[Senate Hearing 114-710]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
S. Hrg. 114-710
EDUCATIONAL MILESTONES OF DYSLEXIA
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FIELD HEARING
OF THE
COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION,
LABOR, AND PENSIONS
UNITED STATES SENATE
ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS
FIRST SESSION
ON
EXAMINING EDUCATIONAL MILESTONES, FOCUSING ON DYSLEXIA
__________
OCTOBER 13, 2015 (Baton Rouge, LA)
__________
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COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS
LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee, Chairman
MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming PATTY MURRAY, Washington
RICHARD BURR, North Carolina BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland
JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia BERNARD SANDERS (I), Vermon t
RAND PAUL, Kentucky ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania
SUSAN COLLINS, Maine AL FRANKEN, Minnesota
LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado
MARK KIRK, Illinois SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island
TIM SCOTT, South Carolina TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin
ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut
PAT ROBERTS, Kansas
BILL CASSIDY, M.D., Louisiana
ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts
David P. Cleary, Republican Staff Director
Evan Schatz, Minority Staff Director
John Righter, Minority Deputy Staff Director
(ii)
C O N T E N T S
__________
STATEMENTS
TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2015
Page
Committee Members
Cassidy, Hon. Bill, M.D., a U.S. Senator from the State of
Louisiana...................................................... 1
Witnesses
Shaywitz, Bennett A., M.D., Chief of Pediatric Neurology and Co-
Director of the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity, Yale
University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT................... 4
Prepared statement........................................... 5
Shaywitz, Sally E., M.D., Audrey G. Ratner Professor in Learning
Development and Co-Director of the Yale Center for Dyslexia and
Creativity, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT.. 8
Prepared statement........................................... 11
Montgomery, Rev. Derrius M., Associate Minister, Greater King
David Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, LA.......................... 18
Prepared statement........................................... 19
Trapp, Allyce, Student, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge,
LA............................................................. 19
Prepared statement........................................... 21
Law, Margaret, CALT, Dyslexia & 504 Coordinator, Central
Community Schools, Central, LA................................. 22
Prepared statement........................................... 23
(iii)
EDUCATIONAL MILESTONES OF DYSLEXIA
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TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2015
U.S. Senate,
Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions,
Baton Rouge, LA
The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 3:12 p.m., in
Dalton Woods Auditorium, Energy Coast and Environment Building
at Louisiana State University, Nicholson Drive Extension, Hon.
Bill Cassidy, M.D., presiding.
Present: Senator Cassidy.
Opening Statement of Senator Cassidy
Senator Cassidy. This is actually a Senate committee
hearing, and this is the protocol and format by which we will
abide.
We have a third panelist. I apologize for beginning late,
but our third panelist is running late. We now know he's
nearby, so we'll go ahead and start, and when he arrives, he
will be able to join.
This morning we are having a hearing titled ``Educational
Milestones of Dyslexia'' that will highlight the importance of
early identification of students with dyslexia, how high-stakes
testing affects such students, and the need for appropriate
accommodations.
I will make an opening statement, then introduce our panel.
Each panelist will have 5 minutes. That light right there which
you cannot see but hopefully they can, the green light is go,
the yellow means you have 1 minute left, and the red light
means wrap it up or else I'm going to wrap you.
[Laughter.]
After our witness testimony, we will begin with a round of
questioning.
First, thank you all for being here. I see Joe from the
school board. Thank you for being here. There are other
educators here. My cousin is in the audience, Sophie. Again, I
thank you all for being here.
I'm pleased to host this hearing to discuss the issue of
dyslexia--an issue important to me as a parent and as a
Senator.
Hi, Derrius. Welcome.
My hope is to bring greater awareness and understanding to
dyslexia to help drive new Federal policies and to create
resources to help students identified as dyslexic. The goal of
the hearing is to show the importance of the identification,
how high-stakes testing affects such dyslexic students, and the
need for providing appropriate accommodations for dyslexics.
First the definition. Dyslexia is an unexpected difficulty
in reading highlighted by a gap between an individual's
intelligence and their reading level, the bright child that
cannot read. Or, as I was speaking to someone in the audience,
the bright adult who cannot read.
An NIH study recently found that the prevalence rate of
dyslexia is nearly 20 percent affecting Americans, but it's
international, from all walks of life, Members of Congress, our
staff, our members, thousands of constituents, 20 percent of
us, and in this room probably more than 20 percent.
A couple of years ago my youngest daughter was diagnosed
with dyslexia, so my wife and I set out to find out as much as
we could and were amazed at how much is known and yet not
incorporated into public policy. It is maddening. A recent GAO
report found that many students with learning and other
disabilities, including dyslexia, are not receiving
accommodations such as extended testing time, which is required
by the Americans with Disabilities Act when they take high-
stakes testing such as the SAT, GRE, LSAT, or U.S. medical
licensing exams and others. This is unacceptable, and by
working together we can make sure that those with learning
disabilities receive their proper and legally required
accommodations.
For those with money, you can get that accommodation. If
your child has dyslexia and you can afford $10,000 to $50,000
in tuition, your child can have that accommodation. For most
families, that is not an option, and the question is whether in
a typical public school dyslexics are mainstreamed.
Mainstreaming, since there is a scientific base curriculum
which is just for dyslexics, mainstreaming quite likely means
they will not receive the remediation they need.
I applaud the schools and educators who have embraced
science by providing students with the proper educational
environment and curriculum that enables them to thrive
personally and academically. Proper support at every level can
make all the difference for a student struggling with a
learning disability.
Let me brag a little bit on Louisiana. I think there are
maybe three charter schools in the Nation--I only know for sure
two--that specialize for children with dyslexia, and those two
are in Louisiana. The first is the Max Charter School in
Thibodaux, and then the other is the Louisiana Key Academy here
in Baton Rouge. Full disclosure, my wife helped start that
charter school, and there are some LA Key Academy board members
here. Aside from being proud of my wife, I more importantly
think that it's a good thing which extends access to that
scientific curriculum to those who ordinarily would never be
able to afford it. We need more of this.
There is much work to be done in raising the awareness
about dyslexia and making important policy changes that create
opportunities for all dyslexics, but we cannot afford to ignore
those who are challenged. In the House of Representatives, I
started the congressional Dyslexia Caucus to raise awareness.
Since moving to the Senate last week, joining with Senator
Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, we passed a bipartisan resolution
which calls upon ``Congress, schools, and State and local
educational agencies to recognize the significant educational
implications of dyslexia that must be addressed'' and which
designated October 2015 as National Dyslexia Awareness Month. I
hope this resolution is the first of many steps in the right
direction.
Despite great strides, we still have much to learn about
dyslexia, and we have a great panel today to speak to us on
that subject. Let me now introduce the witnesses. I will start
with the two right there.
Drs. Sally and Bennett Shaywitz were to join us, but
circumstances worked out that they could not. They are
currently at Yale in Connecticut. I think you see that banner
above Bennett's head. They will be joining us via video,
obviously.
Sally, I will first speak to her, is the Audrey G. Ratner
Professor in Learning Development at Yale University School of
Medicine and co-director of the Yale Center for Dyslexia and
Creativity. Dr. Shaywitz has authored more than 200 scientific
articles and books, and together with her husband, Dr. Bennett
Shaywitz, is the originator of the Sea of Strengths model of
dyslexia. Dr. Shaywitz is also an elected member of the
Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences. She
received her Bachelor's degree from the City University and her
medical degree from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Dr. Bennett Shaywitz is the Charles and Henry Schwab
Professor in Dyslexia and Learning Development and co-director
of the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity. He has devoted
his career to better understanding and elucidating the
neurobiological basis of reading and dyslexia to ensure that
this new knowledge is translated into better care and treatment
of children and adults who are dyslexic. Dr. Shaywitz has
authored more than 300 scientific papers and has received many
honors for his contributions. He currently serves on the
Scientific Advisory Board of the March of Dimes and the
National Vaccine Program Office of Safety Subcommittee. He
received his Bachelor's degree from Washington University and
his medical degree from Washington University School of
Medicine.
Next is Reverend Montgomery. He is a nationally recognized
educational advocate, entrepreneur, and social change
influencer. Reverend Montgomery was born and raised in
Louisiana, where he attended both Baton Rouge Community College
and LSU, majored in marketing and a minor in business
administration. He is currently enrolled in the New Orleans
Theological Seminary. An ordained minister, Reverend Montgomery
attends the Greater King David Church in Baton Rouge, serving
as an associate minister.
Allyce Trapp, Ms. Trapp is a senior at LSU from Houma. She
is majoring in mass communications and minoring in history and
business administration. She is involved in several extra-
curricular activities, including student government.
We're interested in hearing your perspective as someone
with dyslexia who has been able to do so well in a university
setting.
And last, Ms. Margaret Law. Margaret is currently the
district dyslexia and 504 coordinator at Central Community
Schools. She earned her Bachelor's degree from LSU and is a
certified academic language therapist. Her teaching expertise
spans from 1st through 12th grades in both self-contained
classes and as an academic language therapist. She also
provides multisensory-structured language services and has
presented at conferences and workshops. We are glad to have
Margaret here to brief us on the needs of teachers who are
vital to the success of students with dyslexia.
If I may suggest to you three, as I mentioned to you two
earlier, you all may want to sit there as the Shaywitzes speak,
because they will have slides, and I am actually going to
reference those as I then ask you questions.
I think, Bennett, you went first earlier, so I will turn to
you two to decide what to do next.
STATEMENT OF BENNETT A. SHAYWITZ, M.D., CHIEF OF PEDIATRIC
NEUROLOGY AND CO-DIRECTOR OF THE YALE CENTER FOR DYSLEXIA AND
CREATIVITY, YALE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, NEW HAVEN, CT
Dr. Bennett Shaywitz. Thank you so much, Senator Cassidy.
Welcome to all our other panel members.
What we'd like to do in the next few minutes is give you a
sense of how dyslexia serves as an explanation and potential
solution to our national epidemic of reading and school
failure.
The problem, as Senator Cassidy outlined, is that there is
really a national epidemic of reading and academic failure.
Science has shown that dyslexia may be at the root of these
reading difficulties, but yet schools are not using the
scientific knowledge to address and remediate these problems.
We think, and I think you would all agree, that schools really
need to increase their awareness of dyslexia.
Here is data from the National Assessment of Educational
Progress, the so-called Nation's report card, of Grade 4
reading, the most recent iteration, and you can see that about
half of African American children, African American 4th
graders, are not reading--are reading below what is considered
basic reading levels compared to still a significant
percentage, 21 percent, of white students.
I think this emphasizes that dyslexia is especially
prevalent and unrecognized in children of color and children
who are disadvantaged. In these children, reading difficulties
are often written off to environmental issues or lack of
ability. We believe that these can be addressed and remediated,
but only if the child is identified as dyslexic.
Senator Cassidy mentioned the definition of dyslexia, and
this is really the 21st century definition of dyslexia which
has now been codified by Senator Cassidy and Senator Mikulski
in the Cassidy-Mikulski Resolution in the Senate, and here
dyslexia is defined as an unexpected difficulty in reading for
an individual who has the intelligence to be a much better
reader. We now know that this is due to a difficulty in getting
to the individual sounds of spoken language which affects the
ability of an individual to speak, to read, spell, and often
learn a second language.
Here is data that supports the unexpected nature of
dyslexia. We have IQ along this line and reading along this
line, and reading and IQ are dynamically linked. Sally calls
them kissing cousins. IQ affects reading, reading affects IQ,
and so on.
In dyslexic readers, in contrast, IQ and reading are very
much separated. They don't seem to be talking to one another,
and what it means is that in dyslexic readers you can be very
smart and still not read very well. This supports the
unexpected nature of dyslexia.
Senator Cassidy mentioned that dyslexia is the most common
of learning disabilities. In fact, it represents 80 to 90
percent of all children diagnosed as having a learning
disability.
We know that dyslexia is universal. It affects all racial,
ethnic, and social groups, and we know that it affects one in
five children. That is 10 million children in our country.
Every classroom has children who are struggling readers.
And we know the neural basis of dyslexia. Study after
study--this is an illustration from one of our own studies
showing the left side of the brain in typical readers and the
left side of the brain in dyslexic readers. What we see is what
we call the neural signature for dyslexia. That is, in typical
readers, we see these three systems for reading, one in the
front of the brain and two in the back of the brain. In
dyslexic readers, we have the neural signature, and that is an
inefficient functioning of those systems on the left side of
the back of the brain.
So what we now know in dyslexia is there's not a knowledge
gap. We have plenty of knowledge, but what we have is an action
gap. Our goal, and I'm sure it is yours, is to align education
with 21st century science.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Bennett Shaywitz follows:]
Prepared Statement of Bennett A. Shaywitz, M.D.
Good morning Senator Cassidy, fellow members of the panel and
attendees. Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you about the
science of dyslexia and share with you the tremendous scientific
progress that has been made in dyslexia. In particular, we want to
focus on dyslexia as an explanation and potential solution to the
national epidemic of reading/school failure.
My name is Bennett Shaywitz, M.D., I am a physician-scientist and
the Charles and Helen Schwab Professor in Dyslexia and Learning
Development and co-director of the Yale Center for Dyslexia &
Creativity at the Yale University School of Medicine. Both a child
neurologist and neuroscientist I have been a leader in applying
functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to understand the
neurobiology of reading and dyslexia in children and adults. These
studies identify a neural signature for dyslexia, making a previously
hidden disability visible, and for the first time demonstrate the brain
basis for the lack of fluency in dyslexia. Our most recent studies
focus on differences in brain connectivity between dyslexic and typical
reading children and adults and studies in progress use fMRI to
investigate attentional mechanisms in reading and dyslexia.
The author of over 300 scientific papers, my honors include
election to membership in the National Academy of Medicine of the
National Academy of Sciences and recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus
Award from Washington University. I currently serve on the boards of
the Park Century School and the Westmark School. I previously served on
the Institute of Medicine Immunization Safety Review Committee, on the
National Vaccine Program Safety Subcommittee and on the Scientific
Advisory Board of the March of Dimes. I have been selected annually for
Best Doctors in America and America's Top Doctors.
As you will hear, in dyslexia, science has moved forward at a rapid
pace so that we now possess the data to reliably define dyslexia, to
know it's prevalence, it's cognitive basis, it's symptoms and
remarkably, where it lives in the brain and evidence-based
interventions which can turn a sad, struggling child into not only a
good reader, but one who sees herself as a student with self esteem and
a fulfilling future.
the problem
Overwhelming evidence indicates that we are in the midst of a
national epidemic of reading/academic failure. Accumulating scientific
evidence demonstrates that dyslexia both may be at the root of the
reading difficulties noted and provide a potential solution to this
unfortunate epidemic. The difficulty is that although the evidence is
there, schools do not appear to be aware of and/or using this
scientific knowledge to remediate the highly prevalent epidemic of
reading failure. It is imperative that schools must increase their
awareness of dyslexia.
The most recent data from the National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP, 2013) demonstrate that African American students are
especially impacted by this epidemic of reading failure. For example,
fully half (50 percent) of African American boys and girls are reading
below basic levels compared to 21 percent of white students. Sadly,
these reading difficulties are not only highly prevalent in children of
color and those who are disadvantaged, but they far too often go
unrecognized and unaddressed. In these children their significant
reading difficulties tend to be written off to environmental issues or
lack of ability. What science has taught us is that these reading
difficulties can be addressed and remediated, but only if the child is
identified as dyslexic.
unexpected nature of dyslexia
Dr. Morgan's initial description of dyslexia over 100 years ago as
an unexpected difficulty in reading has now been validated by empiric
evidence. Our research group found that in typical readers, IQ and
reading are dynamically linked, they track together over time and
influence each other. In contrast, in dyslexic readers. reading and
intelligence are not linked and develop more independently so that a
child who is dyslexic can have a very high IQ and, unexpectedly, read
at a much lower level.
This unexpected nature of dyslexia is now recognized in the 21st
century definition of dyslexia found in Cassidy-Mikulski Senate
resolution 275. Here dyslexia is:
(1) ``Defined as an unexpected difficulty in reading for an
individual who has the intelligence to be a much better reader''; and
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(2) Due to a difficulty in getting to the individual sounds of
spoken language which affects the ability of an individual to speak,
read, spell and often, learn a second language.
The Cassidy-Mikulski resolution not only recognizes the unexpected
nature of dyslexia but also incorporates what 21st century science
knows about the cognitive basis of dyslexia. Dyslexia is a difficulty
within the language system, more specifically, the phonological
component of language--it is not seeing words backward.
Data from laboratories around the world now answer the question--
why do otherwise bright and motivated children struggle or even fail to
learn to read? Almost invariably, they have a phonologic deficit. To
explain, converging evidence over the past several decades supports the
phonological basis of dyslexia. Phonological refers to the smaller
pieces of language that make up a spoken word. To understand the
implications of this theory, we compare what we know about spoken
compared to written language. Spoken language is natural and does not
have to be taught--everyone speaks. Reading is artificial and must be
taught. The key in learning to read is that the letters have to be
linked to something that has inherent meaning--the sounds of spoken
language. To read, the beginning reader must come to recognize that the
letters and letter strings represent the sounds of spoken language. She
has to develop the awareness that spoken words can be pulled apart into
their basic elements, phonemes, and that the letters in a written word
represent these sounds. Children and adults who are dyslexic struggle
to pull apart the spoken word and, as a result, cannot isolate each
sound and attach it to its letter. Results from large and well-studied
populations of dyslexic children confirm that in young children as well
as adolescents a deficit in phonology represents the most specific and
robust correlate of dyslexia.
dyslexia is specific; learning disabilities are general
Dyslexia is the most common and most carefully studied of the
learning disabilities, affecting 80 percent to 90 percent of all
individuals identified as learning disabled. Of the learning
disabilities, dyslexia is also the best characterized and the oldest.
In fact, the first description of dyslexia preceded the first mention
of learning disability by over 60 years--dyslexia was first reported by
British physician, Dr. Pringle Morgan, in 1896, describing Percy F.,
``He has always been a bright and intelligent boy, quick at
games, and in no way inferior to others of his age. His great
difficulty has been, and is now, his inability to learn to
read.''
A description that characterizes the boys and girls, men and women,
I continue to see to this day. In contrast, the term learning
disabilities was first used only in 1962.
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Dyslexia differs markedly from all other learning disabilities.
Dyslexia is very specific and scientifically validated: we know its
prevalence, cognitive and neurobiological origins, symptoms, and
effective, evidence-based interventions. Learning disabilities is a
general term referring to a range of difficulties which have not yet
been delineated or scientifically validated. Learning disabilities are
comparable to what in medicine are referred to as ``infectious''
diseases, while dyslexia is akin to being diagnosed with a strep
throat--a highly specific disorder in which the causative agent and
evidence-based treatment are both known and validated.
epidemiology of dyslexia
Scientific studies in a range of disciplines provide epidemiologic,
cognitive and neurobiological data to characterize dyslexia.
Epidemiologic data from sample surveys, in which each individual is
assessed, indicate that dyslexia is highly prevalent, affecting one in
five--yes you read this correctly. It is not the stated prevalence
often quoted. Why? The why is the reason we are here today--schools far
too often fail to acknowledge, much less identify, students who are
dyslexic. Consequently, schools will report low, but incorrect numbers
of students affected. If dyslexic children are not identified, they
cannot be counted.
Many believe that even this one in five estimate may be too low.
For example, data from the 2013 National Assessment of Educational
Progress (NAEP, the Nation 's Report Card) indicate that two in three
students in 4th or 8th grade are not proficient readers. Among some
groups of students the numbers are far worse. The NAEP data show that
four in five African American, Latino and Native American students are
not proficient readers. Many would consider this to be an out-of-
control epidemic of reading failure, and considering its negative
consequences, a national crisis demanding action. Longitudinal studies,
prospective and retrospective, indicate dyslexia is a persistent,
chronic condition; it does not represent a ``developmental lag.''
Sample surveys in which every subject has been individually
assessed show relatively equal numbers of males and females affected.
Studies based on school-based identification show a high male
prevalence with accompanying data indicating that the often disruptive
behaviors of the boys in the classroom play a strong role in bringing
them to the attention of their teacher with subsequent referral. Girls
who may be struggling readers, but who are sitting quietly in their
seats, far too often fail to be identified.
Dyslexia has no known boundaries, it is universal, affecting
virtually all geographic areas, and both alphabetic and logographic
languages. For example, my book. Overcoming Dyslexia. (Knopf) has been
translated, as expected, into alphabetic languages (Portuguese, Dutch,
Croatian, etc.) but also, a surprise to me, logographic scripts
including Japanese and Korean and most recently, Chinese. In addition,
dyslexia occurs in every ethnic, race and socio-economic class.
neural signature of dyslexia
Converging evidence using functional magnetic resonance imaging
(fMRI) from our own and laboratories around the world has identified
three major neural systems for reading in the left hemisphere, one
region, anterior, in Broca's area and two regions posterior, one in the
parieto-temporal (or Wernicke's area), and another, in the occipito-
temporal region, often referred to as the word form area. Furthermore,
such fMRl studies indicate that in dyslexic readers, the posterior
neural systems are functioning inefficiently, providing a neural
signature for dyslexia. Critically, these posterior neural systems
appear to be important in skilled, automatic reading and inefficient
functioning in these neural systems suggest an explanation for the
slow, effortful reading characterizing dyslexic readers. Recent studies
of brain connectivity by us and others demonstrate that in dyslexic
readers there is reduced connectivity to the posterior neural systems
responsible for skilled. automatic reading.
in dyslexia: an action gap
So what's the problem? The good news is that our problem is a
solvable one. Of course, we are always seeking new knowledge. In
dyslexia there is sufficient high quality scientific knowledge to help
and to turn around the lives of so many struggling children. In
dyslexia, remarkably in America, in the year 2015, we have not a
knowledge gap but an action gap. We have the knowledge but it is not
being put into policy and practice and far too many children and
adults, too, are suffering needlessly. There is an epidemic of reading
failure that we have the scientific evidence to treat effectively and
we are not acknowledging or implementing it. It is our hope that
hearing the depth and extent of the scientific knowledge of dyslexia
will alert policymakers to act and to act with a sense of urgency.
The really good news: Science is there for those who are dyslexic.
We must align education with 21st century science. A major step in
bringing science and education together is the Cassidy-Mikulski Senate
Resolution 275 which provides the most up-to-date. universal,
scientifically valid definition of dyslexia incorporating scientific
advances in understanding dyslexia, especially, its unexpected nature,
and represents a landmark in aligning science and education.
STATEMENT OF SALLY E. SHAYWITZ, M.D., AUDREY G. RATNER
PROFESSOR IN LEARNING DEVELOPMENT AND CO-DIRECTOR OF THE YALE
CENTER FOR DYSLEXIA AND CREATIVITY, YALE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF
MEDICINE, NEW HAVEN, CT
Dr. Sally Shaywitz. I will continue to give you a little
bit of the background, the scientific background to dyslexia.
Now that we have that, we have to focus on what are the action
items, how do we act on that. A major question is what is
dyslexia and what does dyslexia look like. I will just say very
quickly, I don't think the people in the room with you right
now would respond this way, but far too many people, when you
ask them what is dyslexia, they get a puzzled look and say,
``Oh yes, that's when you read or see letters backwards.''
No.
Senator Cassidy mentioned our conceptual model of dyslexia
as a sea of strengths, and here you can see what we envision is
an encapsulated weakness in decoding and later on in fluent
reading, but that encapsulated weakness is surrounded by a sea
of strengths in higher level cognitive functioning, critical
thinking, reasoning, problem-solving.
You have this paradox. You have the weakness and the
strengths. The goal is to identify the weakness and remediate
it, but also to identify the strengths and allow students and
others access to these strengths, and that is most typically
accomplished through accommodation.
This is very important. We have come to a stage of science
in dyslexia where we have a pretty good idea of the origin of
the difficulties, and that is the individual who is dyslexic
has difficulty getting to the sounds of spoken language. That
tells us what to look for.
What are the symptoms of dyslexia? They're not sort of
random. They make sense in light of what science has taught us
about dyslexia. If you have difficulty getting to the sounds of
spoken language, you will have symptoms of difficulty with
spoken language; very often, of word retrieval. The person, the
child and the adults know what they want to say and the problem
isn't at a higher level but actually at a lower level in
actually uttering the word.
People who are dyslexic have trouble associating the
letters with the sounds that represent the letters, affecting
initially accurate reading and over time fluent reading, which
is the ability to read not only accurately but rapidly,
automatically, and with good comprehension.
It also affects spelling, and also the ability--if you've
had difficulty learning your basic primary spoken language, you
can almost predict that that individual will have difficulty
learning a second language, a foreign language.
Here we have the science and the knowledge, but yet it's
not getting translated. It has stopped. So what are the
barriers? It's amazing. There are far too often schools who are
unwilling to diagnose or even accept a diagnosis of dyslexia.
It doesn't make sense, but that's the way it is. Or schools who
will say I don't believe in dyslexia. My response to that is,
in the case of religion, you can choose whatever religion to
believe in, but in the case of a proven entity, it's not a case
of I believe or don't. It's a fact, and in order to help our
children, we have to utilize the science about dyslexia.
Also, I'm so happy that discussions of accommodations are
also part of this hearing because very often schools fail to
provide both evidence-based interventions and accommodations.
It's very important that, yes, children have difficulty in
reading, but they have difficulty, as I mentioned, in spelling,
in learning a foreign language, and these difficulties affect
the whole child. A barrier is thinking in very narrow silos and
not broadening our interest in the child and in the whole
child.
This is very exciting. What you are seeing here are data
that come from a paper that will appear in the Journal of
Pediatrics next month and is already online currently. You can
see here the orange represents typical readers, the blue
dyslexic readers, and here are their grades in school. You can
see this is the achievement gap between typical and dyslexic
readers.
Look over here. Look at that. This is 1st grade. Look at
the size of that achievement gap. People say, oh, let's wait
until 3d or 4th grade. That's too late. An achievement gap, and
a very big one, is already present in 1st grade. We must screen
for dyslexia, identify it, and then provide evidence-based
effective treatments for it.
What do we do about it? Well, Dr. Bennett Shaywitz and I
are really passionate about dyslexia. It turns out we all can
visit schools, speak to many people, and do research. Our very
firm conclusion is that it is in the best interest of a
dyslexic child to attend a specialized school for dyslexia, and
that's in keeping with having an early diagnosis, an early
intervention, screening students for dyslexia early on.
A specialized school is where the climate is right, and by
that I mean the atmosphere in the school, where everyone is on
board. It's not just the reading interventionist that pulls
that child out for 45 minutes twice a week, but it's every
teacher. It's the principal. It's the PE teacher. Everyone is
on board, and that becomes incredibly important.
Classes are small. Evidence-based methods are used. The
teachers are knowledgeable, flexible and caring. This is really
important. What you have in a specialized school is consistency
in instructions across all classes, which is very different if
a child is in a regular school and is pulled out for the 45
minutes or so. What happens when that child goes to his or her
History class or Social Studies? The teachers typically have no
idea what that child's reading is like. Whereas the reading may
be one way during the reading instruction, it doesn't cross
into other areas of instructions. In fact, teachers may be
angry at the student: ``Oh, I thought you knew this. Why can't
you answer this question?''
What happens when you have a specialized school, the
teachers form a team. They all communicate and support one
another because they want to support the child. That's very
rare in non-
specialized schools.
Here is a wonderful school. It's the Windward School in New
York, and they do wonderful work. The tuition is $52,000 a
year. I think it's good for those who can afford it, but think
of how many people can't. What about middle-class children and
disadvantaged children?
The question is--that's one model--are there any other
models that work? I'll say there are, and right where you all
are.
Here's a model that works, a specialized school for
dyslexia, the Louisiana Key Academy, which is free to all
dyslexic students. I see there the principal, Evelyn. I see
teacher Dale Smith. I see my hero, Dr. Laura Cassidy, who not
only started this school but works harder than almost anyone I
know to make sure this school serves all children optimally.
There's one of the students.
Hold on. We're trying to fix something. I'll try to go
quickly. I'm from New York, so I can speak very quickly.
[Laughter.]
Accommodations basically are essential to dyslexic students
based on scientific knowledge, the law, and ethics. Students
who are dyslexic can often think at the highest levels, but
they can't read fluently, quickly, or automatically. It's
critical for tests to measure ability rather than disability,
and accommodations level the playing field. It's especially
important in high-stakes tests that they be appropriate for
students who are dyslexic, or the results will be incorrect and
misleading. I must say, the Cassidy office has been in the
forefront of supporting students in terms of accommodations.
I'll finish in 2 minutes.
There's neurological evidence. I won't go into it now. The
recommendation is schools shouldn't ignore it, and to create
and support specialized schools like the state-of-the-art LKA
(Louisiana Key Academy) model.
This is the last slide, to provide students with the
knowledge about dyslexia. That's empowering, because it
provides the student with self-understanding and self-awareness
of what she or he has and what they need to do. It also
provides students with a community to join. They know they're
not alone. For the parent, teacher, and importantly the
student, the knowledge that he or she is dyslexic brings with
it the information that that student is not stupid or lazy.
Thank you.
[The prepared statement of Dr. Sally Shaywitz follows:]
Prepared Statement of Sally E. Shaywitz, M.D.
Good morning Senator Cassidy and fellow panel members. I too, thank
you for the opportunity to speak with you about the science of dyslexia
and share with you the tremendous scientific progress that has been
made in dyslexia. Following Dr. Bennett Shaywitz, I, too, will focus my
statement on dyslexia as an explanation and potential solution to the
national epidemic of reading/school failure.
My name is Sally Shaywitz and I am a physician-scientist. The
Audrey G. Ratner Professor in Learning Development and co-director of
the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity at the Yale University School
of Medicine. I am a member of the National Academy of Medicine of the
National Academy of Sciences, and have served on the Advisory Council
of the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke (NINDS).
the National Research Council Committee on Women in Science and
Engineering, co-chaired the National Research Council Committee on
Gender Differences in the Careers of Science, Engineering and
Mathematics Faculty and have served on the congressionally mandated
National Reading Panel and the Committee to Prevent Reading
Difficulties in Young Children of the National Research Council. I am
also the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from
Williams College.
I speak to you as a physician-scientist. As a physician, I have all
too many memories of sitting by an ailing child's bedside, wishing so
desperately that we had the knowledge to help that child. As a
physician I know the power of science and how once new knowledge
becomes available we act quickly, indeed, race to put that knowledge to
good use. We want to close that knowledge gap and improve the lives of
the affected children. When I sat on the Advisory Council of the
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, we constantly
asked ourselves: how have we benefited mankind, how has our research
improved the well-being of children and adults.
Given that there has been so much scientific progress, we must take
definitive steps to translate this remarkable scientific progress into
practice. A fundamental question we can now address is what is dyslexia
and what does dyslexia look like.
the paradox of dyslexia
Dyslexia is a paradox, the same slow reader is often a very fast
and able thinker--giving rise to our conceptual Sea of Strengths model
of dyslexia as a weakness in getting to the sounds of spoken words
surrounded by a sea of strengths in higher level thinking processes
such as reasoning and problem solving. Reflecting this paradox are many
eminent dyslexics--financier Charles Schwab, attorney David Boies,
cardiac surgeon Dr. Toby Cosgrove, Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel,
producer Brian Grazer and economist, Diane Swonk. On the other side of
the coin are many who are not identified, and do not receive evidence-
based instructions, continue to struggle to read and see themselves as
failures. Sadly, these boys and girls have no knowledge of what their
difficulty is or that it even has a name, have no self-understanding,
come to view themselves as dumb or stupid, see themselves as not meant
for school, suffer low self-esteem, often drop out of school with a
loss to themselves, to their families and to society.
understanding the origin of the difficulties leads to an understanding
of the symptoms of dyslexia
With the phonologic deficit recognized and validated, it is now
possible to understand and to predict the symptoms emanating from this
basic difficulty, which can be both observed and measured, resulting in
an accurate diagnosis of dyslexia. Dyslexia is a language-based
difficulty and impacts spoken language, for example, word retrieval
difficulties: reading, initially impacting reading accuracy and then
reading fluency, the ability to read not only accurately, but also
rapidly and automatically with good understanding. Not being able to
read automatically, dyslexic readers must read what I refer to as
``manually,'' requiring the output of large amounts of effort and
consuming much of the individual's attention. A dyslexic reader lacks
fluency meaning that he reads slowly and with great effort, although he
may understand the content at a high level. Importantly, the dyslexic's
vocabulary and comprehension may be quite high. Spelling is also
problematic as is learning a foreign language--all reflected in the
Cassidy-Mikulski Senate Resolution 275.
barriers to utilizing scientific knowledge to enhance the education
of dyslexic students
Unfortunately, scientific knowledge is not being utilized by far
too many schools. The major barriers include: schools that are
unwilling to diagnose or accept a diagnosis of dyslexia and schools
that don't ``believe'' in dyslexia. As a consequence, students are hurt
by the failure of these schools to provide evidence-based interventions
and accommodations. In addition, the lack of understanding of dyslexia
leads to a failure to address the needs of the whole child. As noted,
dyslexia affects: spoken language, reading accuracy, reading fluency,
the ability to read math problems, to spell and to learn a second or
foreign language. These struggles particularly when not addressed lead
to anxiety and at times depression and loss of self-esteem, often with
negative life-long effects.
reading gap already present by first grade and persists
Scientific knowledge, too, has delineated the progression of
reading development. Reading growth is most rapid early on, during the
first few years of school and then plateaus. In a report to be
published in November 2015, we report the results of a longitudinal
study of reading from first grade to twelfth grade and beyond. We find
that as early as first grade, compared with typical readers, dyslexic
readers had lower reading scores and their trajectories over time never
converge with those of typical readers. These data demonstrate that
such differences are not so much a function of increasing disparities
over time but instead because of differences already present in first
grade between typical and dyslexic readers. We conclude that the
achievement gap between typical and dyslexic readers is evident as
early as first grade, and this gap persists into adolescence. These
findings provide strong evidence and impetus for early identification
of, and intervention for, young children at risk for dyslexia.
Implementing effective reading programs as early as kindergarten or
even preschool offers the potential to close the achievement gap.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
national reading panel and teaching reading
Fortunately, thanks to congressional action there is now strong
evidence of what treatment elements are effective in teaching children
to read. In 1998 Congress mandated the formation of a National Reading
Panel to investigate the teaching of reading. I was proud to serve on
the panel which produced the Report of the National Reading Panel. As a
result, today it is no longer acceptable to use reading programs
lacking scientific evidence of efficacy: instead it should be mandatory
to use programs that are evidence-based, proven to be effective in the
same way that medications must be tested and proven to be effective
before they can be approved by the FDA. Our children deserve no less.
And yet, today, this powerful information is not being used in schools,
children are not learning to read and giving up, and not reaching their
full potential. We have what amounts to an educational emergency in the
United States. Children are not learning to read with serious academic,
economic and health consequences including, school drop-out, being half
as likely to go on to college, significantly lower lifetime earnings,
significantly higher unemployment, higher rates of mental health issues
such as often incapacitating anxiety, and as reported in 2013.
significantly higher mortality rates related to lack of a high school
diploma. These harsh consequences harm not only the dyslexic individual
but place our country at a competitive disadvantage.
effective reading intervention for dyslexia
There is much known scientifically and clinically about dyslexia
and its impact on children. Synthesizing that information brings with
it the strong suggestion that a dyslexic child is best served, first by
early diagnosis which should lead to early intervention, especially
that there are now data indicating, as noted above, that the
achievement gap is already present and large at first grade. The size
of this gap makes it exceedingly difficult to overcome with time. It
provides a strong impetus to identify and address dyslexia very early
in the student's school career. Assessment for phonological skills
early on and/or having the child's teacher complete a relatively short
questionnaire, such as the Dyslexia Screening Measure (DSM) which is
based on longitudinal data, can provide data with good sensitivity and
specificity indicating a child's risk of being dyslexic.
Currently, dyslexic children are either not identified, and even
if, identified provided with pull-out instructions of about 45 minutes
several times a week. The child feels isolated and embarrassed. S/he is
often teased and/or bullied, and returns to a class where s/he has
missed the instructions other students have received. Most of his/her
teachers have no idea of what dyslexia is, and believe it is reversing
letters. This means that teachers in the child's other classes such as
social studies, science or biology, math or literature are totally
unprepared to understand or educate the dyslexic child. These educators
have no or little idea of the student's reading level and how to best
address the child's reading, writing, spelling and word retrieval
difficulties. Points are taken off for mis-spellings in history, a
student's difficulty in reading the words in a math problem are
mistakenly ascribed to lack of understanding of math principles and so
it goes. It is critical that the dyslexic child is in a school where
the entire faculty is on board and understands dyslexia and how best to
address the needs of a child who is dyslexic.
Dyslexic students require frequent opportunities to interact with
their instructor; this is only possible in small groups as noted by the
Report of the National Reading Panel. In large groups, dyslexic
students have little opportunity to interact with the instructor,
perhaps once during a period, if that. This is totally insufficient and
does not provide the opportunity for the instructions to take hold.
Methods must be based on evidence and not anecdote or belief systems,
e.g., ``I know in my heart that this methods works. I believe in it.''
Teachers must be knowledgeable about dyslexia and flexible. Dyslexic
students are not fluent readers, this means that they may know how to
read one moment and then, a short while later, not be able to decipher
the very same word. It is imperative that teachers understand the
impact of lack of fluency on reading, and similarly, are aware that if
a dyslexic student is called on to read aloud, it is often unbearably
embarrassing or if she is asked a question, her word retrieval
difficulties arising from her dyslexia may result in her not being able
to retrieve the correct word--due not to a problem in higher level
cognitive functioning or lack of knowledge but due to her inability to
access and retrieve the sounds of the words that are needed for her to
articulate the word correctly. Students are in a school during the day
going to many classes: it is critical that the child's teachers are
united and function as a knowing and caring team that is fully aware of
where the child is in his/her reading, how s/he is being instructed and
the effective approaches to supporting this student in each teacher's
subject class and is aware of, and following, the student's progress
carefully. This requires teachers to function as a team, that is, to be
in constant contact with one another and there to be on-going
consistency in instructions.
The most effective models that work for dyslexic students are
specialized schools specifically for these students. There are a number
of such specialized schools for dyslexic students nationally. Students
attending such schools benefit, learn to read and succeed in their
academic work and come to appreciate, too, that they are not stupid.
However, what these independent schools have in common is high tuitions
that many middle-class parents, and certainly not disadvantaged
families, can afford. What is wonderful to see is a new model that has
been developed, one exemplified by the Louisiana Key Academy (LKA)
started by Dr. Laura Cassidy, which is a free public charter school
that brings into the school and each and every classroom all the
scientific knowledge now known about dyslexia, along with a deep
understanding and concern for each student at the school. I have
personally visited the school, spoken with teachers, students and
parents and was elated to see how well the students are learning. how
they now viewed themselves as learners rather than as school failures,
and, perhaps, most importantly, how much pride and self-esteem they
have developed. It is very powerful to be at a school where you are
part of a community of dyslexic students who are bright and where you
are no longer viewed as different, inferior and not part of the group.
Given the terrible epidemic of reading and school failure, and the high
prevalence of dyslexia of one in five, we must ensure that LKA is
sustainable and strongly supported. This school has made an
extraordinary difference for so many dyslexic students who were
previously ignored, feared going to school and were on the path to
academic, and sadly, life failure. The difference this school has made
in these students' lives is breath-taking and life-affirming. This
opportunity for a chance at success must be made available to every boy
and girl who is dyslexic, especially those who are disadvantaged or
African American. We, as a society, must do no less; having successful
learners will not only benefit the student, but his family and
community, and, indeed, the Nation. The model of LKA, a free public
charter school is a model that works, a school that provides the needed
``all hands on board'' climate and instructions to dyslexic students.
Critically LKA addresses the needs of the whole child the entire day
rather than the artificial belief that giving a child a package of
instructions for a period a day will address the significant and on-
going needs of a dyslexic child.
accommodations
Given that a student who is dyslexic has both a weakness and
strengths, it is critical that, for example, tests, both in school and
on high stakes standardized examinations and Common Core assessments
actually measure the student's ability and not his disability. The
dyslexic student may learn to read fairly accurately but hardly ever
with fluency; he remains a slow reader albeit a quick thinker. These
dyslexic students may know the answer to a test question, but as a
result of their slow reading never get to reach many questions or to
finish the test, the student simply runs out of time. Or, she is so
anxious about finishing the exam that she races through it and misses
questions which, given the needed time, she would be able to answer
correctly. Thus, it is critical that students who are dyslexic receive
the accommodation of extra time; it is not a perk but a necessity if
the result of the test is to reflect that student's knowledge. In
adolescents and young adults applying for high-stakes standardized
tests for college, graduate or professional schools, the Americans with
Disability Amendment Act (ADAA) of 2008 is highly supportive of the
need for accommodations for those with disabilities like dyslexia that
impair a major life activity like reading. The ADAA regulations also
state that students should receive accommodations even if they are
doing well in school, it is not the outcome of their performance but
rather what they have to do to achieve the outcome.
High school and college students with a history of childhood
dyslexia often present a paradoxical picture; they may be similar to
their unimpaired peers on measures of comprehension, but they continue
to suffer from the phonologic deficit that makes reading less
automatic, more effortful, and slow. Neurobiological data provide
strong evidence for the necessity of extra time for readers with
dyslexia. Functional MRI data demonstrate that in dyslexic readers the
word-form area, the region supporting rapid reading, functions
inefficiently. Readers compensate by developing anterior systems
bilaterally and the right homolog of the left word-form area. Such
compensation allows for more accurate reading, but it does not support
fluent or rapid reading. For these readers with dyslexia, the provision
of extra time is an essential accommodation, particularly on high
stakes tests such as SAT, ACT and tests for professional schools such
as LSAT, MCAT and GRE--and for the Common Core tests. The accommodation
of extra time allows the student time to decode each word and to apply
his unimpaired higher order cognitive and linguistic skills to the
surrounding context to get at the meaning of words that he cannot
entirely or rapidly decode. While readers who are dyslexic improve
greatly with additional time, providing additional time to non-dyslexic
readers results in very minimal or no improvement in scores.
A special word about the Common Core State standards (CCSS) and
tests such as PARCC, which are designed to assess whether students are
meeting the CCSS. It can be stated unequivocally, that the CCSS and
accompanying tests such as PARCC are totally inappropriate for students
with dyslexia. Such tests are based on the mistaken belief that all
students, including dyslexic students, will be fluent readers by the
end of second grade and that all students should read at grade level
and above, clearly an expectation that flies in the face of all that
has been learned about the development of reading in dyslexic children.
Furthermore, CCSS and PARCC are based on the belief that
comprehension-
focused reading instructions using ``complex text'' should be the basis
of reading instructions, ignoring whether or not the student can
actually read the words in the ``complex text.'' This has had serious
implications for dyslexic students. For example, the PARCC test for
third-grade students is more targeted to the reading level of students
in fifth grade and focused on reading comprehension. This has had the
pernicious effect of schools dropping all other instructions, including
the much-needed decoding instruction, to focus almost exclusively on
comprehension. In addition, it is well-known that multiple choice
questions in the PARCC are inappropriate for students who are dyslexic.
Common Core's overwhelming focus on comprehension may be appropriate
for students in high school but is wholly inappropriate for children in
very early grades, especially dyslexic students who are invariably
still struggling with and working hard to master decoding.
Although providing extra time for reading is by far the most common
accommodation for people with dyslexia, other helpful accommodations
include allowing the use of computers for writing essay answers on
tests, access to recorded books and text to voice software. Other
helpful accommodations include providing access to syllabi and lecture
notes, tutors to ``talk through'' and review the content of reading
material, alternatives to multiple-choice tests (e.g., reports or
projects), waivers of high-stakes oral exams, a separate, quiet room
for taking tests, and a partial waiver of the foreign language
requirement. Dyslexic students who have difficulty accessing the sound
system of their primary language will, almost invariably, have
difficulties learning a foreign language. Students with dyslexia most
often have no difficulty with the mastery of high level courses. The
problem lies in their lack of fluent, rapid reading so that it is the
time necessary for them to read through the materials that is
problematic. Many rigorous schools allow these students to take one
course less during the school year and take this course during the
summer. With such accommodations, many students with dyslexia are
successfully completing studies in a range of disciplines, including
science, law, medicine and education. It is accommodations such as
these that are encouraging and allowing more students who are dyslexic
to enter and to succeed in STEM fields.
summary and implications of the science of dyslexia
Yes, dyslexic children can learn to read and must be taught to
read. It is imperative that teachers and parents learn about the
powerful science of dyslexia, know how to identify dyslexia early on
and to provide a positive climate where the entire school faculty is
on-board in understanding and teaching students who are dyslexic. This
can only take place in specialized schools where dyslexic students are
understood, taught by evidence-based methods and are part of a
community that they are welcomed into, rather than being isolated. We
must not give up on teaching dyslexic children and limit a child's
future options. Education must, and can be, aligned with science. To
best serve the dyslexic child, we must serve the whole child throughout
the school day and not limit his education to a 45-minute pull-out once
a day.
We must ensure that scientific knowledge is translated into policy
and practice and that ignorance and injustice do not prevail. We know
better, we must act better.
I cannot look into the face of one more child who has lost faith in
himself and the world, I cannot look into the face of a child's father
who is desperately trying to hold back tears; I cannot hear once again
about how a school told a mother, ``we do not believe in dyslexia.''
As an iceberg is 90 percent underwater with only 10 percent
visible; similarly, in dyslexia, we hear about the 10 percent who have
made it. Let's not give up on the invisible 90 percent still underwater
asking, indeed begging, to be helped.
I am optimistic, once Congress, educators and parents are aware of
the strong science of dyslexia, educators will want to align their
practices and policies with 21st century science. Congress, in
particular, can do much to address the needs of dyslexic students, to
transform struggling students who do not see themselves as learners
into empowered learners who see themselves as having a positive future.
First and foremost, it is critical that all recognize that dyslexia
cuts across all boundaries--ethnic, racial, SES, gender, national and
political. All including Republicans and Democrats must come together
on this human issue; dyslexia is not, and should not, be used as a
political issue. Recognizing and addressing dyslexia, the explanation
and potential solution to our terrible epidemic of reading and academic
failure is in the interest of the one in five who are dyslexic, their
families and our Nation. I congratulate Senators Cassidy and Mikulski
who have come together to sponsor the bipartisan Senate Resolution 275
that provides a 21st century definition of dyslexia and states,
unequivocally, that dyslexia has significant educational implications.
Isn't it time that the IDEA written first in 1974 joins the 21st
century science and gives dyslexia the primacy it deserves, rather than
being lost in the verbiage as an afterthought. Let's rise above
political interests, acknowledge dyslexia and 21st century knowledge of
dyslexia, including its prevalence, definition, identification,
provision of not only evidence-based instructions but, critically,
strong support for specialized schools for dyslexic students, schools
whose climate of having everyone on-board and instructional methods
allow dyslexic students to have their strengths, rather than their
weaknesses characterize their future lives.
Schools must not be allowed to ignore or fail to recognize
dyslexia. We must act now. This requires creating and supporting
specialized schools for dyslexic students using the state-of-the-art
LKA model. We must always keep in mind: OUR CHILDREN CAN'T WAIT.
For far too long, the word and the condition it represents,
dyslexia, has been overlooked, not said and not used, much to the
detriment of the millions of children who are dyslexic. Dyslexia is
specific, highly relevant and carries with it explanatory meaning.
Science provides its definition, epidemiology, cognitive basis,
neurobiolog-
ical basis, developmental progression, and long-term outcome.
Perhaps, most important of all, the greatest beneficiary of knowing
who she or he is, is the dyslexic student him/herself. To know what you
have has a name and explains so much of what you experience on a daily
basis and lets you know that you are intelligent, even if you can't
read quickly, is incredibly empowering. I have had the experience of
telling so many children (and adults, too) that they are dyslexic and
what that means. The absolute relief this provides can be life-
changing, and indeed, life-saving. Knowledge that you are dyslexic
provides the student with self-understanding and self-awareness of what
s/he has and what s/he needs to do in order to succeed. Furthermore,
such knowledge provides students with a community to join--for many, it
is the very first time they know they are not alone. For his or her
parent, teacher and importantly, the student, knowledge that s/he is
dyslexic brings with it the information that the individual is not
stupid or lazy.
Top priority recommendation:
Given that dyslexia affects the whole child in every class
throughout the school day it seems reasonable to strongly encourage the
creation of specialized charter schools that focus solely on dyslexia.
Recognizing the rapid growth in reading in the very first years of
school and the already present gap by first grade the school should
begin as early as possible, by kindergarten or first grade. The goal is
to reach children at-risk for dyslexia early on when reading
intervention can be maximally effective and before the students fall
further and further behind. At such specialized charter schools, such
as the Louisiana Key Academy, the entire educational team from
principal to classroom teacher to physical education instructor
understand dyslexia, it impact students in various situations and are
on board to support the students throughout their day. Here, students
learn and there is no bullying by students or frustration expressed by
teachers who may not understand the impact of dyslexia. These schools
can also serve as resources where teachers can come, spend time and
learn about dyslexia, what it is and how it impacts a student and learn
specific evidence-based methods for teaching reading to dyslexic
students and how to best implement these methods.
Other Recommendations:
Schools must not be allowed to ignore, fail to recognize
or deny the reality or diagnosis of dyslexia.
Schools, including teachers, principals and other
administrators and parents should make every effort to use the word
dyslexia since it has specific, highly relevant and explanatory
meaning; science has provided its: definition; epidemiology; cognitive
basis; neurobiological basis; developmental progression; and long-term
outcome. For dyslexia, knowledge of its cognitive basis indicates what
symptoms to look for so that symptoms of dyslexia in the classroom (and
at home) are noted and acknowledged rather than as currently happens,
ignored or overlooked. This greater awareness and understanding of
dyslexia and its impact will benefit both the teacher and student both
in the teaching of reading and in the climate and attitudes within the
classroom.
Using the word dyslexia provides a common language
facilitating communication among teachers, clinicians, scientists and
parents.
For the student, the knowledge that he is dyslexic is
empowering, providing the student with self-understanding and self-
awareness of what he has and what he needs to do in order to succeed.
For students, knowledge that they are dyslexic also
provides a community to join--they know they are not alone.
For the parent and teacher, and importantly the student,
knowledge that he or she is dyslexic brings with it the information
that the individual is not stupid or lazy.
Critically important is that schools must use evidence-
based programs that have proven efficacy; research-based simply
indicates that there are theoretical suggestions but does not provide
evidence that the program is, indeed, effective. Evidence-based
programs are akin to the level of evidence the FDA requires before a
medication can be approved for use. Many, many theoretical, research-
based approaches, when tested in the field, prove to be ineffective.
Our children's reading is too important to be left to theoretical, but
unproven, practices and methods. We must replace anecdotal and common,
but non-evidence-based practices, with those that are proven, that is,
they are evidence-based.
Professional development programs targeted for teachers
must provide evidence that the students of the teachers using these
programs actually improve in their reading performance. This is in
contrast to some professional development programs which seem to
improve teacher's understanding but not in a way that results in
improvement in their student's reading performance.
Schools of education must ensure that aspiring teachers
are taught evidence-based methods to teach reading and have monitored
experience demonstrating that they are effective in implementing these
methods.
Scientific evidence that reading growth is maximum in the
very first few years of school and then plateaus together with new data
indicating that the reading gap between typical and dyslexic readers is
already present at first grade and persists means that students must
receive evidence-based instructions at the start of their school
experience and their progress carefully monitored. Waiting is harmful
and not acceptable.
There is so much more to tell; for those who have questions and
want to know more, visit the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity
website: dyslexia.yale.edu or look at my book, ``Overcoming Dyslexia,''
which discusses the scientific basis of dyslexia and how to translate
this knowledge into practice.
[GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT]
Senator Cassidy. Derrius.
STATEMENT OF REV. DERRIUS M. MONTGOMERY, ASSOCIATE MINISTER,
GREATER KING DAVID BAPTIST CHURCH, BATON ROUGE, LA
Rev. Montgomery. Again, my name is Derrius Montgomery. I am
here on behalf of LA Key Academy. I serve as a board member.
Can you all hear me?
Senator Cassidy. You have to turn on the microphone, I
believe.
Rev. Montgomery. Oh, much better.
Again, my name is Derrius Montgomery. I have been in the
education fight for about 2 or 3 years now. I joined this fight
as an advocate originally with Stand for Children. I learned
some horrific data, that 71 percent of 4th graders, along with
78 percent of 8th graders, weren't able to read at grade level,
and it frustrated me because I remember being one of those,
probably one of the 71 percent of 4th graders that couldn't
read.
Thanks to my parents moving to Atlanta, GA, where I
attended a middle school called Floyd Middle School, I got
access to resources that were not offered to me here in
Louisiana. That's when I discovered I was dyslexic, when I
moved to Atlanta.
Senator Cassidy. Derrius, can you speak a little louder,
please?
Rev. Montgomery. Can you hear me? OK.
When I realized that I was dyslexic, I didn't find out
until I was an adult. When I looked at all the studies and I
saw some of the main symptoms, the reading and the
comprehension piece, that kind of disturbed me because I'm a
grown man. I'm a father of three, a husband now, but I remember
getting teased for simply not being able to comprehend and read
at my grade level. I wouldn't really say that my teacher didn't
care about me. I just believe maybe she didn't have the
resources in our little town of Opelousas to actually identify
those traits that could have probably given me the education
career that I needed right here in Louisiana, but I had to go
away.
When I think about other students, those who are right
there in my community in the church that I serve, those kids
can't just get up, pack up and go to another State to receive
that quality of education.
When I learned of the Cassidy school, I quickly wanted to
jump on board because this is something that I feel not only
can be a partnership with our local school district here, but
we get to educate other teachers across our State on what it
really means to be dyslexic and how we can all work together to
provide those tools to those teachers so that we don't have any
more kids falling through the gap.
That's all I have as an intro.
[The prepared statement of Rev. Montgomery follows:]
Prepared Statement of Derrius Montgomery
By the 4th grade, It was obvious that I suffered with some type of
learning disorder. From difficulty memorizing, to difficulty of
spelling and reading, I remember being forced to feel for many, many
years, like I wasn't trying hard enough. Since people who suffer with
dyslexic have no outward visible signs of their difficulties, my
parents and educators questioned the very existence of dyslexia.
It was not until the 6th grade at Floyd Middle School, in Mableton
GA, where my 6th grade teacher would discover that I was indeed a very
smart and highly motivated learner. But due to my lack of self-
confidence and the overlooking of all the tell-tell signs of dyslexia,
it was evident that I may have come up through a system that No. 1, did
not understand the symptoms of dyslexia, so they couldn't provide the
necessary accommodation or No. 2, my educators and school system did
not care to provide the necessary accommodation.
Because of my 6th grade teacher's training, she was able to not
only identify the symptoms of dyslexia, but also made a way for me to
receive the proper accommodations needed to graduate high school,
become a college graduate, then business owner and well-respected
community leader.
Senator Cassidy. Allyce.
STATEMENT OF ALLYCE TRAPP, STUDENT, LOUISIANA STATE UNIVERSITY,
BATON ROUGE, LA
Ms. Trapp. Hello. I'm Allyce Trapp, and I'm a senior here
at LSU. It sounds like I was the exception in living in Houma,
LA. I was diagnosed in 1st grade. My parents immediately
noticed that I was way behind all the students in my class. I
wasn't reading as well. That graph they showed was perfect, a
perfect example of the students in my class, they read
something, they understood it. When I read it, it just went
right out. I had no idea what I was looking at.
My parents were quick enough to catch it, have me
diagnosed, and found out I was dyslexic in the 1st grade. In my
school, when you are dyslexic or ADHD, you are put into the
Project Read program in the 2d grade. From 2d grade through 5th
grade you are put into this program, and they take you out of
the classroom for your English and your reading and they do
multi-sensory things with you, like work on your vocabulary
words and making flash cards. I still do that in college. They
just teach you a bunch of ways to study.
Senator Cassidy. Allyce, can you pull that microphone up?
People are listening online.
Ms. Trapp. Oh, I'm so sorry.
Senator Cassidy. Just a little bit closer.
Ms. Trapp. OK. They told me different ways to study, and
they went all the way back to the beginning with basic words
like ``it'', ``cat'', ``sat''--just things I should have
learned in kindergarten but I didn't because I just couldn't,
just couldn't retain it.
That's what Project Read did for me, and because I had that
program, I caught up with everyone else in my grade. By the
time I was in 5th grade and I was out of the Project Read
program and put into the Resource program, I was caught up, and
that's because it was caught early. And, yes, it does happen as
early as 1st grade. They could have noticed it in kindergarten
if they really wanted to, because I was that far behind that
early.
I remember not learning how to tell time on a watch, like
the actual watch, until I was in 8th grade; learning Spanish
because I didn't learn that in 1st grade because it went in one
ear and right out the other.
The accommodations, I can't stress enough that my life
completely changed after having those accommodations. If I
didn't have that, I wouldn't be at LSU. I would be in Houma
doing God knows what. I wouldn't be in school, that's for sure.
It completely changed my life because before that, I don't
remember this because I was young. My mom said I'd come home, I
would be discouraged, I had no motivation, low self-esteem.
What kindergartener do you know who has low self-esteem?
It's because of dyslexia, because they see all the other
students who are picking up everything, who are learning
everything, and they're not. It's like, what's wrong with me?
Why am I dumb? There's nothing wrong with the student, it's
just that they have to learn a different way, and that's what
these accommodations taught me, that I am just as smart as
everyone else, I just have to learn a different way. That's
what having all the accommodations through elementary school
and high school, and now in college, gave me. I had extra time
on the ACT, and I'm so thankful for that because if I didn't
have that, I would not be at LSU, I would not have gotten that
score that I needed.
I had unlimited test time. I could take each section as
long as I wanted. I zipped through certain sections, but I took
that math section for 2 hours, and that got me here. I just
need small, little things like that, got me where I needed to
be.
Because I had a few teachers who really cared about me and
really wanted the best for me, and had a few small
accommodations and parents that cared about me and wanted to
get me diagnosed, I'm here. I have a great future ahead of me.
I'm planning to go get my Master's in Business Administration,
something that wouldn't even be a concept if I hadn't been
diagnosed, and it's all because I was caught early and I was
given a few small accommodations early on.
I think if every student had that, they would all be fine.
They would all be in college, they would all be productive,
highly motivated, highly educated. They'd have the world at
their feet. I think that's something that definitely needs to
happen.
That's all for me.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Trapp follows:]
Prepared Statement of Allyce Trapp
Hello, my name is Allyce Trapp, and I am a senior at Louisiana
State University. I cannot emphasize enough the importance of having
academic accommodations throughout my life. Before being diagnosed with
dyslexia, I struggled with academics in kindergarten and was beginning
to fail the first grade. As a consequence, I suffered from low self-
esteem and was frustrated with my inability to learn. Thankfully, my
mother had me tested for a learning disability, and I was diagnosed
with dyslexia in first grade and began Project Read and a program
called Resource in second grade. Without this diagnosis, I would not
have been able to enter these programs and get the help that I needed.
I watched friends who were not tested and did not get help struggle
throughout their school years, which is something that could have
easily been avoided.
From that point on, I started to learn and retain what I was taught
thanks to the teaching methods employed. Project Read started their
students back at the beginning. For example, we went over the spelling
of basic words like ``it,'' ``cat,'' ``sat'' and so on, all things I
should have learned in kindergarten. Project Read took me out of the
classroom and into a separate room with other students who struggled
with learning disabilities. Project Read gave me a safe and comfortable
environment to learn with other students like me. The teachers used a
multisensory approach to learning such as tracing our vocabulary words
in trays of sand and writing information on flashcards, which I still
do today. This program gave me confidence in and out of the classroom
and can be accredited with shaping the student I am today.
I continued Resource upon entering high school. The Resource
program offered typed notes for my classes, a quiet room with teachers
on hand for assistance and extra time allotted for exams. When I went
to take the ACT, I was again offered extra time and was placed in a
quiet classroom where I could work at my own speed. Because I had
sufficient time to take this extremely important exam, I made the score
I needed to get into LSU. Now at LSU, I am registered in Disability
Services, which offers me similar accommodations to those I had in high
school. Thanks to the skills that Project Read gave me, I personally do
not need the accommodations granted to me in college that some students
do very much need.
Project Read allowed me to achieve my early academic goals and
helped me become a successful student. Without Project Read, I would
most likely have lost my motivation to learn. Because I was diagnosed
and helped early on in my life, I was able to grow and adapt to my
disability, and I am now a successful and confident college student. I
am graduating in May with a degree in Mass Communications and have
plans to attend graduate school to pursue my MBA.
What can Congress do for students like me? First and foremost, I
would like to stress the importance of early testing for children who
struggle. Second, all students with dyslexia should have access to
programs like Project Read so that they do not fall behind in their
studies. Finally, the public as a whole should be better informed about
dyslexia and other learning disabilities. A learning disability is not
a symptom of low IQ or insufficient effort. The public needs to know
that learning disabilities are beyond the students' control but can
successfully be treated.
My graduation from LSU and my dream of going to graduate school
would never have been possible had I not been tested early and
accommodated throughout my life. Thanks to the early intervention and
consistent support I was provided, I have a real chance of being a
highly productive member of society. I only recently became aware that
not all students receive the same accommodations as me. It saddens me
to think that not everyone has the same help and support that I did. If
all students had the help that I did, they would have just as bright of
a future as I do. So I am asking you, the Members of Congress, to
please give these students a chance to live without being held back by
dyslexia.
Senator Cassidy. Margaret.
STATEMENT OF MARGARET LAW, CALT, DYSLEXIA & 504 COORDINATOR,
CENTRAL COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, CENTRAL, LA
Ms. Law. Good afternoon. Thank you for the invitation to
participate in the hearing for a cause that is really near and
dear to my heart, and that is the education of the dyslexic
student. My contribution will be from the perspective of the
dyslexia and 504 coordinator that I am in Central Community
Schools, with a focus on accommodations.
All districts and everybody in this audience may know that,
but all districts have to abide by Bulletin 1903, and that's
the regulations and guidelines for the implementation of the
Louisiana Law for the Education of Dyslexic Students, and that
allows for the identification and the receiving of
multisensory-structured language services.
Once a student has been identified at-risk and goes through
an evaluation and is identified with characteristics of
dyslexia, which is what this bill requires, or this law
requires, they are enrolled in a multisensory-structured
language class in our district and in other districts, and then
the committee looks at them to see if they're eligible for
section 504 accommodations or a 504 plan. The 504 is not like
IDEA, which is an education benefits plan. 504 is a non-
discrimination law that guarantees the disabled child has the
same ability to access education in the same fashion as the
non-disabled child.
A school building-level committee is in charge of
identifying if they are 504 and selecting the accommodations
that are data-
driven that that child needs, and those accommodations occur in
the classroom and on high-stakes testing. For kids in school it
would be PARCC, LEAP, ACT, the EOCs for those kids in college
or high school. The goal of accommodations is to provide the
dyslexic student with the support they need to succeed.
Two of the most critical accommodations I want to talk
about are extended time and tests read aloud. Extended time is
needed for those kids who have poor decoding abilities or they
are very slow at reading. I am asked how much constitutes
extended time? I had a conversation with the 504 coordinator
for the State, and she told me that extended time should be
based on what the child needs. You should observe to see how
much time they need to take a test, and then that's what they
should be given.
Tests read aloud are needed for the phonological deficits.
When a student has to try to read something they can't read, it
causes anxiety, it causes stress.
I have two examples to share with you. I met this young man
in our school system in middle school. He was identified with
characteristics of dyslexia and assigned tests read aloud and
accommodations. He is a talented athlete. He finished the MSL
program in 9th grade. He has been offered a scholarship already
to play his chosen sport at a college. Accommodations helped
him keep his GPA up so that he could do that. He is going to
live his dream because he was able to get the accommodations
that he needs. As a matter of fact, the college has already
contacted me and asked me what accommodations he will need to
succeed in college, so I thought that was great.
A second student I met when I was an academic therapist at
a private school. A high school teacher came to tell me that
she had a struggling reader. I met with him. He had his hoodie
up over his head. You couldn't see him. I said, what can I do
for you? He said, I want to be able to read like everybody
else.
He was tested, entered our MSL program, received
accommodations. The biggest thing for him was that not only did
his reading improve, but the big thing was his self-confidence
improved, and one of his teachers told me that he actually
volunteered to read in class. That is a feat that the dyslexic
student shies away from, and she was very proud of him, and it
was great to see him in the hallway. He wasn't hidden in his
hoodie. He was looking at people and he was smiling.
The IAP and the accommodations needed change over time. The
parent is always the advocate when they are younger. As the
child gets older, they become advocates for themselves. They
sit in on the IAP reviews. ``Yes, I need that accommodation.''
It's data-
driven. They receive those accommodations.
College, as they have already spoken about, I get parents
who ask me about accommodations in college. There are no
official 504 plans in college. The student has to be an
advocate and go to the disabilities department where they ask
for accommodations. The college will ask for documentation that
they have that disability, and then they will ask for
documentation on what they used, which ones they were given in
high school, and then they will decide if those accommodations
are merited and they can earn them at the college level.
In conclusion, accommodations support the dyslexic student.
They lead to academic success. They build self-confidence, and
most of the time and many times they let that student achieve
the goal of what they want to do, or a personal goal.
[The prepared statement of Ms. Law follows:]
Prepared Statement of Margaret Law
Being Dyslexia and 504 Coordinator for a school district in
Louisiana encompasses many responsibilities. A coordinator must be
educated about dyslexia and be knowledgeable about the Section 504 Law.
A coordinator must insure that the provisions of Bulletin 1903,
Regulations and Guidelines for Implementation of the Louisiana Law for
the Education of Dyslexic Students be properly implemented. Finally, a
coordinator must remember that the needs of the student come first.
LEAs must follow Bulletin 1903. This publication provides for,
``Implementation of R.S. 17:7(11), Louisiana's Law for
identification and services within the regular education
program for students demonstrating characteristics of
dyslexia.''
While this Louisiana Law states that LEAs must only identify for
characteristics of dyslexia, there is also a statement in the law that,
``Any private evaluation presented by the parent must be
considered by the school system's pupil appraisal staff for
review and interpretation.''
Once a student has been identified by an initial Section 504
evaluation with characteristics of dyslexia (Bulletin 1903) and/or the
LEA has received a diagnosis of dyslexia by way of a private
evaluation, a student may be eligible to receive services and
accommodations for characteristics of dyslexia or dyslexia. An
Individual Accommodation Plan (IAP) is written and accommodations are
selected by the consensus of the School Building Level Committee
(SBLC). Accommodations are selected that will remove barriers caused by
poor reading and writing and allow the student to access education in
the same way as non-disabled peers. Also, the student is enrolled in a
Multisensory Structured Language (MSL) Program.
The SBLC is assigned the task of selecting accommodations for the
student's IAP. Accommodations must be data-driven with the intent of
leveling the playing field for the dyslexic student. Section 504
accommodations are intended to support the student but not create an
advantage.
While the selection and implementation of appropriate
accommodations seems straight forward, it can be a challenging process.
Consideration must be given in selecting accommodations in four
categories: setting, presentation and response, time demands and
behavior. Accommodations are also selected for standardized tests.
One frequent accommodation for the student with characteristics of
dyslexia is extended time. Deciding a fair amount of time for each
student poses a challenge. I am frequently asked what constitutes a
fair amount of time. While this seems a straight forward question, it
is sometimes complex. For example, the parent of a student called the
State 504 coordinator and voiced concerns regarding the amount of
extended time her child received for testing. The State 504 coordinator
suggested that defining a set amount of time for extended time may
possibly be a point that is arbitrational. A better approach was
suggested. This approach involves monitoring the time it takes a
student to take a test and then calculating the average extended time
used. In this way, the accommodation is specific to the needs of that
particular student.
Another accommodation needed to support most students with
characteristics of dyslexia is tests read aloud. It is very frustrating
for a student who has phonological deficits to read and demonstrate
what is learned when they are struggling to read text. It causes
anxiety and impedes success. With accommodations success is viable.
To illustrate this, I share the story of a middle-school male
student identified with characteristics of dyslexia. The student began
receiving services through an MSL Program and an IAP was written with
accommodations of extended time and tests read aloud. These
accommodations supported the student so that content learned could be
assessed fairly.
This student completed the MSL Program in his first year of high
school. He is a talented athlete. It is important that the student
maintain a strong grade point average so that he can pursue his goal of
playing his chosen sport at the collegiate level and possibly beyond. A
college interested in recruiting him has already contacted me inquiring
about the kinds of accommodations he may need for support in college.
A second example follows. When I was an Academic Language Therapist
in a private school, I was approached by the teacher of a high school
student who was a struggling reader. When I first met this young man,
he sat with his head down and did not make eye contact with me. I asked
him what I could do for him and he said he wanted to be able to read
like everyone else.
The student began receiving instructions through an MLS Program. He
began receiving accommodations of extended time and tests read aloud.
His grades improved with these two accommodations. He was able to
access education when his struggle to read was removed. Most
importantly his self-confidence increased. So much that he volunteered
to read aloud in one of his classes. Not an easy feat for a student
with characteristics of dyslexia but a milestone for this student! When
our paths crossed on campus, I was delighted to see that his head was
held high and a smile was on his face.
As a district coordinator, I am asked by parents if students will
be able to receive 504 accommodations in college. I explain that there
are no formal Section 504 Plans in college but colleges will issue
accommodations. The student must advocate for themselves and contact
the disabilities department at the college and inquire about the
process of receiving accommodations. Normally, a college will require a
student to provide documentation of their disability and provide
documentation that accommodations were used in high school. However,
colleges make their own determination on what the student needs to
perform academically.
The IAP and selection of accommodations evolves and changes over
time. Early on, the parent is the sole advocate for their child and may
play a major role in selection of accommodations. But as the child
progresses through school, they learn to become their own advocate in
selecting accommodations.
The following is an illustration of a parent who became an advocate
for their child. The parent of a middle school student reported that
her son was not receiving extended time on a test that measured his
reading level. So, the parent advocated for son's extended time. He was
allotted the accommodation, and his measured reading level increased
from fourth to eleventh grade.
Part of my responsibilities as dyslexia and 504 coordinator is
teacher training. At the beginning of the year, I provide school
counselors with an overview of section 504. A significant part of
training is instructions on how to select appropriate accommodations
and how the accommodations can be implemented in the classroom to
support the student.
Administrators, counselors and teachers often inquire about ways to
provide the accommodations of tests read aloud, extended time and small
groups if a number of students in a class require these accommodations.
First, I encourage them to use text to speech programs for tests read
aloud. For a small group, I encourage teachers to organize the
classroom at the first of the year to include a small group testing
area. Occasionally, teachers asked if students can leave the room to
receive accommodations. A reminder is given that Section 504 law
mandates that accommodations be given in the least restrictive
environment.
I also pass on a reminder received from a workshop on Section 504
presented by Hammonds, Sills, Adkins & Guice, LLP, Attorneys at Law.
This reminder states:
`` The Section 504 Plan or IAP is essentially a contract. If
a service is written into the Section 504 Plan and signed by a
designated representative of the school system, it must be
provided to the child.''
`` The lack of staff, lack of money or unwillingness of the
staff to perform the duties are insufficient to justify a
failure to implement the Section 504 Plan as written. If the
service is not needed, the Section 504 committee has a
responsibility to address the removal of the service from the
child's Section 504 Plan.''
In order for the dyslexic student to be successful, they must be
given accommodations that allow them to access education in the same
way a non-disabled student accesses education. In this way, support
leads to success, which leads to self-confidence, which leads to the
achievement of a personal goal.
Senator Cassidy. Thank you all.
This is a Senate hearing, so unfortunately you in the
audience are not allowed to ask questions. What I will try to
do is, based upon what we've heard, ask questions that would
hopefully reflect what your interests are.
Derrius, you describe up until 4th grade you are recognized
as bright and no one knows what is going on with you. Were you
the young man wearing the hoodie who wanted to read but
couldn't? Do you know what I'm saying? No. 1, I would just like
to know how you felt.
And No. 2, when you went to Atlanta, what was it about that
teacher that she recognized the signs of dyslexia, and what did
they do to help you?
Rev. Montgomery. To answer both questions, for me it was
not only being held back in the 1st grade, but the tell-tale
sign was being held back in the 6th grade and moving to
Atlanta. The teacher saw my academic track record, and nothing
indicated that I was a problematic child or anything like
that--but reading, the comprehension piece. Again, all of this
is secondhand because my mom told me most of it, right? I don't
have that great of a memory.
I do remember as a second-time 6th grader being told that
Louisiana had cheated you, and I really didn't understand what
that meant. That came--I'm actually saying it nice, because the
teacher I had was really, for lack of a better word, pissed
off, because she thought I was one of those children who had
just been passed along, you see?
What they had at this particular school was a Jump Start
program. That program was devised for kids like myself who were
very highly intelligent; however, our academic careers didn't
line up to our personalities. I remember it was me and about 12
other students in that particular Jump Start program. And I
must say, by the end of that school year, I was actually going
into high school, into the 8th grade. That's how much
intensity--not only was the work intense, but it was tailor-
made just for us and I didn't have to deal with the issue of
being pulled out of a class and given the IAP or anything like
that and being labeled. Back in my day, it was the retarded
kids that had to go into a different setting.
For me, just being able to go through that was liberating,
to graduating on time and being able to graduate on time.
Having younger sisters coming up behind me who were straight-A
students and me being the only boy, it just did something to my
self-
confidence knowing that that opportunity was there for me.
Senator Cassidy. Margaret, Louisiana cheated him. I'm told
that the typical parish in Louisiana has less than 1 percent of
its students identified as dyslexic. I guess, could you comment
to that and then tell us, is it just that there's a teacher who
is aware of the issue who then notifies someone such as you, or
is there a formal screening program? If not, should there be?
Ms. Law. Well, first I guess I'll have to say that in our
district we have about 3 percent of our kids identified, so
we're a little bit above that. We have a lot to do, though.
I think that part of the problem is that there is not
funding. This comes under 504, and 504 is an unfunded law.
There's not funding even though districts have in place
procedures to identify their kids with characteristics of
dyslexia, and in Bulletin 1903 it says you have to do that
between kindergarten and 3d grade. If that is not done by the
district, for whatever reason, then that definitely penalizes
the child.
Funding, to me, is always a way where you can get more
personnel and maybe get people to follow the law the way
they're supposed to follow the law.
And then it's education. I talked to a teacher who is a new
teacher and I asked her, I said what kind of course work did
you have in college in dyslexia? She said, ``Well, in my
special education class, we had a little bit about it, and they
also had a simulation that they did of a dyslexia program.''
I still don't think that there's enough information out
there, and that's still part of the problem.
Senator Cassidy. I will ask Sally or Bennett to address
this. I have to admit, if it affects 20 percent of the
population, is it a principal cause for children reading below
grade level? The only instruction she received was a little bit
about it in a special education course. It seems as if there
should be more.
Ms. Law. Yes, I agree with you.
Senator Cassidy. Sally or Bennett, would you want to
comment on that particular issue?
Dr. Sally Shaywitz. Well, it just strikes me as somehow
odd, because I've heard that in Louisiana people entering
prison are screened for dyslexia. You can do it for prisons but
not for children entering school and perhaps help them avoid
prison?
I think schools of education can do a lot more than they're
doing. I think they need to introduce dyslexia, what is known
about dyslexia, what programs are offered as well. I also think
that it's not just a matter of reading about dyslexia, turning
pages, getting tested. I think what needs to be done in
addition to course work is to actually take time and intern in,
optimally, specialized schools like LKA (Louisiana Key Academy)
can serve as a resource where teachers, budding teachers can go
and spend time with the students and learn what a dyslexic
student look like, how do they react in class, and what are the
most effective approaches to the students, because students not
only have reading difficulty but many, many more issues.
We--Senator Cassidy, Bennett and myself--as physicians,
went to medical school, but we learned even more of practical
importance when we were interns and residents. I think any
teaching mode has to link to an actual experiential approach.
Senator Cassidy. Sally, you mentioned it in your talk, but
could I also ask you to address once more, Allyce's parents
suspected she had an issue in kindergarten or 1st grade. I am
so impressed with that. My daughter, I was totally unaware
until she was older. My wife is rolling her eyes right now
saying I always would be unaware.
[Laughter.]
What would you ask a parent to look for or a teacher to
look for when a child is in kindergarten or 1st grade?
Dr. Sally Shaywitz. That's the really exciting thing about
scientific progress, because now that we know that the basic
difficulty is getting to the sounds of spoken language, we can
look for not even non-reading signs. For example, even early on
in delayed language, a toddler not appreciating the nursery
rhyme because in order to appreciate a nursery rhyme you have
to be able to pull apart the spoken word and focus just on the
end--mat, hat, cat. These children not only don't appreciate
nursery rhymes, they often lack an appreciation of any kind of
rhyme. They may mispronounce words and have difficulty learning
and remembering the names of letters, or they don't even know
the letters in their own name.
As they go on through kindergarten and 1st grade, it's
difficult for them to appreciate that spoken words come apart,
like ``cowboy'' is made up of two parts, ``cow'' and ``boy''.
They have a great inability to associate letters with sounds,
and the reading effort shows no relationship to the letter to
the sound.
What is really upsetting is these children, sooner than we
often appreciate, turn off to reading. They claim how hard
reading is, and when it's time for reading they run away or
learn that if their behavior is bad, they get asked to leave
the room so they don't have to be called on to read aloud.
I think it's important for parents to be aware of this, but
also not to accept, oh, this is just developmental, or she'll
outgrow it, or it's just a glitch. It has to be attended to and
not excuses and delays accepted.
Senator Cassidy. Let me also ask you to comment. Derrius'
testimony spoke to how once he was identified, it sounds like
it was boot camp for reading, and for a year it was wraparound
and pervasive. You mention in your testimony, Sally, that 20
minutes twice a week is not adequate. Again, could you just
speak to that?
Dr. Sally Shaywitz. OK. I'm really glad you asked me about
that. You know, dyslexia affects the whole child. It's not in a
silo that if you pull the child out and inject them with some
instructions that will solve it.
What happens if that happens, the child comes back into a
class where they have missed what's going on. That child also,
when he or she goes to another subject--Social Studies,
History, Literature--the teacher has no idea about the child's
reading problem, and the child is expected to do what everybody
else does, and very often the teachers will get frustrated or
annoyed, ``Why don't you know this?,'' without any idea of what
the child's reading level is.
What you need, and what I had said previously, is to have
the teacher in each child's subject class be aware of where he
or she is in reading, what helps them, what's effective, and to
be able to follow the student's progress carefully, and that
there's consistency in instructions. You need to be in a school
where the climate is all hands on board, so the climate and
instructions to dyslexic students is all unified. It needs a
whole child approach during the entire day rather than the
artificial belief that giving a child a package of instructions
for a small period a day will address the significant, ongoing
needs of a dyslexic child.
Senator Cassidy. Allyce, you told me earlier you attended
Vanderbilt Catholic. Vanderbilt Catholic is a parochial school,
as you might guess, which has instructions for dyslexic
students integrated in their program. Dr. Sally Shaywitz just
said you want to integrate it. Vanderbilt Catholic does
integrate instructions for dyslexia. Could you speak to that
from your experience at Vanderbilt Catholic?
Ms. Trapp. Integrate as in--the only thing that they did
differently was that you had the option of being taken out of
the classroom, which is something I found interesting because,
yes, they would teach you in class, you never had to leave the
classroom at Vanderbilt, unlike at St. Francis when I was in
elementary school and you'd leave the classroom. Once you got
to high school, you're in class with everyone, and all the
teachers knew. They knew who was disabled, who had learning
disabilities and you only had to leave the classroom if you
wanted to, and that's only during testing times.
That was only if you wanted a quiet place to go to and you
wanted teachers there who could read the test to you. I
honestly didn't even need that by the time I got there because
I had dozens of people who were late in the game.
So, yes, it was pretty much integrated by the time I got to
Vanderbilt. I was very lucky to be in a parish that already had
a very sound system that was in place for students with
learning disabilities.
Senator Cassidy. I'm struck that you advocate for yourself
at LSU. Margaret said oftentimes in college you have to go and
tell folks, listen, I need an accommodation. You had just told
us that when you take the math test, you are accommodated for
it. I think one of Sally's slides I took notes from is the
child has to learn to advocate for himself or herself. I gather
that your experience with dyslexia appears to have taught you
that ability to self-advocate. A fair statement?
Ms. Trapp. Oh, absolutely. You have to know how to advocate
for yourself because you won't always have a parent or a
teacher there doing it for you. You have to be able to explain
yourself because when you're on the playground as a child,
you're not going to have a teacher there telling your friends
why you were not in class today. You're not going to have a
parent there explaining to other students you meet why you
speak differently, why you do things differently from them. You
have to be able to advocate for yourself.
By the time you get to high school, most people know. Most
of your friends understand. You always have a friend who says,
``I don't believe in dyslexia'' or ``I don't think you're very
smart,'' and you have to advocate for yourself. That's when you
have to step up to the plate and say you don't have to believe
it's a real thing, but it is. You don't have to believe it.
It took me about 4 years to get my best friend to actually
believe I was dyslexic and that it was a real learning
disability. He thought I was just lazy and I didn't want to
study, which was not the case. If you saw the stack of flash
cards I have in my room each day--that was not the case.
You have to advocate for yourself. You have to be your No.
1 champion, honestly, because if you don't tell people what's
going on with you and you don't understand yourself and your
own learning disability, how do you expect anyone else to, and
how do you expect to get the accommodations?
Senator Cassidy. Derrius, I'm struck, you now advocate for
others.
Rev. Montgomery. Yes.
Senator Cassidy. Your empathy with the children who
struggle brought you to seek out the opportunity to serve on a
board that would minister to those struggling children. I think
that's what I gathered. Would you comment on that?
Rev. Montgomery. Yes, and the fact that I have three
toddler boys that I'm raising right now was the fire that was
lit, you know? I don't want them to go through it. My wife and
I are probably driving Dufrocq crazy. That's where my oldest
son attends. Because we're very, very much still involved. His
mom is a smarty, right? Dad is the one with the little
struggles. Anything that he deals with, of course they're
looking on my side. We just want to make sure that he's
accommodated properly.
When I think about the lack of a father in my own family in
terms of relatives, I have no choice but to advocate for kids
outside of my own home.
Senator Cassidy. You mentioned your child in 1st grade. If
I can ask you, right now we're trying to do a reauthorization
of what is called the No Child Left Behind or the Elementary
and Secondary Education Act. One of the things that has come up
is standardized testing.
Bennett, could you speak to standardized testing and the
dyslexic, please?
Dr. Bennett Shaywitz. Well, yes. I think this is a really
important point, Senator Cassidy. I didn't get a chance to show
these slides earlier, but I think that it's really critical for
everybody to understand that the standardized tests that are
used in dyslexic students are, in fact, inappropriate for
dyslexic students.
For example, I was talking about the State standards and
the PARCC, which is designed to measure those standards. That
State standard and the PARCC are inappropriate for dyslexic
elementary students because the Common Core standards and the
PARCC are based on the mistaken belief, and this is in the
description of the Common Core, that all students, including
dyslexic students, will be fluent readers by the end of 2d
grade. That's what Common Core demands, and that's just not
true. It's not true for dyslexic students.
Also, the Common Core says all students, including dyslexic
students, should read at grade level and above. Well, for
dyslexic students, that's just not the case.
The Common Core standards are comprehension-focused for
reading instructions. Reading instructions says that you should
use complex tests and that should be the basis of all reading
instructions, and they ignore whether or not the student can
actually read the words in the complex test. This really has
serious implications for dyslexic students.
For example, anybody who has ever looked at the 3d grade
PARCC, the PARCC for 3d grade students is more targeted to
reading level of the 5th grade, and it's focused on reading
comprehension, and it's very inappropriate for dyslexic
students. It has the pernicious effect of schools dropping all
other instructions, including much-needed decoding
instructions, to focus almost exclusively on comprehension.
In addition, the multiple-choice questions in the PARCC are
really inappropriate for students who are dyslexic who need a
lot more context to be able to understand. Everybody should
understand that the Common Core's focus on comprehension may be
appropriate for students in high school or perhaps upper-level
junior high school, but it's wholly inappropriate for children
in very early grades, especially dyslexic students who are
invariably still struggling and working very hard to master
decoding.
The danger is that the PARCC will provide misleading data,
with very serious consequences not only for the student, but
for the parents and for the teachers. It's not that the
students are not doing what they should do; the test is
inappropriate. It should not be used in dyslexic students.
Senator Cassidy. I stepped away from the microphone,
Bennett, to see your slides, so that was the slight hesitation.
Sally, did you have something to say?
Dr. Sally Shaywitz. Yes. I was listening to the
accommodations discussion and self-advocacy, and I thought we
heard that the school's report--that they identified 3 percent
of their population as dyslexic, when we know that it's, I'm
doing quick math here, it's seven times more common. Think of
all the children who can't self-advocate because they don't
know what they have. They have never been identified. They
can't have, even though they're dyslexic, they can't have the
benefit of accommodations because they don't know they're
dyslexic.
It's such a huge disservice on so many levels to not
identify dyslexic children. Not only don't they receive the
intervention and the appropriate schooling, but it follows them
through life. They think they're not smart, they don't have
self-awareness, they can't advocate for themselves, and even
though they're slow readers because they are dyslexic, they
can't even think of or apply for or receive accommodations. It
keeps them back all through life, and that's not fair. We're
better as a nation than that, and we can't know about dyslexia
at the level of a school but then just ignore the children who
need us.
Senator Cassidy. Margaret, that raises the issue of
funding. You mentioned that the 504 is unfunded.
Ms. Law. Right.
Senator Cassidy. What does it cost to screen all 1st
graders or all elementary school kids or all new transfers?
Ms. Law. Well, I never put an actual number to the cost,
but in time, it takes much time, as we have 350 kids in second
grade. Starting in January, we will begin the universal
screening. It takes a team of teachers to go through the
process of all the steps that you have to do for that to
identify all of the students and then pull the ones at risk and
then administer tests to them. It's a lot of time for the
counselor who does the testing. I would say in the second
semester, the counselor probably spends 50 percent of their
time looking at universal screening in our school system, and
we have about 350 kids, as I said, that we look at.
Senator Cassidy. Three-hundred-fifty 1st graders, or 350 2d
graders?
Ms. Law. We do 2d grade, and in the month of January of 2d
grade is our year to do universal screening.
Senator Cassidy. Let me ask, Sally and Bennett, you can
also weigh in on this question.
Dr. Sally Shaywitz. Well, given the data that we now have,
strong published scientific data showing that that achievement
gap is already present in 1st grade, my hope is that we would
rethink our approach to screening and begin screening as early
as possible, kindergarten or 1st grade. There are measures for
the child, but also new measures that teachers can use, because
that gap, it's so hard to overcome. It's there already.
I think we have an obligation to our children and to our
teachers to identify this at the earliest possible time,
because it's so hard to overcome, and it's huge. It really is
very, very large, and it's now supported by scientific data.
Senator Cassidy. I'm struck, in support of that, Allyce
mentioned when she went to high school she had been
accommodated early and therefore did not need as much help.
Those who had not been diagnosed until later in their education
were the ones who still needed help. The absence of early
screening intervention ends up having persistent effects into
adolescence.
Again, Sally and Bennett, do the data show that?
Dr. Bennett Shaywitz. Yes. In fact, it is persistent.
Dr. Sally Shaywitz. Oh, my goodness, it's persistent. You
have the additional difficulties of not knowing what you are,
thinking you're stupid, not wanting to go to school, all the
other consequences, and also to have avoided reading. We get
better in reading by reading. There are so many negative
consequences, and it becomes more and more difficult to
remediate.
We had the personal experience of trying to work with
middle schoolers versus working with kindergarteners and 1st
graders, and there's no comparison. We really have to get there
early. When we think of, oh, it's costly, what is the cost to
society of the child not being identified and not receiving
what that child needs? That's huge on a personal level, on a
family level, and on a national level.
Senator Cassidy. Yes. I will point out that I read once
that you can look at poor reading rates in 3d grade and predict
the number of prison cells you need 20 years later. The cost of
a prisoner I think is $50,000 a year or something such as that.
If we could somehow understand that and do something at the
earlier stage.
Let's see if there are any other questions I had that I
wanted to ask.
By the way, I'm also struck, Allyce, that you feel totally
comfortable with dyslexia, again almost fighting with your
friend to kind of prove, you know, ``C'mon, guy, get off it.''
I speak to some who are older, and they don't want anyone to
know. I know an 80-year-old guy, incredibly successful, and he
doesn't want anyone to know that he's dyslexic, even though
he's so successful that it wouldn't matter.
Clearly, at some point you just became you, like you have
blonde hair and you're tall and whatever, and it's nothing to
be ashamed of. Is that a fair statement?
Ms. Trapp. Absolutely. I can't see why someone so
successful wouldn't want to talk about how he got to his
success with dyslexia. I think that's something incredible to
share with everyone how he did that. I think Walt Disney had
dyslexia. I think that's incredible. It shows you that you
don't have to have the regular processing brain to do
incredible things.
I'm totally comfortable with it because I don't know
anything else. I don't know what it's like to have a regular
functioning brain. I only know the brain that I have, and I
love the brain that I have. Yes, sometimes I'm really
frustrated, but I'm just like, ``Oh my gosh, I wish I knew what
it was like having a different brain,'' but I don't. I work
with what I have and I go with it, and it's just part of being
me.
I'm an extremely confident person, and I have been since I
was a little thing, so it's like, ``all right, cool, one more
thing, let's work with it.'' I had so many teachers who were
like, this isn't a hindrance, it's just something else to work
on, it's not a big deal. I have parents who said it's OK, we're
just going to work with it, and all my friends were fine with
it growing up.
Of course, I had the friend who didn't believe it was a
real thing, but he came around. My senior year in high school
he said, ``it's real, it's no joke.'' He had seen it in action
for 4 years.
It's nothing to be ashamed of. There's nothing wrong with
me. It's just a different way of thinking, and it's a whole new
window of creativity and opportunity, and I'm doing just fine
with it. I'm totally fine with it. It's a comfortable setting
for me. I'm comfortable with my dyslexia. I'm comfortable with
my disability. I don't even define it to be a disability
because I've overcome it. It's not holding me back.
Senator Cassidy. Derrius, you were diagnosed later in life,
and frankly you recounted how you had a real struggle prior to
that point. Do you find that your attitude toward having a
self-diagnosis of dyslexia is different than Allyce's or
exactly the same?
Rev. Montgomery. I think mine is exactly the same. I'm
proud to identify with it, but I have to look at my own
successes in my own life with the disability. I have still been
able to get married, finish school, go back to school. I
started a small business here in Baton Rouge. I have achieved
the American Dream, and I'm still trying to achieve it. I'm
only 31, so I have a lot more to conquer. I think that would
only motivate one to continue to speak out.
Senator Cassidy. Let me ask if there are any final
comments.
Sally and Bennett, do you all have any final comments?
Dr. Sally Shaywitz. It won't surprise you that I do.
[Laughter.]
If we remember that dyslexia is a paradox, if we think of
the sea of strengths model, we have that encapsulated weakness
in decoding, getting to the sound of the spoken word, but we
also have those higher level strengths. The way we look at it
is when a child starts school, they can go in either direction.
What will it be? The weakness that characterizes their life or
the strengths? That won't be determined. Are they identified?
Are they in the proper school? Do they get the proper
intervention?
People who are dyslexic are filling our prisons, but
they're also receiving Nobel Prizes and Pulitzer Prizes. The
capabilities go in both directions. We as a society are letting
them down by not identifying and providing what they need.
Again, I just have to say, having visited and seen what
happens in LKA (Louisiana Key Academy), a specialized public
charter school that's giving so many children the opportunity,
disadvantaged children, children of color, that they would not
have had, and that can help ensure that it's the strengths
rather than the weakness that characterizes their future lives.
Senator Cassidy. Bennett.
Dr. Bennett Shaywitz. I'll leave it there. It's hard to
follow Sally.
Senator Cassidy. Margaret, anything else?
Ms. Law. I think one of the things I want to point out is
that the students who have dyslexia have to have a specialized
program in order for them to be a better reader and to be
successful, and in the State of Louisiana, to my knowledge,
there are no colleges or training centers where you can train
to be an Academic Language Therapist. When I decided I wanted
to go into the field of dyslexia, I had to go to Texas to do my
training. There's nowhere in the State of Louisiana. It would
seem that perhaps a community college or something could be
done so that we could train and have a Certified Academic
Language Therapist training center in our State.
Senator Cassidy. Allyce.
Ms. Trapp. All I'll say is thank you so much for having me
today. I really appreciate you giving me a chance to talk about
what it was like growing up with dyslexia and hopefully
helping, in some small way, other students to get what they
need.
Senator Cassidy. Derrius, you're the clean-up man.
Rev. Montgomery. I'm with these two here. I thank you for
the opportunity, and I think that as long as we continue to
have these types of discussions, both privately and publicly, I
think the whole community will definitely get behind this
movement and you'll start to see more people stand up and
advocate for students of dyslexia.
Senator Cassidy. I will finish by--first, Evelyn
Gauthreaux, we talked about LKA (Louisiana Key Academy), she is
the principal, so let me just point her out right there. She is
raising her hand.
[Applause.]
Let me just echo what Sally said, her observation. It seems
as if the diagnosis of dyslexia leads one to a point, and if
there's appropriate remediation and accommodation, the struggle
to overcome and then the subsequent success actually leads to
insights that one would otherwise not have. If everyone is
thinking like this, the dyslexic is the out-of-the-box thinker
who thinks so creatively when others are just in a path. If
they are not accommodated and their needs not addressed, then
it is not an arc toward success, it is a descent into a
frustrated life which, at its worst, ends up in prison, and at
its not-so-bad ends up much lesser than it could be, and that
comes through over and over.
That said, I thank you all for being here.
I have a script to follow.
The hearing record will remain open for 10 days for
Senators to submit additional comments and any questions for
the record they may have.
Thank you for being here today.
The committee will stand adjourned.
[Whereupon, at 4:24 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.]
[all]