Three Actionable Strategies to Overcome Common Dyslexia Screening Challenges

An Education Week Webinar

Moderator: Patricia Stark

This is especially important for me to become familiar with how to overcome challenges
in working with students with dyslexia as I am to be a future English teacher. My students will
have to read many books and write many essays throughout their time with me, and as I will
have some students with dyslexia in my teaching career, I need to be aware of how I can best
help them. Students with dyslexia have difficulties in reading and writing, as letters and numbers
get mixed up in the student’s mind. If I know some clear strategies to how to screen students
with dyslexia and identify those who have dyslexia, I can then begin the process to help my
students and allow them to achieve more than they originally thought they would have been able
to achieve.

1 in 5 students have dyslexia or other severe reading difficulties.

The three actionable strategies laid out in the Webinar are:

1. selection of screening tool (well-researched, reliable, valid, without bias).
2. training/professional learning for teachers and administrators to understand the purpose for
screening, implications of results for instruction and further assessment.
3. screen universally, filter for further assessment.

Some of the main challenges in screening for dyslexia are the fact that it is time
consuming and the lack of training that teachers have in identifying it, so if I am trained more in
identifying dyslexia, I can help other teachers become trained and more students receive help.