroom teacher for seventeen years and throughout my continued learning as an administrator, I have had a passion for learning all I can about dyslexia.  This began when my son struggled with reading and was diagnosed with moderately severe dyslexia.  Reading was difficult and Jon, a third grader at the time, was very frustrated.

Reading is complicated.  Many areas in the brain must communicate with each other to read.  The brain must take in, store and process language information.  When all the areas work together, a person understands and remembers what is read.  Dyslexia is when some areas in the brain are not communicating properly.  Some individuals need to be taught in very specific ways to help coordinate the language functions to become a successful reader.

Dyslexia is 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 (phonics) component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities.  Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.  (From the International Dyslexia Association)

 These are just a very few of the well-known, successful people from all walks of life who are or were dyslexic:

Albert Einstein                                  Thomas Edison                  Winston Churchill
George Patton                                  John F. Kennedy              Benjamin Franklin
Henry Ford                                         Walt Disney                        Pablo Picasso
Keanu Reeves                                   Tom Cruise                         Will Smith
Whoopi Goldberg                            Babe Ruth                           Magic Johnson

 (The Reading Center | 847 5th Street N.W. | Rochester, MN 55901 | 507-288-5271)

On April 9, 2014, Iowa Governor Terry Branstad signed Senate File 2319 into law, thus creating the state’s first dyslexia law.  The new law officially defines the word “dyslexia” in the Iowa education code, and directs the Iowa Department of Education and the Iowa Reading Research Center to provide training on dyslexia to Iowa’s teachers.  This is great news for all of us – teachers, students and parents alike.  There has been a much greater awareness on the move in Iowa and throughout the nation.  I look forward to continued learning and professional development for our district staff as we strive to meet the needs of each and every learner.