A Message to Providers on Dyslexia:

Dyslexia is a complicated learning disorder that has been underdiagnosed and is now coming to the forefront of education.  Pediatricians focus on early developmental skills and then rely on the schools to determine if there are any other problems from Kindergarten forward.  Approximately 15% of children have Dyslexia and we are failing a large percentage of the population.  As pediatricians, Dyslexia is a topic that has fallen in our laps, as a problem with no known solution.  We have no training or protocol to follow other than to punt it back to schools. And they continue to punt it back to us. 

These are questions that I started out with and some of the answers I have found. 

1.What is Dyslexia? Isn’t it just flipping b’s and d’s? –NO.  Schools often say kids will out grow this. We are all learning together. ( Link to video) 

2. How do we know if a child is at risk for Dyslexia? -It’s complicated. Just like we do screenings for developmental delays and autism, we want to extend the routine Developmental screening into school ages and help early detection of Dyslexia. (Link to video) 

3. What do we do to help kids with Dyslexia? 

-Support is available with IEPs and 504s. (Link to Videos- Part 1, Part 2.)

Arizona Dyslexia Handbook (Link to video )

Educational programs to help children with Dyslexia learn to read and write appropriately.  The International Dyslexia Association strongly supports Orton Gillingham based education.  Two preferred methods are The Wilson Reading System and The Barton Reading and Spelling System.  (Link – Coming Soon)

We will continue to provide updated resources for pediatricians on this site as well as keep you in the know regarding our goal for a Dyslexia Developmental screening to help providers know when kids are at risk for Dyslexia.