New Research Advisory on Dyslexia Details Identification and Effective Instruction
Early identification and intervention can significantly reduce the severity of the condition.
By Carol Jean Tomoguchi-Perez
October 11, 2023
October 11, 2023
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The International Literacy Association (ILA) Dyslexia Task Force published a research advisory for Dyslexia Awareness Month in October, which provides research-based guidance for all educators, policymakers and stakeholders interested in learning about dyslexia. The task force, chaired by professor and ILA board member-at-large Young-Suk Kim, authored the advisory on behalf of the association.
The advisory reports that early identification and intervention are vital to reducing the severity of dyslexia. Additionally, small-group instruction with opportunities for feedback and practice is an intensive intervention that students with dyslexia often need but do not receive in core curriculum. “Dyslexia is a type of learning disability that impacts approximately 5-20% of the population; the numbers vary depending on criteria,” said Kim, who served as an expert panelist for ILA's first webinar of its multipart series on dyslexia. “So it is not uncommon to have individuals with dyslexia in the classroom or workplace.” Kim, who co-authored the study “Do Spelling and Vocabulary Improve Classification Accuracy of Children's Reading Difficulties Over and Above Word Reading?” which published in March 2023, has investigated whether information on students' spelling and vocabulary in kindergarten increases the precision of identifying students with reading difficulties. “Researchers have been wondering about ways to accurately identify individuals with dyslexia,” Kim said. “Typically assessments focus on reading skills, such as children’s performance on word reading and decoding. However, [the study] found that adding students’ spelling in kindergarten increases accuracy of identifying students with reading difficulties in kindergarten and grade 1. This is important because this information helps with early (e.g., kindergarten) identification of children at risk for reading difficulties.” |
Young-Suk Kim
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Students identified for dyslexia in kindergarten or first grade will fare better with evidence-based intervention than those identified later in life. In California, dyslexia screening is expected to roll out with teacher training or teacher professional learning.
Kim stressed that dyslexia should not be confused with language differences or language learner status. She also shared that it doesn’t result from differences in educational experiences or intellectual, sensory, attentional, behavioral or emotional impairments that affect learning in general.
According to Kim, there have been new findings in the area of dyslexia – such as the fact that no evidence that multisensory instruction, which is a popular approach to teaching students with dyslexia, outperforms evidence-based approaches that do not explicitly adopt multisensory approaches.
“This does not mean that multisensory approaches have a negative impact on their word reading and spelling skills,” Kim explained. “Instead, evidence does not show that these approaches are better than other evidence-based approaches.”
There are also several myths Kim hopes to dispel, including the belief that individuals with dyslexia see letters and words backwards or out of order, and that all cases of dyslexia are the same; rather, the severity of dyslexia is on a continuum and does not look the same across individuals.
Kim stressed that dyslexia should not be confused with language differences or language learner status. She also shared that it doesn’t result from differences in educational experiences or intellectual, sensory, attentional, behavioral or emotional impairments that affect learning in general.
According to Kim, there have been new findings in the area of dyslexia – such as the fact that no evidence that multisensory instruction, which is a popular approach to teaching students with dyslexia, outperforms evidence-based approaches that do not explicitly adopt multisensory approaches.
“This does not mean that multisensory approaches have a negative impact on their word reading and spelling skills,” Kim explained. “Instead, evidence does not show that these approaches are better than other evidence-based approaches.”
There are also several myths Kim hopes to dispel, including the belief that individuals with dyslexia see letters and words backwards or out of order, and that all cases of dyslexia are the same; rather, the severity of dyslexia is on a continuum and does not look the same across individuals.
