South Bend Tribune
The record of Indiana’s legislature on education issues over the years has been dismal.
But a law that went into effect in 2018 and is now being fully implemented in school districts across the state is starting to make a difference for students who may be struggling with a common learning disability.
All public schools are now required to screen kindergarten through second-grade students for dyslexia, a language-based learning disability. Those showing risk factors at any grade level may also be tested.
Each school is required to have one authorized reading specialist who has completed training in a dyslexia program. The specialist trains teachers and helps district officials administer and analyze dyslexia screening results. They also help to determine the appropriate intervention for students who may show traits of the learning disability.
In Mishawaka, teacher Breeana Wallick incorporates a multisensory approach to teaching in her kindergarten classroom. Beyond matching sounds with letters and words in the day’s phonics lesson, Wallick uses sand-covered cookie sheets to provide students a canvas on which to write out words.
The approach combines reading with touch, sight, hearing and movement, all important for students who may be battling dyslexia. Dyslexic brains have a hard time recognizing and manipulating sounds in language, which makes it difficult for a child to grasp reading, writing and spelling.
If characteristics of dyslexia are found through screening, schools are able to intervene and find support for a student’s specific deficit.
Indiana has failed students, teachers and families on a wide-range of education issues, whether it be standardized testing for students or the proliferation of vouchers that leave public schools at a disadvantage. The legislature continues to battle over teacher pay, after an Indiana House committee rejected a Democratic proposal that would have directed $291 million in unexpected state tax revenue toward one-time teacher pay bonuses.
But in this case, requiring students to be screened for a learning disability that can be overcome through early intervention and the proper help was the right move by the state.
If characteristics of dyslexia are found through screening, schools are able to intervene and find support for a student’s specific deficit.
