Running head: DYSLEXIA FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS 1

Dyslexia for Pre-Service Teachers

Carly G. Swanson

Stetson University
DYSLEXIA FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS 2

Abstract

Dyslexia is neuro-developmental difference present throughout a lifetime that is characterized by

both deficits and strengths. Some of the deficits are in the areas of reading, writing, and

memorization. Some of the strengths include auditory processing, spatial awareness, and

creativity. Dyslexia effects ten percent of the population. It is important for teachers to be

familiar with dyslexia so they are able to understand and teach their dyslexic students. Often,

teachers must be the ones to recognize that a child may be dyslexic. Early diagnosis is imperative

because it leads to intervention which allow students to start making gains. Intervention comes in

two forms, literacy instruction and assistive technology. It is important to be able to read, write,

speak, and listen but when the goal is to gain or express knowledge students should be able to

use their strongest literacy skills. Assistive technology makes this possible. It is critical for

teachers to keep the strengths of dyslexics in mind when planning instruction and interacting

with students. It can be easy to get hung up on a student’s weaknesses and forget about their

strengths. It is essential to recognize and provide intervention because dyslexic students have a

high risk for academic failure, under-employment, and negative socioemotional outcomes.

Teachers have the power to reduce these risks and empower students.
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Pre-service teachers should learn about dyslexia before they are teachers in their own

classrooms. Teachers should know what dyslexia is, how it is diagnosed and what intervention

should be provided, as well as, the strengths that come along with the weaknesses. Dyslexia is

often characterized as a reading problem, but it is so much more than that. Because dyslexia

effects 5 to 10 percent of the population, it is something teachers will encounter on a regular

basis (Benfatto et al., 2016; Frith, 1999; Jan et al., 2010). That means that in every class of 20

students there is likely to be at least one, if not two, with dyslexia. Over the course of a teacher’s

career that is dozens of students. If 10 percent of the population is not getting the help they need

because they are misunderstood in school and are left behind, that leaves a large percentage of

students not meeting their full potential. Upon a review of the literature on the matter there are

four main areas that should be discussed: defining dyslexia, diagnosing dyslexia, providing

intervention for dyslexic students, and the strengths of dyslexics. There are a lot of

misconceptions around what dyslexia is and clearing up those misconceptions and creating more

awareness is the first step in the process to becoming more accommodating for dyslexic students.

Once dyslexia is defined then a universal method of diagnosis is needed to determine who is

dyslexic. After a determination is made that a person is dyslexic intervention must be provided.

When thinking of dyslexia, it is important to remember that dyslexia is not only characterized by

weakness; there are quite a few strengths that come along with it as well.

Definition

Dyslexia has many definitions. These definitions are different because of the people who

produce them and need them. Of course, dyslexia is going to have a different definition to the

scientist studying the brain abnormalities than to the mother who is watching her child struggle.
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Before writing a definition of dyslexia it is important to understand the stakeholders of dyslexia

and the myriad of meanings dyslexia has to them. For this purpose, we will focus on parents,

teachers, educational authorities, politicians, and researchers.

Stakeholders

First, we will look at dyslexia from the parent’s point of view. An average parent has lots

of responsibilities without the added concern of a dyslexic child which puts extra stress on

parents. Parents are less concerned about the underlying theory of dyslexia and much more

concerned about the specific issue of how their child can be both happy and successful at school

(Nicolson, 2002). When a child is doing poorly in school it is bound to affect their psyche. These

negative effects are often noticed by parents.

They see the child being traumatized by failure to learn a central skill. Trauma may

manifest itself in many ways depression, withdrawal, disruption, avoidance, and so on.

The parent’s central concern is that their child becomes happier. Better reading would be

a bonus, of course. (Nicolson, 2002, p. 61)

Parents see dyslexia as a nemesis, at least at first, which hurts their child’s quality of life and

school success. They are in the market for solutions.

Oftentimes parents look first to teachers for the solution. A teacher’s job is to educate all

the students in their class. This means non-dyslexic students as well as dyslexics. This leads to

concerns of how to teach the whole class (Nicolson, 2002). In the classroom dyslexia manifests

itself mainly as a reading problem so teachers are looking at dyslexia through this lens. Teachers

often turn to educational authorities for support, guidance and resources. Educational authorities

see dyslexia differently, through the lens of the law. Their definition of dyslexia is formed around

IDEA 2004 and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 section 504. Their main focus is running the
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school system efficiently while complying with the appropriate educational legislation (Nicolson,

2002). Politicians and interest groups who write these laws get their information from advocacy

groups and researchers who specialize in different areas of dyslexia.

The researchers affect the process of research, diagnosis, and recognizing strengths at

various spots throughout. There are many disciplines that contribute to dyslexia research. Each

discipline has its own focus. Nicolson (2002) discusses these differing roles:

At the very least, educational psychologists are involved in diagnosis, cognitive

psychologists are involved in characterization of the learning difficulties, educators are

involved in developing appropriate methods of teaching, neuroscientists consider

underlying brain problems, speech and language specialists consider the underlying

difficulties in terms of language, and so on. (p. 58)

Each researcher has their own role to fulfill. Educational psychologists and cognitive

psychologists are involved in the diagnosis process of dyslexic students. A school or school

district will have an educational psychologist who tests students for different learning

disabilities. Cognitive psychologists work on what dyslexia looks like in terms of behavior and

thought processes. Neuroscientists do research looking at brain differences between a dyslexic

and non-dyslexic mind. Their definition of dyslexia has very little to do with its manifestations

such as poor reading skills and much more to do with the intricacies of the brain. Depending on

the research being done and the part of dyslexia being looked at, the working definition of

dyslexia will be different.

These differences can often cause conflict. There is conflict a of interest when different

stakeholders have different values which consequently gives each of them different priorities

which leads to different courses of action (Nicolson, 2002). For example, a parent values their
DYSLEXIA FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS 6

child and puts the priority on that individual child, wanting all the resources of a school to be

focused on their child. On the other hand, educational authorities are looking out for every child

within their care and cannot devote all their resources into one area or child. There are also

cognitive conflicts where the stakeholders have different concepts or knowledge bases (Nicolson,

2002).

The diverse range of perspectives on dyslexia causes people to have differing and

incomplete definitions of dyslexia. This leads to different concepts of how to address the issue.

Neurologists see dyslexia is something that needs to be fixed in the brain on the neurological

level however teachers see dyslexia as something that can be fixed in the classroom through

reading instruction. The common solution for this conflict is to improve awareness and

knowledge across the board (Nicolson, 2002). The truth of the matter is that both teachers and

scientists can do something to address dyslexia while still respecting the work that the other

group is doing.

Despite these conflicts there is a common goal all the stakeholders are attempting to

achieve. That is “to develop significantly improved support for dyslexic infants, children and

adults in an effective but cost-effective fashion” (Nicolson, 2002, p. 62). It is important to keep

this common goal in mind as a framework for developing awareness, diagnosing, and providing

intervention for dyslexia. Although it might seem like the community supporting dyslexics is

working against itself, that is not the case; all stakeholders are working towards the same goal

using different means to get there.

Definition

As demonstrated above, the definition of dyslexia is somewhat subjective depending on

stakeholder. This means it takes a review of the literature to break down the definition of
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dyslexia into components, using past research to develop a consensus on the definition of

dyslexia and recognizing where discrepancies in the research exist. There are three main

components in most definitions of dyslexia: biological basis, literacy deficit, and lifelong

occurrence. We will unpack each of these components below.

Biological basis.

Generally speaking, it is believed that dyslexia is a neuro-developmental disorder with a

genetic biological origin with a basis in the brain (Frith, 1999). Since brain function is still a

mystery to even scientists, the exact cause of dyslexia cannot be pinpointed. As Frith (1999)

says, “the precise identification of the underlying neuro-cognitive information-processing

abnormality is a task for the future.” However, this lack of complete certainty has created some

room for doubt among skeptics. Adlof, Scoggins, Brazendale, Babb, and Petscher (2017) state

that upon their review of the literature, which spanned several dozen studies which used all

available techniques, it was found that there were relatively few robust and well replicated

results that show neuroanatomical differences between control and dyslexic individuals (p. 447).

Just because the exact neuroanatomical cause of dyslexia has not been identified does not

indicate that one does not exist. Nicolson (2002) says, “more new knowledge about neuroscience

has emerged in the past decade than was discovered in the rest of human history” and we don’t

know what breakthrough will be made next (p. 63).

Literacy deficit.

Dyslexia is often characterized by its literacy deficits in both reading and writing. These

deficits stem from inaccurate and slow word recognition and poor spelling which in turn affects

fluency with a secondhand impact on comprehension. (Ramus, Altarelli, Jednoróg, Zhao, &

Covella, 2018; Youman & Mather, 2012). This difficulty greatly inhibits a dyslexics’ ability to
DYSLEXIA FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS 8

read. Dyslexic writing is characterized by highly phonetic spelling errors, letter order errors, and

a small written vocabulary coupled with slow writing speed and poor handwriting (Chakravarty,

2009). These deficits greatly inhibit a dyslexics’ ability to write. Minor difficulties in

mathematics are often also present. These difficulties include remembering mathematical facts

such as times tables and learning the sequence of steps when performing calculations

(Chakravarty, 2009). These deficits in dyslexics cannot be attributed to low intelligence, poor

motivation, or lack of adequate educational opportunities (Jan et al., 2010; Conway, Brady, &

Misra, 2017). However, a dyslexic individual may not exhibit all of the symptoms above because

dyslexia also includes “behavioral signs which extend far beyond the problems with written

language” (Frith, 1999). This means that not every dyslexic will have the same strengths and

weaknesses.

Life-long.

Dyslexia exists from birth, with different manifestations over the lifetime of an individual

(Frith, 1999). Just as a neurotypical person changes over time so does a dyslexic individual. The

dyslexia may seem to abate due to the development of coping mechanisms, but this does not

indicate dyslexia is gone. As Frith (1999) says, “It is not a temporary childhood affliction; it is a

lifelong burden.” Life can get easier for the dyslexic individual as they take control of their own

learning and are allowed to use the strategies that work best for them, but the root cause never

leaves them.

Environment.

While cognitive factors are important in the definition of dyslexia, environmental factors

are more important in its remediation. The most important factors in the intervention of dyslexia

are fostering positive attitudes towards written language and equipping schools and teachers with
DYSLEXIA FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS 9

the skills needed to teach children with dyslexia, while keeping in mind the complex and

inconsistent orthography of the English language (Frith, 1999). The more complex the writing

system the more difficulty people will face in acquiring the language. It is therefore not

impossible to think that ‘dyslexia friendly’ languages maybe found or created as well as

‘dyslexia friendly’ writing systems (Frith, 1999). As Frith (1999) points out, “the condition

causes hardly any handicap in affected individuals, but in others it can cause a great deal of

suffering” (p. 211). If we lived in a world where ramps were the norm and stairs the exception,

then wheelchair-bound people would experience less of a hardship then they do in the world of

stairs. People are not disabled, the environment around them is disabling. One alternative for

dyslexics would be having them use a separate language. Though this may seem preposterous, it

is a good mental exercise to use for the understanding of dyslexia, much like the ramp example.

For our purposes we will define dyslexia as a neuro-developmental difference present

throughout a lifetime that is characterized by both deficits and strengths. Some of the deficits are

in the areas of reading, writing, and memorization. Some of the strengths include auditory

processing, spatial awareness, and creativity. This definition was developed by a thorough review

of the literature and delving into the sources on topics seen above. Later on in the paper we will

delve more deeply into the strengths included in the definition.

Diagnosis

Now that there is an established definition of dyslexia we must establish how to diagnose

dyslexia. Currently “there are no universally employed measures or procedures for identifying

dyslexia. Practices, instruments, and interpretation used in diagnosis of learning disabilities and

dyslexia very from place to place, even within the same city or state” (Worthy et al., 2017, p.

408) This complicates the process of diagnosis because it is not universal. In the United States,
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what might be considered dyslexia in one state could go unrecognized in another. There are three

basic categories that states fall under when it comes to dyslexia diagnosis. The first-tier is states

with clearly defined dyslexia laws; they find symptoms of dyslexia in young children and

provide intervention immediately so later, when the student qualifies for a specific learning

disability under IDEA 2004, intervention is already taking place (Youman & Mather, 2012). The

second-tier states have laws that require pilot programs and allocation of funds to establish

universal screening for dyslexia during the early school years (Youman & Mather, 2012). The

third and final tier includes the states that drafted universal screening legislation, but it failed to

pass it, and the states who have failed to address dyslexia at all (Youman & Mather, 2012).

Before explaining how dyslexia is being diagnosed it is important to understand the

general lack of diagnosis in society today. Smyrnakis et al. (2017) states that “identification of

students with dyslexia is not usually made until grade three of elementary school, when reading

ability lags behind what is expected for age and starts to hinder overall educational progress” (p.

2). This indicates that students are not diagnosed with dyslexia until they start to really struggle

in school. During a study on dyslexia and spatial reasoning Kotsopoulos, Zambrzycka, and

Makosz (2017) found that the majority of children in the study had to wait three years from when

their parents first noticed their difficulties for a formal diagnosis of dyslexia. Low diagnosis rates

caused Kotsopoulos, Zambrzycka, and Makosz’s sample size to be much smaller than expected

so they looked into the cause further and made this discovery. They found that “diagnosis and

support goes to those who can afford it rather than those who are most in need” after looking at

the higher socioeconomic status among those children formally identified with dyslexia

(Kotsopoulos, Zambrzycka, & Makosz, 2017). Without universal screenings for dyslexia the

burden falls on parents and teachers to recommend students for testing. Adlof, Scoggins,
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Brazendale, Babb, and Petscher (2017) found that most parents of children meeting standard

criteria for dyslexia were frequently unaware of their child’s language and reading difficulties.

This supports the idea that students from low socioeconomic status are less likely to be

diagnosed with dyslexia because of the advocacy necessary on the part of parents to get a child

diagnosed.

Diagnosis yields its most positive results when done early. Smyrnakis et al. (2017) states

“timely identification and diagnosis of reading disabilities is important to guide intervention and

to avoid personal, academic, and social repercussions” (p. 2). Intervention should be provided as

soon as a weakness, no matter how small, presents itself and then a diagnosis can help guide that

intervention. It is hazardous to wait until children are formally diagnosed before accommodating

their needs; early identification and professional support is the most effective form of

intervention (Benfatto et al., 2016). The earlier intervention is provided, the better the gains in

reading and spelling (Lim & Oei, 2015). It is essential to have these positive outcomes because

“children with language and reading impairments experience increased risk for academic failure,

under-employment, and negative socioemotional outcomes” (Adlof, Scoggins, Brazendale, Babb,

& Petscher, 2017, p. 3509).

Quick Screening

Research has been done recently to create quick screenings for dyslexia. These efficient

screening methods are meant to be deployed in school settings to facilitate earlier support to

those at risk for long-term reading difficulties, such as dyslexia (Benfatto et al., 2016). It does

not make sense to put every child through the long gamut of testing that is required for a dyslexia

diagnosis due to the limited resources allocated to school systems (Smyrnakis et al., 2017).

These quick screenings allow students who may be at risk of dyslexia to be identified and
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undergo the battery of tests for a dyslexia diagnosis. The follow-up testing is necessary to gain a

more comprehensive understanding of the individuals needs to build specific intervention

strategies (Benfatto et al., 2016). There are two types of quick screenings: literacy skills and eye

tracking.

The use of brief literacy skills screenings proved successful as a quick screening

technique. One study found that in 40 minutes of testing metaphonological, morphological,

visuo-attentional, and auditory knowledge was sufficient to identify deficits that could lead to

other evaluations for prognosis (Jan et al., 2010). Another study found that in two hours a test

administer could give a class of 20 students a 30 minute combined screening battery with a

scoring time of less than five minutes per student that results in high classification accuracy and

risk assessment (Adlof, Scoggins, Brazendale, Babb, & Petscher, 2017). The findings of these

two studies show that a brief literacy test can be both efficient and effective as a method of

identifying at-risk readers.

The second method of quick screening is eye tracking which provides some benefits over

the previous method discussed. Testing of literacy skills often only depends on out loud reading

which involves the double task of decoding and phrasing text and does not make use of the

visual attention data that eye tracking may provide (Smyrnakis et al., 2017). By tracking eye

movements during reading the reading process can be followed as it occurs in real-time in a more

objective way then other tests with no right or wrong according to some predefined criteria

(Benfatto et al., 2016). Both Smyrnakis et al. (2017) and Benfatto et al. (2016) have found eye

tracking is an effective method of identifying a small subset of students that have a high

probability of having a reading disorder, which is most likely dyslexia, and needs further

examination for diagnosis.

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Full Evaluation Report

After receiving a positive quick screening, or at the recommendation of a teacher or

parent, further testing is administered to determine if the prognosis of dyslexia is applicable. This

testing is a long evaluation that culminates in a report. “A diagnosis of dyslexia begins with the

gathering of information gained from interviews, observations and testing” (Sawyer & Jones,

2008, p. 5). This information is collected by classroom teachers, a speech or language

pathologist, an educational assessment specialist, and medical personnel if necessary (Sawyer &

Jones, 2008). Family literacy history, medical history, preschool development, and language

learning history should be included in the report (Sawyer & Jones, 2008). Literacy tests with the

accompanying scores and interpretation of scores should also be included. Sawyer and Jones

(2008) concludes, tests of the student’s word recognition, decoding, spelling, phonological

processing, automaticity, reading comprehension and vocabulary knowledge should be included

in the written evaluation report.

This should lead to a tentative diagnosis that states that the child's ability to learn to read,

write and spell does or does not appear to be related to dyslexia. The specific evidence

that supports the diagnosis should be explained in the report. (p. 5)

Once the report is complete with all the above components present and explained, this

documentation can be used as a diagnosis to guide intervention and provide accommodations.

Diagnosing dyslexia is important because it leads to accommodations, intervention and

understanding. The most common accommodations dyslexics receive include extended time for

reading tasks, no penalty for spelling mistakes, additional time for assessments, and oral reading

of questions during assessment (Youman & Mather, 2012). Receiving these accommodations can

be essential for a dyslexic student success. The documentation provided by a formal diagnosis is
DYSLEXIA FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS 14

necessary for obtaining accommodations on college entrance exams, such as the SAT and ACT,

in college, and in the workplace (Sawyer & Jones, 2008). Teachers are poised in the perfect

position to advocate for diagnosis and provide accommodations for students. Kotsopoulos,

Zambrzycka, and Makosz, (2017) states, “in the absence of formal identification, accountability

and the full range of services and supports may not be accessible to a student, or potentially even

scaled back in instances where resources are limited” (p. 107). In order to give a dyslexic student

what they need to succeed it is important to have a formal diagnosis so that no matter where the

child goes they get the services and accommodations they need.

Intervention

The results in the diagnosis report should be used to guide intervention. There are two

types of intervention: learning the mechanics and using assistive technology to do the heavy

lifting. Both parts are very important in their own way. It is necessary for students to learn to

read and write to some extent because there will inevitably be instances where assistive

technology is not present. This said, the goal doesn’t have to be to make every dyslexic student

an excellent reader and writer. Depending in the particular case a good, or even ok, reader and

writer may suffice with the aid of assistive technology and accommodations.

A good place to start when providing intervention is the deficits the student displayed,

noted in the diagnosis report. According to Youman and Mather (2012), “common intervention

strategies and programs for dyslexia target instruction in areas such as phonemic awareness,

phonics, spelling, fluency, and vocabulary, all of which have ample research of effectiveness

with students with dyslexia” (p.142). The deficits recognized during diagnosis can become the

areas of focus during intervention. Multisensory instruction, which combines auditory, visual and

tactical elements into learning tasks, is also recommended (Youman & Mather, 2012).
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Multisensory instruction can be used to target the different instructional areas. The Orton-

Gillingham approach is the most common form of multisensory education. This approach

emphasizes the learning of alphabetic phonics in a systematic, analytic, cognitive, sequential,

cumulative and emotionally sound manner (Lim & Oei, 2015). Using this system Lim and Oei

(2015) found “evidence of gains in reading and spelling standard scores following a one-year

intervention using the OG approach.” Ring, Avrit, and Black (2017) conducted a study using

multisensory education in the form of “mouth picture manipulatives to represent articulator

actions for each phoneme” and found similar results. Multisensory education is the key to

making gains for dyslexic students.

Assistive Technology

Assistive technology is another important component to intervention, maybe even the

most important part. Frith (1999) argues:

That the deficit itself is best left alone and instead the effort might go towards

circumventing it. The use of computer spellcheckers, for example, a prime tool of the

future of literacy, has dramatically improved dyslexic writing within one generation,

within the same language and without change of instructional methods. (p. 210)

This shows how much technology can make a difference. It is changing the way we think about

the ability to read as a society depending on the situation and context (Lindeblad, Nilsson,

Gustafson, & Svensson, 2016). For example, a person could be good at retaining information that

they read but struggle to retain information they hear and vise versa. Currently schools are set up

for people who have strong reading and writing skills and marginalize students who listen and

speak, but that is changing slowly. One set skill should not be valued over the other. The

information is the same regardless of if its read or heard. Just as the information is the same if its
DYSLEXIA FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS 16

written down or verbally stated. If the point is to understand and demonstrate knowledge of

content, then it should not matter the method the student uses. It is important to be capable in all

four competencies but when the goal is to gain or express knowledge students should be able to

use their strongest literacy skills. Time should not be wasted forcing students to become

excellent readers and writers when they are already excellent listeners and speakers. Better to

hone the natural strengths than fight an uphill battle.

The most common assistive technology provided to dyslexic students is text-to-speech

and speech-to-text technology (Harper, Kurtzworth-Keen, & Marable, 2016; Draffan, Evans, &

Blenkhorn, 2007; Lindeblad, Nilsson, Gustafson, & Svensson, 2016). This technology is

available in a variety of ways. One example is the Livescribe Pen which has “the ability to voice

record audio, sync the audio with visual representation, and connect literacy-based tasks with the

tactile stimuli such as printing, drawing, and turning pages” (Harper, Kurtzworth-Keen, &

Marable, 2016, p. 2481). Lindeblad, Nilsson, Gustafson, and Svensson (2016) states that “many

websites and versions of operative systems in computers, tablets and smartphones are now

offering a text-to-speech application as standard equipment” (p. 714). Other examples of

assistive technology are recording devices, handheld spell checkers, portable notetakers, concept

mapping, word prediction and Dragon NaturallySpeaking, a text to speech software (Draffan,

Evans, & Blenkhorn, 2007).

The most remarkable thing about assistive technology is that it goes beyond helping

students with school and actually improves their quality of life. Draffan, Evans, and Blenkhorn

(2007) and Lindeblad, Nilsson, Gustafson, and Svensson (2016) found that one year after the

introduction of assistive technology students were still continuously using the technology. People

would not continue to use something that does not work. Assistive technology improves a
DYSLEXIA FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS 17

student’s quality of life by increasing their independence and free time, which promotes increase

in overall happiness (Harper, Kurtzworth-Keen, & Marable, 2016). Parents and children both

report that the independence provided by assistive technology helps get homework done in a

more timely fashion and allows the parents to focus on nonacademic aspects of parenting instead

of being an extra tutor for the child (Lindeblad, Nilsson, Gustafson, & Svensson, 2016; Harper,

Kurtzworth-Keen, & Marable, 2016). This gain of independence and decrease in time spent on

homework leads to less frustrated and overall happier students. Assistive technology empowers

students to take ownership of their learning and increases their motivation not only for reading

but also for academic activities and social interaction (Lindeblad, Nilsson, Gustafson, &

Svensson, 2016; Harper, Kurtzworth-Keen, & Marable, 2016). Having technology in the

classroom can give a student an upturn in social status among their peers which can help

compensate for the social stigma students are exposed to (Lindeblad, Nilsson, Gustafson, &

Svensson, 2016). Assistive technology is a dyslexic student’s secret weapon and the key to their

success.

Strengths

When providing intervention, it is important to keep the strengths of dyslexic students in

mind. When a student is frustrated with what they cannot do, it is essential to build their

confidence and spend time on things that they can do to build their resilience so they can persist

through difficult things. Knowing the student’s talent can also enable a teacher to deliver content

in a manner that plays to the student strengths as opposed to their weaknesses. Heightened visual

spatial abilities and talent in the arts are two examples of strengths dyslexics possess. The

strengths of dyslexic students will continue to be discovered as more research is done on

dyslexia and the brain.

DYSLEXIA FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS 18

Visual Spatial Abilities

Neurological evidence leads scientists to believe that the dyslexic brain may process

visual spatial information in an atypical manner (Károlyi, Winner, Gray, & Sherman, 2003). This

strength presents itself in a very specific way. In a realistic test of visual spatial abilities,

participants with dyslexia answer more quickly than their non-dyslexic counterparts without a

sacrifice in accuracy (Károlyi, Winner, Gray, & Sherman, 2003; Kotsopoulos, Zambrzycka, &

Makosz, 2017; Attree, Turner, & Cowell, 2009). This specific strength can be quite important in

real world activities such as mechanical skills, carpentry, invention, visual artistry, surgery, and

interpreting x-rays or magnetic resonance images (Károlyi, Winner, Gray, & Sherman, 2003).

The strengths of dyslexic individuals can be used to fulfill needs in the real world, but this cannot

happen if dyslexic students fail to graduate high school, let alone get into college because they

cannot read. Their strengths can also be utilized by teachers as a method of conveying

information to dyslexic students. Attree, Turner, and Cowell (2009) suggests that

Many individuals with dyslexia tend to be best at holistic, 3D thinking and problem

solving, keeping the big picture in mind, and often do well on tasks with spatial

components. For such individuals, using a gestalt approach to learning and using

techniques that help them learn through their strengths can enable successful learning (p.

167).

The strength of visual spatial reasoning in dyslexic students is important in many career fields

and provides insight on how to successfully reach dyslexic students.

Creativity

It is often said that dyslexic individuals have a natural flair for the arts such as music,

dance, drawing or acting (Chakravarty, 2009, p. 571). Kapoula et al. (2016) found similar scores
DYSLEXIA FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS 19

of creativity were achieved by art-trained students and dyslexic children and teenagers, meaning

dyslexic children and teenagers can be as creative as students selected for their creativity and

trained to further develop it. Wolff and Lundberg (2002) demonstrated that dyslexia is more

frequently occurring among art students compared to students enrolled in other programs. The

results from these two studies indicate a higher prevalence of artistic abilities in dyslexic

individuals. There are many theories about the connection between creativity and dyslexia: They

coexist in the human brain without any direct connection, a connection may relate to early failure

in traditionally high-value skills in school, frustration accompanied by reading and writing might

push dyslexics to use unconventional coping strategies, or the connection could be an illusion

because of the discrepancy between reading achievement and artistic talents in dyslexic students

(Wolff & Lundberg, 2002). However, these possibilities are ruled out by Wolff and Lundberg’s

(2002) study:

The students’ selection of art studies did not reflect avoidance behavior or an attempt to

escape the literacy demands in more traditional academic fields. It was rather interpreted

as a genuine choice based on a very early discovery of extraordinary talents (p. 41).

It is important to keep in mind that in order for these talents to be discovered it is helpful for

them to be fostered at an early age. Dyslexic students taught using an educational approach that

encouraged creativity are more likely to have creative abilities then those who were taught in a

more traditional manner (Kapoula, 2016). This is another helpful hint for educators in there’s

struggle to reach dyslexic students. Chakravarty (2009) says it is “socially beneficial to allow

children with dyslexia to develop their unique artistic ability (or other skills) to its full capacity

and not to over-emphasize the correction of the disturbed coded symbol operations, in remedial
DYSLEXIA FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS 20

training” (p. 571). A balance must be struck between providing intervention and fostering the

strengths that come along with dyslexia.

Conclusion

Dyslexia is a neuro-developmental difference present throughout a lifetime that is

characterized by both deficits and strengths. Some of the deficits are in the areas of reading,

writing, and memorization. There is not one specific way to diagnose dyslexia but there are some

promising techniques that allows for screening of large groups to find students who are likely to

be dyslexic. Then these select students can undergo a full evaluation which will result in a report

that will provide accommodations and guidance for intervention. The best intervention for

dyslexic students involves multisensory reading instruction and the use of assistive technology.

Not only is assistive technology an effective form of intervention but it also improves the

dyslexic students quality-of-life. Throughout this whole process the strengths of dyslexics shine

through. These strengths are a great tool to use when educating dyslexics and allow dyslexics to

provide something special to this world.

So What

Teachers play an important role in the dyslexic student’s narrative. Teachers can make the

difference between a kid whose ‘dumb’ or ‘lazy’ and a kid who’s getting the help that they need.

I will keep this in mind when I am a teacher and do my best to never give think of my students as

dumb or lazy. Often times parents abdicate the responsibility of recognizing that something is not

quite right with their students and therefore, this responsibility falls to teachers. Teachers must

advocate for students to be tested. I will advocate for each and every student in my class. If a

positive result for dyslexia is obtained, then it is the responsibility of the teacher to provide

appropriate intervention. The teacher must work with the students to discover what learning
DYSLEXIA FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS 21

strategies work best and implement those strategies throughout instruction. I will work with my

students to develop a learning plan that works for both them and me to be used in my classroom.

Flexibility is key success factor to teaching and teaching dyslexic students is no exception. As

each student has their strengths, the same is true for dyslexic students. Teachers must find the

individual’s strengths and use them to the student’s advantage. I will always find the strengths in

my students and use them to work on weaknesses. This might seem like a big job, and it is, but

this is what making a difference looks like.

My Story

I am dyslexic so this topic is very personal to me. I think it is important that I explain my

experiences with dyslexia. My mom recognized that something was not quite right before I

started kindergarten. In this way I am already luckier than most who do not discover something

is wrong until it is too late. She raised concerns to my teachers in first grade but they thought that

I would catch up and my reading would develop come eventually. They did not, and in second

grade my parents paid an outside source to test me for dyslexia. When I found out that I was

dyslexic it was a huge relief. Somehow it separated myself from my problems. I was not dumb or

stupid. I was just dyslexic. It wasn’t my fault. After trying a whole host of tutors, we finally

found someone who could provide multi-sensory reading intervention. But this involved an hour

round trip to drive after school every day and during the summer as well as an ungodly monetary

cost. My teachers were very accommodating. One example was allowing me to complete

homework orally early with my mom instead of writing everything out. I started using an

AlphaSmart, a simple word processor, as assistive technology in third-grade. I was afraid of

being different, so my mom bought the whole class AlphaSmarts. In fifth grade I realized the full

potential of assistive technology when I started using Dragon NaturallySpeaking and

DYSLEXIA FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS 22

audiobooks. The first assignment I used text to speech software on was a history report. I was

awed by the knowledge I had inside of me and how easily it could come out when I was using

the right means.

Fifth-graders were invited to join the Battle of the Books, a competition where students

are tested with comprehension questions on several different books read throughout the year.

When the librarian was introducing Battle of the Books to my class a boy made a snide comment

about how I would be taking part. That pushed me over the edge, I was done with people

thinking I was stupid and giving me a hard time. I went home that day to my mom and told her

that I wanted to do Battle of the Books. I’m pretty sure she had a heart attack but, in her defense,

she agreed immediately and began problem solving a way I could participate. This is when we

discovered how helpful audiobooks could be for school. I listened to all the books we had to

read. When competition day came I was ready. After a few questions were asked my team started

to turn to me for the answers. This was the first time I had a taste of what it was like to feel

smart.

I started out as a pretty much hopeless case, and most likely would not have made it to

high school without the help of my teachers and my mom. Not only did I make it into high

school, and took AP classes, but I made it to university. I also made the decision to work to help

those students who didn’t have the opportunities that I had. Not every parent can be so attentive

to their child that they recognize something is wrong before they start school. Not every family

has the means necessary to pay for expensive diagnosis and tutoring. These are not things that

should be universal and not be only available to those who can afford them. Hopefully this is

something I will be able to change. Educating teachers is just the first step.
 DYSLEXIA FOR PRE-SERVICE TEACHERS 23

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