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Ohio families with children in public schools may be gaining some insights into their children's reading abilities thanks to new measures to identify those at risk of dyslexia.
As a result, some parents may be surprised to get a letter from their school this year stating that their child is at risk for dyslexia.
In 2021 Ohio dyslexia legislation went into effect to address growing acknowledgement that earlier intervention is needed for children challenged with poor early reading and literacy skills. The new law provides for several provisions including teacher training in the science of reading, universal screening of students to identify those at risk for dyslexia, parent notification, and progress monitoring of student reading skills. Beginning in 2023, dyslexia screening of all kindergarten children was initiated, with screening of all K-3 students to be added in subsequent school years.
When a child is identified as at risk for dyslexia in an Ohio public school, the school is required to notify the child’s parent that their child is at risk, monitor the reading/writing progress of each at risk student for up to 6 weeks, and if no progress is made toward attaining grade-level skills during the 6 weeks, the parent is notified and a tier 2 screening is administered. Results of the tier 2 screening measure is reported to the parent within 30 days after administration.
While this is good for Ohio kids, parents may be alarmed when they receive a notification from the school that their child is at risk for dyslexia. Dyslexia is a learning disability that is neurological in origin with unexpected challenges in phonics, word decoding, and spelling. When there are deficits in these skills, a child will often struggle to learn to be an efficient reader and writer. These challenges have implications for long term school success.
Families outside of Ohio may need to rely on teacher feedback and their own observations to decide whether to pursue an evaluation for dyslexia.
Dyslexia can be overcome, but accurate diagnosis is important. While screening is a good step, a complete picture of a child’s skills and needs is very important to determine the types of instruction and academic therapies that will best help a child. Early, accurate, and complete diagnosis generated from a comprehensive psychological evaluation can drive and inform the best instruction for your child and help lead them onto a path of learning success.
Guest Blogger Deborah Gilbert, Ph.D. is a Diagnostic Psychologist at Springer Diagnostic Center.
