K-3 Dyslexia Screening: Off to a good start…long road ahead

Julia Grover-Barrey OTR/L
Founder of In-Tuned®

Dyslexia is a common cause of low reading proficiency, yet a frequently missed diagnosis (Wagner et al., 2021). Neuroscience research has uncovered its’ primary neural signature (low activation in L hemisphere frontal-temporal-parietal regions, visual cortex, white matter tracts and overcompensation in the R hemisphere), but this has yet to be translated into more comprehensive, validated and widely used behavioral assessments (Shaywitz and Shaywitz, 2008).

Recently my home state of Arizona, along with approximately 39 other states, passed legislation designed to help identify students with dyslexia by mandating K-3 screening for all students. All schools receiving public funding are required to have one teacher trained as a dyslexia specialist (Arizona Department of Education, 2023). This is a great first step towards identifying children at the beginning stages of literacy and providing the enrichment they need to meet academic standards.

Despite formal screening the best overall predictor of a dyslexia diagnosis is family history. Having a first degree relative with dyslexia makes a child most at risk as it is a highly heritable disorder (Thompson et al., 2015).

I am all for early screening and intervention. I think it will take some time to have teachers trained to screen adequately and to discover best practical applications for those with dyslexia in the classroom. Yet let us not forget about those students in 4th grade onwards, who may have come up in reading skills, but have illegible handwriting, poor written composition, poor spelling and lack full comprehension of text. These skill deficits can also be signs of “dyspraxic” and “attentional” forms of dyslexia, which are as often missed as low reading (Habib, 2021; Liu et al., 2022; Lohvansuu et al., 2021). This group of students need academic supports AND development of executive function skills to improve overall function at school and in daily life (Habib, 2021). In my experience it is this group most often underserved, with the focus of support shifting from active skill acquisition to a list of default accommodations.

 My recommendations to parents:

  • If your child is in preliteracy stages (0-4y) with a known family history of dyslexia enrich their environment with books, reading together with focus on letter sounds and lots of music (Shaywitz and Shaywitz, 2008; Habib, 2021; Sigman et al., 2014).

  • If you have a positive family history of dyslexia or low reading skills make it known when your child starts KG.

  • If you have a KG-3 grader with low reading skills request a copy of their dyslexia screening tool.

  • If you have a child in 3rd grade + with difficulties in the bolded areas above request further testing at school or seek outside help if you don’t think they are being adequately addressed.

I am enjoying my journey down the long road towards having no child left behind. I appreciate all who are on this road with me.

Julia

Arizona Department of Education. (2023). Educate, Empower, Elevate Dyslexia. Retrieved February 17, 2023, from https://www.azed.gov/mowr/dyslexia

 

Habib, M. (2021). The neurological basis of developmental dyslexia and related disorders: a reappraisal of the temporal hypothesis, twenty years on. Brain Sciences, 11(6): 1-32. Doi: 10.3390braomsco11060708

 

Liu, Z., Li, J., Bi, H., Xu, M., Yang, Y. (2022). Disruptions of functional brain networks underlies handwriting deficit in children with developmental dyslexia. Frontiers in Neuroscience, 16: 1-12. Doi: 10.3389/fnins.2022.919440

 

Lohvansuu, K., Torppa, M., Ahonen, T., Eklund, K., Hamalainen, J., Leppanen, P., Lyytinen, H. (2021). Unveiling the mysteries of dyslexia-lessons learned from the prospective jyvasklya longitudinal study of dyslexia. Brain Sciences, 11(4): 1-24. Doi: 10.3390/brainsci11040427

 

Shaywitz, S. and Shaywitz, B. (2008). Paying attention to reading: the neurobiology of reading and dyslexia. Developmental and Psychopathology, 20(4): 1329-1349. Doi: 10.1017/S0954579408000631

 

Sigman, M., Pena, M., Goldin, A., Ribeiro, S. (2014). Neuroscience and education: prime time to build the bridge. Nature Neuroscience, 17(4): 497-502. Doi: 10.1038/nn.3672

 

Thompson, P.A., Hulme, C., Nash, H.M., Gooch, D., Hayiou-Thomas, E., Snowling, M.J. (2015). Developmental dyslexia: predicting individual risk. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry and Allied Disciplines, 56(9): 976-987. Doi: 10.111/jcpp.12412

 

Wagner, R., Zirps, F.A., Edwards, A.A., Wood, S.G., Joyner, R.E., Becker, B.J., Liu, G., Beal, B. (2020). The prevalence of dyslexia: a new approach to its estimation. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 53(5): 354-365. Doi: 10.1177/0022219420920377

 

 

Brain-Based DisordersJulia Groverdyslexia