Jordan Earley

ACTION PLAN
To Identify, Assess and Effectively Teach Students with Dyslexia

OBJECTIVES TASKS Success Criteria TIME FRAME RESOURCES

(List of goals) (What do you need (How will you (By when will you (Who or what do you
to do?) identify your complete these need to complete this
success?) tasks?) task?)
Become more informed Watch the I know this I need access to the
about misconceptions documentary “The resource and action documentary. I found
regarding individuals Big Picture: plan task will be a link to the
with dyslexia and hear Rethinking successful when I September 28, 2019 documentary on
more about actual Dyslexia” can identify YouTube. (Listed
student experiences misconceptions below)
with dyslexia in the regarding dyslexia
educational system. and be able to pull
I believe this goal will information from
be effective in my the documentary to
ability to assess, help when
identify, and teach discussing dyslexia
students with dyslexia with other
because I will have educators or public.
more information in
my teaching tool belt,
therefore, I can better
serve the students in
my classroom.
Get an understanding Interview a family I will identify my Knowing a family who
of the experience and who had their child success in this goal has had a child
process of having a assessed and tested by being able to assessed for dyslexia
child diagnosed with for dyslexia, expand my teaching and who have helped
dyslexia and the steps reviewing any support tool belt. support their child
they are given after the documents or Being able to better September 14, 2019 through educational
diagnosis. records of the help my students years.
assessment. Asking and their families
(The goal is more about questions about the understand what
understanding the process, emotions, dyslexia is and how
families experience and and how-to better it is assessed. Being
how to better support support families in able to walk with
the families of future the future who I understandings for
students who may or might have to parents and
may not understand suggest their child students is crucial
dyslexia) get assessed for to providing
dyslexia. support.
Educate myself on the Conduct research I can identify my Online access to the
resources available for online to create a success by my internet and an
dyslexia in the Contra list of resources ability to create a editable document
Costa County for available in the resourceful list of where I can share
students and families. surrounding area. services and with others and
The list can provide resources that I can September 28, 2019 continually add to
online resources one day use for my over time.
and services own classroom or
locations or any help families and
other important students navigate.
information. This list can also be
 updated as new
services and
resources become
available.
Educate myself on how Read articles on I can identify my Read the articles:
to help students with dyslexia success when I am “Preparing for College
dyslexia set themselves experiences and educated on how to with Dyslexia” and
up for future support systems prepare students “12 tips for raising
educational throughout the for future confident kids”
experiences. educational years, educational
from high school to experiences September 28, 2019
then being college including preparing
ready. for college or being
able to have open
conversations with
other people
around me who
have dyslexia and
are nervous about
college assignments
and requirements.
Dyslexia Training Series - Kathy Futterman, Ed.D.

Summaries of action plan:

 Documentary: “The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia”
o One of the most interesting ideas that I got from the film is that our brains are prewired for verbal
interaction and verbal language, but written language is not something prewired into our brains.
Writing and reading takes more effort in our brains. A quote that also stood out was “you might be
 dyslexic if you read slowly and with much effort, but you’re often the one to solve the problem”.
Each quote starts with a “you might be dyslexic if…” but it always ends with a positive tone. There
are always strengths to combat the weaknesses. That is something I would want to use in my speech
when discussing dyslexia with others. They can be slow readers but can solve the problems, they can
have difficulty writing, but their creativity can be tremendous. One misconception that I hear all the
time and had thought in my own mind for a very long time, is that people with dyslexia can only see
letters backwards or in reverse. One story of a young man was that as he was explaining his dyslexia,
he would hear people say, “I had dyslexia too and used to see letters backwards, but I grew out of
it”. These are major misconceptions that should be addressed and debunked. Another story that I
feel should be shared because you just don’t realize the effects it can have later on, is that Dylan was
going through the college application process and got denied because the college felt he had too
many supports growing up and wouldn’t be able to succeed on his own. His mother was also
concerned because every application was paper based and how do you show your problem-solving
abilities and creativity if your writing has always been a struggle. This has opened my eyes to the
worst misconceptions and barriers to these students. They work so hard to take control of their
education and then are denied because they must write an essay or prove they don’t need extra
supports to succeed. It seems backwards to me that when students receive support, it can be seen as
lazy or a crutch. Dyslexia does not go away, as many people believe. Dyslexia can always pose it
challenges, but the goal of this documentary is to educate the public in how to take down barriers so
all can access learning.

 Communication with a family who have educational experiences with dyslexia

o I learned from the Brown family that the beginning stages of diagnosing a child with dyslexia can be
difficult but also very positive. The mother of the child with dyslexia said that her son was falling
behind in reading, fluency, writing, comprehension skills, and overall academic achievement. She
was concerned but wasn’t sure where to start. She had to conduct her own research and then came
across the word “dyslexia”. I asked her about the emotional side of having your child tested and
assessed for learning difficulties and she told me that nothing can prepare you for that journey
unless you have already had experiences with other family members or friends with the same
 experiences. I was able to look over the assessment reports and schoolwork that was assessed. I
enjoyed this experience because I was able to look through an actual report of a dyslexia and ADHD
assessment. In the report there was a lot of specific language that wasn’t in lay terms for the family
to easily understand, and the mom told me that it can become overwhelming if you aren’t familiar
with a lot of the terms. The paperwork for the assessment was around 15 pages long and included a
lot of interview questions, family background, medical history, and observable symptoms and
characteristics of the child. The child was diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia, with memory problems
being primarily caused by the ADHD. There were also instructions for the family and suggestions on
how to better support their child. Suggestions included printing all academic paperwork and
assignments on colored paper, primarily deliver instruction verbally, and suggestions on how to
teach concepts explicitly. I found this information to be interesting, but also somewhat vague. I
believe the suggestions were a little vague because the primary reason for the visit was to get the
child assessed and there wasn’t any need for school involvement because his mother decided to
homeschool for other non-affiliated reasons. I did ask for suggestions on how to better support
families who are newly navigating dyslexia with their child, and her suggestion was to be a part of
the research team where I can support by helping parents/guardians get access to all resources and
information.

 Resources and Services in the Contra Costa area

o https://decodingdyslexiaca.org/support-groups/contra-costa-county-parent-support-group
 This resource I found on decoding dyslexia and I think it is a great service and resource for
families. I had no idea that there were support groups for families. This would also be a
great way for parents/guardians to connect with other families who have more supports
in place.
o https://edsource.org/2017/new-california-dyslexia-guidelines/586051
 This resource serves more as important reading material. This article I found interesting and
want to add to my list because it shares the history and development of dyslexia support in
the Knightsen School District and surrounding Bay Area. I would want families and other
educators to read this since it provides some background knowledge of the feats and struggles
 those who advocate had to go through. Some important language pulled from the article I
would highlight for educators is the phrase “they just don’t apply themselves”. I think this
article would get educators and parents to think about how they view their students who are
struggling.
o https://www.dys-add.com/index.html
 Bright Solutions is a great resource that provides videos, podcasts, local seminar dates,
tutoring services, testing, and other important information about methods or instruction.
This website is particularly interesting because many of the information can also be useful
to those who feel homeschooling is the best option for their child. For those who
homeschool or who are considering homeschooling, this would be a great resource.
o https://www.readingrockets.org/
 This resource can be great for educators and families. It provides access to informational
videos, blogs, fun things for kids, guides, research, and other resources. This website aims to
provide guides, resources, and strategies for those helping struggling readers. This resource
will also one that I can use in my own classroom as they
 Articles
o https://childmind.org/article/12-tips-raising-confident-kids/
o https://childmind.org/article/preparing-college-with-dyslexia/
 Both articles are good reads to better understand how to support students as they grow
up in the educational system. I learned from the preparing for college article that I can
better help my students by giving them tools to help them with transitioning, time
management, study habits, SQ3R strategy, and technology supports. I also learned that I
can also better support by teaching my students with dyslexia how to take responsibility
for their learning, by including how to access all materials and technology. This can
include having my students figure out how to better set themselves up (by learning the
technology, highlighting, tracking, and communicating).