Say Dyslexia: Understanding, Supporting, and Shifting Our Approach

One of the greatest honors of my life was teaching kids to read. Pictured here is one of my greatest success stories!

Dyslexia, Fear, and the Cost of Waiting to Fail

When I first started teaching, mentioning the word dyslexia was strictly prohibited. You couldn’t talk about it in meetings, and you certainly couldn’t discuss it with parents. It was almost as if school districts were afraid of it, and honestly, many still are.

As someone who has worked as a district administrator and holds a doctorate specializing in dyslexia, I’m here to tell you this clearly: there is nothing to be afraid of.

Let’s take a moment to talk about what dyslexia is, what it isn’t, and how districts can better support students with dyslexia.

What Is Dyslexia?

The term dyslexia comes from the Greek words dys, meaning difficulty, and lexis, meaning words. Initially, medical professionals began examining why some children struggled unexpectedly with learning to read. In 2002, experts in reading research developed a definition of dyslexia that was later approved by the International Dyslexia Association- below is the 2025 updated definition.

According to that definition:

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability characterized by difficulties in word reading and/or spelling that involve accuracy, speed, or both and vary depending on the orthography. These difficulties occur along a continuum of severity and persist even with instruction that is effective for the individual’s peers. The causes of dyslexia are complex and involve combinations of genetic, neurobiological, and environmental influences that interact throughout development. Underlying difficulties with phonological and morphological processing are common but not universal, and early oral language weaknesses often foreshadow literacy challenges. Secondary consequences include reading comprehension problems and reduced reading and writing experience that can impede growth in language, knowledge, written expression, and overall academic achievement. Psychological well-being and employment opportunities also may be affected. Although identification and targeted instruction are important at any age, language and literacy support before and during the early years of education is particularly effective.”

Common Myths and Misunderstandings About Dyslexia

It is time to address some of the most persistent misconceptions about dyslexia:

• Dyslexia is not a visual problem. It is a language-based problem.

• Dyslexia is not about seeing letters or words backwards. It involves difficulty processing the sounds and structure of language.

• Dyslexia occurs across all levels of intelligence.

• Dyslexia is not caused by a lack of motivation or effort.

• Dyslexia is neurological in nature.

• Boys are not more likely to have dyslexia than girls.

• Dyslexia is not caused by parents failing to read to their children. Its causes are biological, not environmental.

The “Wait to Fail” Method

Over the last 20 years, many school districts embraced what became known as balanced literacy. A major component of balanced literacy was whole-word reading using predictable text. This approach deemphasized critical aspects of reading development, including phonemic awareness, decoding, and encoding.

For students on the dyslexia spectrum, whole-word approaches can be particularly detrimental. Even worse, many schools delayed systematic phonics instruction until students reached third grade.

This delay is commonly referred to as the “wait to fail” model.

Within this model, I typically saw one of two outcomes. In the first, a student’s strong language comprehension masked decoding weaknesses in the early grades, with difficulties only emerging in the intermediate years. In the second, schools recognized that a student was struggling but failed to identify the correct underlying deficit, often providing instruction that was not grounded in research.

In many cases, parents were forced to seek outside tutoring to teach their child how to read. Families often viewed this as a violation of IDEA and pursued due process or compensatory services. This frequently resulted in strained, distrustful relationships between families and school districts.

An Instructional Casualty

I have many stories of children who suffered under the wait-to-fail model. Unfortunately, the more work I do in reading, the more stories I hear.

I remember one student who initially presented as a child with dyslexia. He was a struggling reader and had received balanced literacy instruction in Tier 1 and remedial support in Tier 2. His mother pushed for further evaluation, and I administered the CTOPP, a measure of phonological processing. His scores fell in the 70s.

I began working with him using explicit, systematic instruction in phonemic awareness and phonics. By Christmas, his reading skills had improved dramatically. When I retested him at the end of the year, his scores had moved into the average range.

In this case, I do not believe the student was struggling due to dyslexia. He was an instructional casualty. Had he received systematic instruction beginning in kindergarten, he may never have required remedial reading support at all.

The early years of reading development are critical. While this student eventually reached average scores, the damage had already been done, and he continued to require reading support beyond that year.

What if we provided all students with explicit phonemic awareness and phonics instruction starting in kindergarten? How many students could we help if we intervened earlier?

Evidence-Based, Systematic Instruction for All Students

Evidence-based reading instruction, including explicit and systematic teaching in phonemic awareness and phonics, should be provided to all students starting in kindergarten. Research consistently shows that with high-quality instruction, students from all backgrounds can meet grade-level expectations.

Teachers must be trained to understand why these skills matter, how to teach them effectively, and how to recognize early signs of difficulty. Classroom teachers are on the front lines. They need the knowledge and tools to intervene, monitor progress, and adjust instruction when needed.

What Schools Can Do

Not all students with dyslexia will succeed with Tier 1 instruction alone. Some will require additional support. Districts should ensure that staff are trained specifically in dyslexia and evidence-based interventions.

However, when districts provide strong core instruction and effective intervention systems, there is nothing to fear. Parents should not need to fight for services because the supports are already in place.

A Call to District Administrators

To district leaders: Do your homework. Ensure Tier 1 instruction is grounded in research and includes explicit instruction in foundational reading skills. Equip Tier 2 and Tier 3 educators with evidence-based tools. Reevaluate MTSS systems. Invest in professional learning communities where teachers can analyze data, discuss instruction, and collaborate around student needs.

Conclusion

For far too long, dyslexia has been something schools feared rather than understood. That fear was not rooted in the condition itself, but in instructional systems that were not designed to teach all children how to read. When schools lacked the knowledge, tools, and training to provide explicit, systematic reading instruction, dyslexia felt overwhelming, adversarial, and risky.

That no longer has to be the case.

With the growing body of reading science and the widespread adoption of structured literacy, schools are in a fundamentally different position today. We now know how children learn to read. We know how to identify early warning signs. We know how to intervene effectively. And we know that when instruction is grounded in evidence, most reading difficulties can be prevented or significantly mitigated.

This shift is not about labeling children. It is about building systems that work. Systems that intervene early. Systems that support teachers. Systems that reduce the need for conflict between families and schools because help is provided before failure occurs.

Dyslexia should not be a word whispered behind closed doors or avoided altogether. It should be a shared understanding, grounded in science and addressed through strong instruction. When districts commit to evidence-based practices, ongoing professional learning, and early intervention, dyslexia becomes something schools are prepared for, not afraid of.

If we truly want to restore trust in public education, this is where the work begins. When we teach reading well, we open doors not just for students with dyslexia, but for all learners. Literacy is access. Literacy is equity. And literacy is a responsibility we can no longer afford to get wrong.

See you next Sunday!

References

International Dyslexia Association. (2025). Definition of dyslexia. https://dyslexiaida.org/definition-of-dyslexia/

Lyon, G. R., Shaywitz, S. E., & Shaywitz, B. A. (2003). A definition of dyslexia. Annals of Dyslexia, 53(1), 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-003-0001-9

National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction. National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Shaywitz, S. (2003). Overcoming dyslexia: A new and complete science-based program for reading problems at any level. Alfred A. Knopf.

Torgesen, J. K. (2004). Avoiding the devastating downward spiral: The evidence that early intervention prevents reading failure. American Educator, 28(3), 6–19.