What is Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a specific learning disorder that is neurological in origin and is characterized by unexpected difficulties with accurate or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding difficulties that are not consistent with the student's intelligence, motivation, and sensory capabilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological components of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.
Dyslexia is not a sign or lack of intelligence
Dyslexia is NOT a visual problem
Dyslexia is NOT due to a lack of motivation, interest or exposure
Dyslexia does impact each individual differently
Dyslexia screening is a Washington State Requirement
All students, K-2, are screened once per year for markers that are associated with dyslexia.
Commonly Asked Questions
Do I need to request the screener?
No. All children in grades K-2 will receive the screener.
What happens if my student's screening results show possible indicators of dyslexia?
If a student's scores show warning indicators, the classroom teacher will collaborate with the school support team to determine the next steps for instruction. This will include interventions with Heggerty, progress monitoring of a Fundations intervention, or progress monitoring of a WILSON reading intervention. You can expect parent/guardian communication about the screening.
Will I be notified?
You will be notified if there are warning signs of Dyslexia.
What are the screening tools?
The screening tool that The Port Townsend School District uses is FastBridge and RAN/RAS. We screen for Dyslexia one time per year and look at Phonemic awareness, phonological awareness, letter sound knowledge, and rapid automatized naming.
How can I learn more?
Your classroom teacher can provide many great resources, and OSPI has webpage that is frequently updated with new resources for parents.
https://www.k12.wa.us/about-ospi/workgroups-committees/currently-meeting-workgroups/washington-state-dyslexia-advisory-council/about-dyslexia