Dr. Forgan’s insight on dyslexia

If It’s Not Dyslexia, What Could it Be?

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If It’s Not Dyslexia, What Is It?

You suspect your child’s reading difficulties might be dyslexia but you’re not a reading expert so you’re not really sure. To obtain an accurate diagnosis, it’s best to get thorough testing with a private practice psychologist.  There are free dyslexia online screeners and even some reading program companies pitch online dyslexia testing, but they are not valid. The public and private schools will not accept any quick and easy online testing or testing from an unlicensed professional.  Without testing from a licensed psychologist, the schools won’t provide your child with any special help.

Dyslexia, Dysgraphia, and Dyscalculia

When testing for dyslexia, psychologists also test for other learning disabilities including dysgraphia (extreme writing difficulty) and dyscalculia (extreme math difficulty).  We test for cognitive processing problems that could interfere with your child’s reading including phonics processing, memory, processing speed, attention, visual processing, and language processing.  We want to rule out that the reading struggle is not a cognitive processing disorder or a lack of focus that is causing your child to struggle.

Self-Esteem

Finally, we assess your child’s self-esteem because some kids don’t believe they can become a good reader so this might be a contributing root cause of your child’s struggles.  Once we identify if it’s dyslexia or something else, we recommend the best way for you to help your child.  This knowledge helps you provide laser focused support to help your child obtain the most gain in the shortest amount of time. This is preferred to the hit and miss approach and hoping what you are doing helps.

What to Do

If testing showed it is dyslexia then some of the primary treatments include specialized one-to-one tutoring using the Wilson Reading System, the Barton Reading and Spelling System, or the Lindamood-Bell reading curriculum. These are specially designed programs to help kids with dyslexia that are proven successful by independent research.  Visit www.BrightSolutions.US if you’d like to start learning more about dyslexia and dyslexia testing.

Contact us if we can help you help your child.

Why Don’t Public Schools Test for Dyslexia?

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In Florida, the public school system does not usually specifically test children for dyslexia but instead tests for a general “Specific Learning Disability.” This generality is confusing and is often surprising to many parents because dyslexia is a type of specific learning disability.  While the trained school personnel should test for dyslexia, and some do, others do not.  A main reason public schools don’t test for dyslexia is because of the definition of how kids qualify for special services. They have a general definition to qualify for special education services.

The Florida Learning Disability Definition

In Florida, a Specific Learning Disability is a general term defined as, “A disorder in one or more of the basic learning processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest in significant difficulties affecting the ability to listen, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematics. Associated conditions may include, but are not limited to, dyslexia, dyscalculia, dysgraphia, or developmental aphasia. A specific learning disability does not include learning problems that are primarily the result of a visual, hearing, motor, intellectual, or emotional/behavioral disability, limited English proficiency, or environmental, cultural, or economic factors.”

The International Dyslexia Association Definition

The International Dyslexia Association definition is very specific and states, “Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin.  It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and / or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.”

One definition is specific and the other is broad and since public schools offer a broad array of services, they use the broad learning disability definition.  Since the public school learning disability definition includes the words dyslexia, dysgraphia and dyscalculia, they accept diagnoses from private school psychologists to help your child qualify for special services. In addition to any testing (from the public school or private psychologist), your child has to show a ‘need’ for services.  A diagnosis alone does not qualify a child for services.

Dyslexia Diagnosing and Treatment

Diagnosing dyslexia primarily falls upon psychologists and dyslexia treatment is from specially trained public school and private educators who are experts in teaching students to read and spell.  The majority of students with dyslexia respond well to Orton-Gillingham based reading instruction which is a special way to teach children with dyslexia.  This approach teaches students the six most common syllable types in a multisensory, systematic and direct approach.  The average student with dyslexia takes 18-36 months of one-to-one teaching to reach grade level.

We offer both dyslexia testing and treatment.  Call to discuss your child.

How Is Dyslexia Different From A Learning Disability?

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A mom of a 7 year old boy named Javier recently asked me, “How is dyslexia different from a learning disability?”  This was a great question because sometimes the public school staff don’t like to use the word dyslexia.  Instead they use the words specific learning disability.  The term, “dyslexia” is in Florida’s law for qualifying children for special education services and an Individual Education Plan (IEP).

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a type of a learning disability that affects a child’s reading and spelling.  One key feature of dyslexia is a processing problem with phonological processing.  This is understanding the sound system of language and is a prerequisite for a child’s phonics development.

The International Dyslexia Association and the National Institutes of Child Health and Human Development define dyslexia as, “Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin.  It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and / or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.”

Here’s a quick comparison of what dyslexia is and is not.

Dyslexia is:

A type of learning disability
A neurological disorder
A confusion with the sound system of language
A deficit in phonological processing
Something that requires a specialized reading instruction

Dyslexia is not:

A medical diagnosis
Only reversing letters or numbers
Temporary
Identifiable by one test
A myth

Testing Helps Identify if Your Child Has Dyslexia

It’ s important to identify if your child’s struggle is dyslexia because he or she needs to be taught how to read in a different way.  The primary specialized approach and gold standard for teaching dyslexics to read is called Orton-Gillingham multisensory reading instruction.   Dr. Samuel Orton and his student, Anna Gillingham, were pioneers in developing a specialized approach for helping dyslexics read.  This approach works but takes 18-36 months of instruction.

Call us if you are concerned your child’s reading struggle might be dyslexia.  We test children for dyslexia from ages 5.5 through college. Dr. Jim Forgan is a licensed school psychologist and certified dyslexia testing specialist.  Call (561) 625-4125

Could It Be Dyslexia?

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Could it be dyslexia that is holding your child back? Dyslexia is a type of reading learning disability that affects 1 out of 5 children.  Julie brought her seven-year-old son in because her instinct told her he was behind in reading.  The classroom teacher told her he was doing OK and there were worse off students in her class.  Julie did not want to settle for ‘OK’ and knew that her son’s struggles were real. While he enjoyed when she read to him, he resisted, read slowly, and became squirmy when it was his turn to read.  The testing showed he met the dyslexia criteria and she felt relieved to have confirmation about what her motherly instinct told her.  She hired a specialized reading tutor and now her son is on his way to overcoming his dyslexia.

Could it Be Dyslexia? Dyslexia Warning Signs

These are dyslexia warning signs in elementary school students.

difficulty learning to tie shoes

trouble memorizing address, phone number, or the alphabet

can’t create words that rhyme

messy handwriting, letters that are formed differently and don’t sit on the line

letter or number reversals continuing past first grade

slow, choppy, inaccurate reading:

guesses based on shape or context

skips or misreads prepositions (at, to, of)

ignores suffixes

can’t sound out unknown words

poor spelling

often can’t remember sight words

difficulty telling time on a clock with hands

trouble with math memorizing multiplication tables

difficulty memorizing a sequence of steps

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is more than reversing letters and numbers. The International Dyslexia Association defines dyslexia as, “Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficultieswith accurate and / or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.”

This means to test for dyslexia your child’s testing must include a test of phonological processing.  There is not one definitive dyslexia test so your child needs to take a battery of tests which includes reading real and made up words, reading speed, reading comprehension, spelling real and made up words, and many others.

Consider dyslexia testing if you believe your child has three or more warning signs.  The younger your child is when you confirm dyslexia and start specialized reading instruction, the better the outcome. Call us at (561) 625-4125 or visit JimForgan.com.

Four Dyslexia Warning Signs

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As a certified dyslexia testing specialist, I work with a lot of children with dyslexia.  A mom recently brought her second grade son for testing because his iReady scores were low, he was saying he was stupid, there was a family history of cousins with reading difficulty, and her motherly instinct told her something was interfering with his ability to learn to read. She described classic dyslexia warning signs.

Dyslexia Warning Sign #1

These were four classic warning signs of dyslexia.  The iReady testing that children take give scores that show their reading level. However, the scores the school considers ‘low’ don’t always align with real life because schools focus on helping the ‘extremely low’ kids.  Kids with dyslexia are smart and can fake reading because they memorize words but may struggle with fluency and decoding.

Dyslexia Warning Sign #2

It’s a dyslexia warning sign when an elementary age child is calling him or herself stupid/dumb/not smart. Simply put, young children don’t want to go to school and fail.  In a class of 18-25 kids, all the kids know who the top and bottom readers are. They know which kids papers are returned with a teacher’s red marks all over it.

Dyslexia Warning Sign #3

Your child is at risk for dyslexia if you have a diagnosed or suspected a family history of reading struggles.  Dyslexia is genetic so in over 50% of children identified, another person in the family (aunts, grandparents, etc.) struggled with reading.

Dyslexia Warning Sign #4

If you are the mom, trust your motherly instincts that are telling you your child is struggling with reading.  In my years of experience, moms’ instincts are highly accurate.  Have your child tested to give you answers, future direction, and to put your mind at ease.

If two or more warning signs apply or you suspect dyslexia, call our office as we test children ages 5 through college for dyslexia, ADHD/ADD, gifted, and other disorders. (561) 625-4125