Column: Students with dyslexia can succeed, with right kind of help

This striking statistic begs attention: 20%, or 1 in 5 students, whether in public or private school, needs extra help with reading and writing.

In a classroom of 30, that equals six students, ballooning to 20 for each 100 pupils, all requiring special oversight to make progress.

It could be a third-grader lagging behind in reading. It might be a middle-schooler struggling with homework, or a junior unable to organize a paper. It could also be a youngster who has “checked out” of school, feeling disconnected and overwhelmed.

October is Dyslexia Awareness Month statewide — a time for schools to jumpstart identifying these students, work with their parents, devise effective strategies and set up services to monitor, evaluate and counsel these students.

As a start, I recommend educators read “A Resource Guide About Dyslexia,” an HIDA (Hawaii branch of the International Dyslexia Association) manual by Kathy Ferguson, Ph.D., a University of Hawaii professor who brings experience and perspective as a tutor and parent of dyslexic sons. The guide outlines dyslexia indicators, profiles students and lists Hawaii resources.

As a reading tutor, I used to show families the Gift of Dyslexia website highlighting VIPs such as physics genius Albert Einstein, Olympian Caitlin Jenner, businessmen Charles Schwab and Sir Richard Branson who overcame obstacles. But I soon realized that, mired in the uncertainty, stigma and the emotional roller- coaster of dyslexia, families hardly appreciated “the gift.”

These success stories were hardly reassuring, since living with learning differences required effective strategies today, rather than assurances for the future.

So how were the above luminaries able to succeed? The short answer: Alert, diligent parents, teachers and mentors made the difference. Also indispensable are collaborative and inspired school administrators who do their part by:

>> Researching best practices for teaching and learning. Dyslexics blossom with an intensive, systematic phonics program. (The Orton-Gillingham method is my choice.) Phonics is paired with spelling strategies and reading comprehension techniques such as finding the main idea and summarizing. Research shows grammar fluency is an aid to reading, so covering parts of speech and sentence structure are other ways to boost reading and writing. Writing is a complex skill requiring explicit how-to steps explaining structure and format.

Best practices also includes measuring student skills. Besides the traditional essay, students might demonstrate mastery by creating a video or slide show, building a diorama, giving a talk, or interviewing an expert and summarizing it.

>> Finding technology that eases schoolwork. Spellcheck is a boon, as are audible books. Online organizers list writing ideas and help students outline stories and essays. Computers and laptops equipped with speech-to-text software are sure to delight reluctant writers. It’s high-tech magic: Record sentences and the computer types the text.

>> Scheduling time for teacher professional development. Hawaii is home to an army of teachers eager to add innovative ideas to their teaching toolbox. The challenge is scheduling adequate time during the school year to update, review and discuss the art and science of teaching.

>> Creating school-parent teams to address student needs. My 8-year-old tutoring student benefits when her team of parents, teachers and administrators collaborate on reading goals and strategies, homework and stress relief. Our teamwork guarantees the best outcomes for this youngster.

>> Setting up an open-door policy to listen without judgment to student and parent concerns. Parents as their children’s first teachers are intimately attuned to school problems. They’re motivated to understand problems and remedy them; they’re also interested in the teacher’s perspective and suggestions. Everyone sharing ideas is productive to the team.

>> Visiting classrooms and tutoring sessions to assess teaching and learning. With this first-hand information, principals and reading specialists will be able to work with teachers to institute best practices, create school-family teams and assure that no child is left behind, that each capitalizes on his “gift.”

Joyce Torrey teaches dyslexics to read.