Dyslexia Updates X D E Y S I A T M L P U W X A I want to present to you the Procedural updates for Dyslexia for 2015-16. Please make note of changes so that you will be ready when you need to apply them. A

DYSLEXIA PROGRAM UPDATES N R T B M U O 1 #

Information from the Handbook Testing RTI Professional Development Identifying Dyslexia Committee Determination Students with IEPs Intervention for Dyslexia E W

Testing Students for Dyslexia Students enrolling in public schools shall be assessed for dyslexia and related disorders at appropriate times (TEC §38.003 (a)). Private/Home School students are assessed as part of an FIE when concern is reading at the word level. Charter schools are not private. Charter Schools are public schools and they do their own testing. We do not test charter school students for them. Private school/home school students who are tested for dyslexia as part of their FIE will have the entire assessment done by the LSSP or Ed Diag assigned. B A C

Students in Special Education If referred, students receiving Special Education services will be tested by the campus LSSP or diagnostician. Testing is requested through a REED ARD. Completed testing is addressed through an ARD. Handout: Dyslexia Assessment Procedures for LSSPs No exceptions. Examples from Redland and other campuses last year---We are not going to test by LSSP and IIT and compare to see which one lets the student qualify. Unethical. I E P

What about retesting? T E S T Students may not be retested for the purpose of reassessing the need for accommodations related to dyslexia. Parents may choose to have their student retested at their own expense. -Dyslexia Handbook, page 24 Reevaluation in the 504 world means reviewing the data and determining what accommodations are still appropriate given the student’s disability. T E S T

Professional Development TEC §21.044(c)(2) requires that colleges for teacher preparation to include characteristics of dyslexia, identification of dyslexia, and multisensory strategies for teaching students with dyslexia. TEC §21.054(b) and TAC §232.11 mandate continuing education requirements for educators who teach students with dyslexia. T E A

Identifying Dyslexia Q U A L I F Y Assessment Report 504 meeting Scores of test administered Narrative summary “characteristics…” 504 meeting Upload assessment report into ESPED Discuss testing results (data) Committee agrees to qualify student based on results. Document in meeting. U A L I Document the qualification of a student for dyslexia in the 504 meeting (or ARD for SPED students). Use testing data. F Y

Don’t Forget to Rule Out Linguistic background ELL & English in Dual Language Sociocultural factors Cultural, religious, economic differences Attendance Absences, tardies, frequent moves Lack of appropriate and effective instruction Long term substitutes, moves, H I N K These are really important and are sometimes overlooked when identifying students. Need to be really careful of these—Don’t refer the student if you can’t rule out these factors or the presence of another disability or difficulty as the cause of any reading problems.

Pattern of Evidence: Primary Characteristics of Dyslexia Reading words in isolation Decoding unfamiliar words accurately and automatically Reading fluency for connected text (rate and accuracy) Spelling* The 504 or ARD committee must determine if a student’s difficulties in the areas of reading and spelling reflect a pattern of evidence for the primary characteristics of dyslexia with an unexpectedly low performance for the student’s age and educational level in some or all of the following areas: listed on clide. Isolated difficulty in spelling does not indicate dyslexia. W O R D S

The 504C Makes a Determination Do the data show a pattern of low reading and spelling skills that is unexpected for the student in relation to the student’s other cognitive abilities and provision of effective classroom instruction? Does the pattern indicate the student has dyslexia? Does the student have a disability under §504? Can the student learn in the absence of print? Look at listening comp if no cognitive available. Exact cognitive ability less important than just ruling out a problem. Dyslexia Handbook page 23 On page 22 of the Handbook, TEA reminds us that “it is not one single indicator but a preponderance of data (formal and informal) that provide the committee with evidence for whetehr these difficulties are unexpected.” D A T A !

When Students Have IEPs If a student with dyslexia is found eligible for Special Education in the area of reading: Student’s IEP must include appropriate reading instruction ARD committee should include goals that reflect the need for dyslexia instruction in the IEP and determine the least restrictive environment for delivering the student’s dyslexia intervention. IIT should be collaborating with SPED teacher in these cases and should be included in the ARD and any staffings held. Programs such as SRA Corrective Reading Decoding are approved dyslexia intervention programs. L R E I E P S

Components of Intervention Phonological awareness-understanding of the internal sound structure of words Sound-symbol association-knowledge of the various speech sounds to the corresponding letter(s) Syllabication-rules for dividing syllables Orthography-written spelling patterns Morphology-how a base word, prefix, root, suffix combine to form words Syntax-the sequence and function of words in a sentence Reading comp.-extracting and constructing meaning from text Reading Fluency-ability to read with sufficient speed and accuracy to support comprehension Instructional decisions made by a committee that is knowledgeable about the instructional components and approaches for students with dyslexia. These definitions can be found in the Dyslexia Handbook page 26-27.

Delivery of Instruction No time requirement per state 504 committee or ARD determines amount of time for intervention Teacher must follow time outlined in plan Consider program recommendations and student’s schedule What is the student missing during intervention? T I M E

Questions X D E S I A L P U Y U U P P O R T D A T J N E T E jtracy@neisd.net 210-407-0283 E