Kristine Garcia

SPED 637

Impact of Dyslexia on Phonological Awareness,

Spelling, and Vocabulary – Excerpt

Implications for Practice

Every child comes to the classroom with a different set of tools. Some may have all the

tools necessary to be successful readers, while others may need a little more help in developing

them. Often times the symptoms exhibited by students with Dyslexia are treated with a band aid

approach, but the root of the problem needs to be addressed for any real changes to occur.

Educators and Literacy Specialists can support struggling readers by targeting their weak

underlying skills. However, it is even more important for educators to detect reading difficulties

early on so that interventions could be put into place to help remediate the issues before

academic failure occurs. Studies clearly point to phonological awareness skills as a good

indicator of predicting reading abilities. Assessments can be conducted in lower elementary

grades to gauge phonological skills in hopes of decreasing the recurring pattern of older students’

struggles going unnoticed until they reach upper elementary grades. Educating teachers on signs

to look out for and providing them with evidence-based methods and support will positively

affect struggling readers and their overall academic success.