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Graduate Research Symposium

Call for Proposals

READ 650 Evaluation of Reading Research

Presentation Format: 10-15 minute recorded oral presentation with round-table discussion on

Symposium Day, Saturday, April 29th.

Presenter 1 Name (First & Last): Nahibi Kauffman

Presenter 1 Email: n/a

Presenter 2 Name (First & Last): n/a

Presenter 2 Email: n/a

Additional Presenter Names: n/a

General Topic: Oral language development

Specific Topic: Dyslexia: Misconceptions, identification, and interventions

Audience: Classroom teachers

Grade Level(s): PreK-1

Presentation Title: Supporting Students with Dyslexia in the Classroom

Abstract: Although dyslexia was first written about over a century ago, it continues to perplex

teachers. Despite the research available, misconceptions about what dyslexia affects persist in

everyday classrooms. As a result, the window for early identification of dyslexia is often missed

and the knowledge of effective interventions is unknown. Join me today for a quick overview of

the biggest misconception, identification, and effective interventions for students with dyslexia.

Session Objectives: The participants will:

● Participants will identify the biggest misconception surrounding dyslexia.

● Participants will learn common characteristics of dyslexia.

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● Participants will view an effective multi-sensory approach to develop phonological

awareness skills, a skill weak in students with dyslexia.

Content (This is the literature review justification for your presentation. Your audience is

the proposal reviewers who want to know your presentation is evidence-based. 750-1000

words):

● Include your Literature Review after a page break

● The Literature Review should be in APA format with a cover page and references

● Therefore, the cover page should be page 3

● Cover page content and References are NOT included in the 750-1000 words
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Supporting Students with Dyslexia in the Classroom

Nahibi Kauffman

Department of Education & Counseling, Longwood University

READ 650 Evaluation of Literacy Research

Dr. Angelica D. Blanchette

April 2, 2023
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Supporting Students with Dyslexia in the Classroom

In recent years, students’ ability to read has reached a record low. Currently, only 36%

of fourth-grade students are reading at a proficient level (Jones, et al, 2019). Dyslexia, a

condition in which reading skills are affected due to low performance in phonological awareness

and phonics, is diagnosed in one in five students (Shaywitz & Shaywitz, n.d.; Thorwarth, 2014 ).

Although dyslexia has been a known condition for decades, it has recently become prominent

enough for teachers and specialists to pay closer attention. With the high percentage of

students diagnosed with dyslexia, reading difficulties go beyond the typical struggles of learning

to read. Early identification coupled with successful interventions can turn the distressing

statistics around and change the course for struggling readers. However, one challenge

persists: Teachers continue to believe in misconceptions despite the research debunking them.

Regardless of the overwhelming amount of research on dyslexia, the understanding of it

continues to be filled with erroneous information. Dyslexia is categorized as having strong

language comprehension and weak reading skills independent of one’s intelligence (Kilpatrick,

2015). Put simply, a student’s ability to identify and manipulate sounds and master the letter-

sound relationship is affected, thus affecting their sight word vocabulary skills and their ability to

decode words (Kilpatrick, 2015; Lindstorm, 2019; Shaywitz & Shaywitz, n.d.). However, letter

reversals and the use of colored overlays are both among the biggest misconceptions about

dyslexia that have been dispelled. These notions presume dyslexia is a visual rather than a

language condition, despite scientists debunking this myth in the 1970s (Gonzalez & Brown,

2019; Kilpatrick 2015). Letter and number reversals are quite common in children beginning

school. However, the misconception of reverals being the indicative sign of dyslexia has made it

into mainstream knowledge. (Gonzalez and Brown 2019). The problem with believing dyslexia is

caused by a visual disorder is the implementation of instruction to aid a visual and not a

language problem.
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Furthermore, schools only successfully identify about 4% of students with dyslexia

(Shaywitz & Shaywitz, n.d.). Although science has advanced the understanding of this

condition, there continues to be a gap between research and practice. Lawmakers are striving

to make this knowledge more accessible to the public. 47 states have passed legislation to

either provide teacher training, handbooks or resources for parents and teachers, or, in a more

aggressive approach, screening for all students for dyslexia (Gonzalez, 2021; Kaye et al.,

2022). In identifying students with dyslexia, the following characteristics can lead to a student

suspected of having reading difficulty, and more specifically dyslexia: students struggling with

learning the sounds of letters, manipulating sounds, decoding words, reading comprehension,

or word retrieval, despite appropriate instruction. (Wines, 2002; Shaywitz & Shaywitz, n.d.)

There are two things to note: This is not an exhaustive list of symptoms of dyslexia, and

therefore any student suspected of having a reading difficulty should be assessed. Secondly, a

student with dyslexia will display these or other persisting symptoms over time, despite

appropriate instruction, leading to a disruption in their learning (Wines, 2002). Teachers must

be well-versed in common symptoms and avoid misconceptions that have been made popular.

Although dyslexia was first written about over a century ago (Shaywitz & Shaywitz, n.d.),

knowledge of dyslexia and effective interventions continue to puzzle teachers. Along with being

able to identify common symptoms of dyslexia, teachers must be equally knowledgeable in the

successful implementation of the best practices. It is important to note that the reading formula

to teach students with and without dyslexia is not different. However, the biggest difference in

instruction is the intensity, frequency, and explicitness of instruction (Shaywitz & Shaywitz, n.d.).

Furthermore, the use of the Orton-Gilingam approach to reading has been proven to be

successful in aiding students with dyslexia. This approach, which was developed in the 1930s,

combines direct and frequent reading instruction with a multi-sensory approach (Orton-

Gilingham, 2023). When learning is coupled with a tactile approach, students are more engaged

and often respond to instruction more effectively.

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One example of this approach is known as phoneme manipulation with tiles. Phoneme

refers to the smallest unit of sound. To accomplish this task, a teacher lays four to five different

color tiles in a row and pulls a tile out of the group for each phoneme in a word she gives the

student. In the word din, the teacher would pull three tiles, each corresponding to the sounds

heard- /d/ /i/ /n/. The manipulation part of the task is applied by replacing the first tile, previously

representing /d/ with a different color tile from the initial row, and naming it a different phoneme

like /ch/. Now the student is tasked with replacing the word din with the word chin without

reading the word and instead working on their phonological awareness skills.

Illiteracy has become a national crisis exposed by harrowing statistics. Different factors

have been combined to account for the problems surrounding dyslexia. Gaps between research

and practice, misconceptions about dyslexia, and inappropriate interventions all contribute to

the demise of reading in the United States. Knowledge of best practices has been around since

the 1970s, but information is not easily made available to teachers. Unfortunately, teachers are

tasked with finding what should be common knowledge, life-changing information in specialized

courses, professional developments, and even post-graduate studies. Until all educators are

equipped with the knowledge of the science of reading, vulnerable students will continue to

suffer in school.
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References

Gonzalez, M. (2021). Dyslexia knowledge, perceived preparedness, and professional

development needs of in-service educators. Annals of Dyslexia, 71(3), 547-567.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-021-00235-z

Gonzalez, M., & Brown, T. B. (2019). Early childhood educators' perceptions of dyslexia and

ability to identify students at-risk. Journal of education and learning, 8(3), 1-12.

Kaye, E. L., Lozada, V, & Briggs, C. (2022) Early identification of and intervention for children

with and without dyslexia characteristics: A comparison study. Literacy Research and

Instruction, 61(3), 298-313. https://doi.org/10.1080/19388071.2022.2059418

Jones, A. L., Holtgraves, T. G., & Sander, J. B. (2019). Attitudes and knowledge of future

teachers to identify struggling readers. The Teacher Educator, 54(1), 46-59.

https://doi.org/10.1080/08878730.2018.1490842

Kilpatrick, D. A. (2015). Essentials of assessing, preventing, and overcoming reading difficulties.

Wiley.

Lindstrom, J. H. (2019). Dyslexia in the schools: Assessment and identification. Teaching

exceptional children, 51(3), 189-200. https://doi.org/10.1177/0040059918763712

Orton-Gilingham. (2023, March 26). Orton-Gilingham and dyslexia. https://www.orton-

gillingham.com/orton-gillingham-and-

dyslexia/#:~:text=The%20Orton%2DGillingham%20approach%20is,%2C%20writing%2

C%20and%20language%20skills

Shaywitz, S. E., & Shaywitz, B. A. (n.d.). Overcoming dyslexia. Coursera.

https://www.coursera.org/learn/dyslexia/home/welcome

Thorwarth, C. (2014). Debunking the myths of dyslexia. ERIC. Retrieved February 24, 2023,

from https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ1088548

Wines, M. (2023, March 12). Dyslexia Facts.

https://msutexas.edu/academics/education/dyslexia/_assets/files/dyslexia-facts.pdf
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