On Dyslexia

By Malky Berkowitz, M. Ed, WPD, Literacy Specialist

Courtesy of Family First Magazine

First, I would like to thank Mishpacha for finally bringing up a topic that is so important yet hardly discussed. Children spend an average of seven hours a day in school. Children who cannot read are most likely doomed to fail. The trauma that a child has to endure under such circumstances is unbearable. I always ask parents and teachers to think of something they are really terrible at and then imagine taking a job in that specific area. How would they feel doing this every single workday for seven hours? 

When I test children and the results show overwhelming symptoms of dyslexia, I’m very open with them. I also let them know that it’s not their fault they still struggle with reading while their peers have moved on---it’s the gross negligence and failure of the system that they are in. They literally cry from relief. It’s like a rock has been lifted off their shoulders. I then let them know that there is a light at the end of the tunnel. 

I also tell these children that there are many advantages of being dyslexic, and that, in fact, around 35 percent of entrepreneurs are dyslexic. People with dyslexia have a different way of thinking that has many advantages. According to Dr. Sally Shaywitz, a person needs to be of average or above average intelligence in order to be diagnosed as dyslexic. People who are dyslexic are usually quite bright.

Dr. Shaywitz’s studies show that people who are dyslexic use the back and front of the right side and front left side of their brains to read, as opposed to the back of the left side of their brain. This prevents rapid, automatic word recognition. They need direct and explicit instruction that will rewire their brain to read. I advise those whose who are seeking reading specialists to make sure they are Orton Gilligham or Wilson certified, and to ensure that they have had clinical hours that were observed and mentored by certified trainers (just being Orton or Wilson trained is not enough). 

Balance literacy has been debunked, and schools need to wake up and train their teachers accordingly. Students need good vocabulary skills, phonemic awareness, decoding skills, fluency, automaticity, and background knowledge in order to have age appropriate reading comprehension skills. The testing (Fountas and Pinnel) that goes on in the schools today make no sense and is a waste of precious time; it doesn’t accurately assess a child’s reading level. And what exactly are schools doing to remediate those test results? How many providers are trained to teach reading? 

If you have a child who’s struggling with reading, don’t wait. It won’t fix itself. The child will not outgrow it. The earlier we remediate, the better the results will be. Having said that, it’s never too late to remediate. 

I would also suggest that parents skip using an agency if your child shows a delay in decoding skills. Agencies can only provide you with the providers that they have. The supervisors in those agencies aren’t necessarily trained in the science of reading, either. Hire an advocate and then you can choose your provider.  

Parental support is crucial in terms of getting a child to the next level. Having a provider support what the reading specialist is doing would give the child the optimal chance to reach his or her full potential.

Parents have the right to decide who their child’s provider will be. Parents have the right to decide how they will want to go about their child’s intervention. No school or agency has a right to force anything on a parent.

Having a child diagnosed with dyslexia shouldn’t be scary or give you any feelings of hopelessness. According to studies, 20 percent of children are dyslexic (there is a spectrum). Dyslexic thinking brings along with it many advantages. There are many jobs that dyslexic thinkers are better at than non-dyslexic thinkers. These advantages are recognized in the UK, with the GCHQ, a British intelligence agency, hiring up to four times as many dyslexic thinkers as other agencies.

Our job as adults is to help these children reach their full potential as readers by providing the necessary intervention and minimize the trauma that comes along with not knowing how to decode. Our children deserve better that when they’re getting now.