Ok Kids BRAIN families, final post (for now) on dyslexia red flags and next steps. If your child is older and you have been waiting for some time for their reading skills to “take off,” only to find they continue to lag, it is definitely time to act quickly. Below, see the risk factors and red flags for dyslexia in children in 3rd grade and beyond:
*difficulty recognizing sight words (was, is, in it, they, she, etc.)
*problems with breaking down single words
*difficulty figuring out new words in sentences
*struggles in recalling the letter needed to make a sound (when decoding and spelling)
*any lack of mastery of the alphabet or letter sounds
*poor reading speed/pace
*reliance on pictures, the theme of the story, or guessing when reading
*problems reading aloud
*avoidance of reading
*poor vocabulary growth
*weak reading comprehension (usually because they don’t read the correct words and they read so slowly that what they read doesn’t make sense to them)
If your child is behind in the classroom, exhibiting these red flags (even some of them), and you are now faced with end of year standardized testing that you believe will go poorly, it is time to test. In order to seek a formal assessment through your local school district, you will need to reach out to the campus point person. This is usually a counselor, but you could also reasonably reach out to the principal or vice principal to start your request. ALWAYS put your request in writing. Verbal discussions are not easily documented and may even “disappear” or be forgotten. I would recommend that you send an email to the counselor and the administrator (principal, assistant principal) stating your child’s name, grade, date of birth, and your formal written request to have your child evaluated for possible dyslexia. They will take it from there, although I would suggest that you regularly touch base if there is a lag between when you make your request and when the action starts. After receiving your request, school district staff will gain your consent in writing, complete the testing, share the report, and meet to discuss. You should always ask about expected timelines, mark your calendar, and send out emails BEFORE the due dates along the way to ensure you are top of mind.
For a private school, you will likely need to go through a private evaluation. This would mean finding a provider (or team, like Kids BRAIN), discussing costs, scheduling and completing testing, and then receiving and discussing your results. Although it is sometimes faster to get the testing done privately, public school districts are not required to accept or agree with a private evaluation. At times the school district will agree with and accept the results and then proceed to the educational planning part, but this is not always (or even often) the case. The federal law states that the school district has the right to complete their own assessment to confirm results, and they often do. This can mean a rather lengthy wait between starting and finishing this process.
In the meantime, ask about whether your child may be eligible for a Section 504 Plan or short-term accommodations to support them in the classroom some while you are completing testing. This may include extra time, use of audiobooks, having a teacher or partner read for them, and giving responses via voice recording or typing (which can help with spelling when using word prediction software). Consider asking for your child to work with a reading specialist (not usually a regular ELAR/reading teacher) at the school or hire a dyslexia specialist outside of school. At home, it may be helpful to remember that a larger goal is for your child to continue to love stories and the written word. While all of the testing stuff gets sorted out, it may be really helpful to switch to audiobooks or to read aloud to your child for required work and books for school. Work on comprehension of the themes, characters, and plotline (“What was Jennie’s father’s name? Wait, where were they moving from? What do you think is going to happen next; what were the clues that made you think that?”). This is just as important as the “nuts and bolts” of reading the words and can be something you work on at home while the school district or another provider is working on building reading functions.
