Sharyland ISD

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that primarily affects reading and language processing. It is neurobiological in origin and often characterized by difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition, decoding, and spelling. These challenges are typically not due to a lack of intelligence, effort, or access to instruction but rather differences in how the brain processes language.

Key Characteristics of Dyslexia

1. Phonological Awareness Challenges: Difficulty identifying and manipulating the sounds in words, such as breaking down words into syllables or recognizing rhymes.
2. Reading Fluency: Slow and labor-intensive reading that can impact comprehension.
3. Spelling Issues: Inconsistent or inaccurate spelling of words, even simple ones.
4. Decoding Problems: Difficulty sounding out unfamiliar words or applying phonics rules.
5. Reversal or Misplacement of Letters: Common when learning to read and write but often persistent in dyslexia.

Associated Strengths

Despite difficulties in reading, individuals with dyslexia often show strengths in other areas, such as:

• Creative problem-solving
• Big-picture thinking
• Strong verbal reasoning or storytelling skills
• Artistic or athletic abilities

Causes

Dyslexia is believed to stem from differences in the brain's language processing areas, particularly those involved in linking sounds to letters. It tends to run in families, suggesting a genetic component.

Support for Dyslexia

Effective interventions often include:

• Explicit, Multisensory Instruction: Teaching that involves visual, auditory, and kinesthetic-tactile methods, such as the Orton-Gillingham approach ( Special education Specialized instruction). 
• Accommodations: Extra time on tests, audiobooks, or text-to-speech tools.
• Individualized Support: Tailored instruction based on the individual’s specific needs.

Early identification and intervention are critical for helping individuals with dyslexia develop essential reading and writing skills and reach their full potential.

Parent Resources 

Senate Bill 2075

Senate Bill (SB) 2075 requires school districts to notify the parents or guardians of students determined, on the basis of dyslexia screening or reading instrument results to have dyslexia or a related disorder, or to be at risk for dyslexia or other reading difficulties, to have access to the Talking Book Program (TBP) maintained by the Texas State Library and Archives Commission. The TBP provides students with reading disabilities the ability to borrow audiobooks free of charge and includes over 100,000 titles, hundreds of which are in Spanish. 

Parent Application Below: 

TBP English Application.pdf 
Application-Ind-Span-Parent-Ack-10012024 (1).pdf