Dyslexia: Hiding in Plain Sight

The sound-symbol connection must be mapped onto the brain through specific training.Because about 60% of children make this connection based on early pre-reading experiences, it may seem reading skills develop naturally.[...]dyslexia is a linguistic disability, not a visual one.According to the Dyslexia Help Center at the University of Michigan, 80% of students identified as learning disabled have reading deficits consistent with dyslexia.A systemic approach includes such elements as: * An early-screening model using behavioral tasks that are the strongest predictors of reading failure; * Data teams across elementary schools, so students can be identified, grouped for instructional interventions, and monitored for progress; * Staff development for all teachers, so they understand the hallmarks of atypical reading development; * Training in the systematic, explicit, direct interventions that students with early reading failure require; * Ongoing, embedded staff development, including coaches who can support teachers as they work with struggling students; and * Mapping the developmental trajectory of reading acquisition and placing interventions where students' specific deficits lie.