October is Dyslexia Awareness Month. According to the International Dyslexia Association and the Minnesota Department of Education, Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities.
Upcoming Event
Please join us for a special presentation on how to support students with dyslexia, presented in collaboration with Groves Academy.
Wednesday, November 1st 6:00 to 7:30 pm
Mahtomedi District Office Community Room
Click Here for More Information and to RSVP
Talking About Dyslexia
Educators often express concerns about discussing dyslexia with families and caregivers. Oftentimes, that trepidation stems from the fact that dyslexia is a medical condition. An official diagnosis of dyslexia comes only from a healthcare professional; schools cannot diagnose clinical disorders.
Although dyslexia is not diagnosed in schools, educators can and should engage in conversations with families when they are concerned about a student. Using the phrase “characteristics of dyslexia” is helpful when describing aligning behaviors. Mahtomedi Public Schools offers this guide to educators navigating conversations about dyslexia.
Three Important Things to Know About Dyslexia
- Research suggests that dyslexia is not correlated with intelligence. People with dyslexia have intelligence levels that are neither higher nor lower than those in the general population.
- Special fonts that claim to suport students with dyslexia do not stand up to reasearch. Recent studies have found that these fonts perform no better than common fonts like Arial and Times New Roman.
- Students with dyslexia can learn to be proficient readers with explicit and systematic instruction in the structures of the English language.
Links to Additional Information
- Mahtomedi Public School’s Dyslexia webpage
- Dyslexia In the Classroom: What Every Teacher Needs to Know
- The most recent edition of "Literacy Today," published by the International Literacy Association, is entirely focused on providing information about dyslexia.