What is Dyslexia?
Dyslexia can be defined as a person having difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. (Lyon et al., 2003)
As you begin your journey to support striving and dyslexic readers...
Paulo Freire (1973) said, “Literacy is vital to success in school and the workplace and more importantly to enjoyment in life and furthering critical awareness of the world. Literacy is not just about reading the word, but the world." It is crucial that educators consider students’ strengths, interests and needs when planning for striving and dyslexic students. These resources are but a jumping off point, a wetting of the appetite for deeper understanding, compassion and care for exceptional students.
Books and Documents
Reconceptualizing Disability in Education by Luigi Iannacci
Proust and the Squid by Maryanne Wolf
Fish in a Tree by Lynda Mullaly Hunt
Red by Michael Hall
OHRC Right to Read Report. Approved by the Ontario Human Rights Commission: January 27, 2022. (Students' Rights in Canada)
» ohrc.on.ca/en/right-to-read-inquiry-report/executive-summary
Webinars and Courses
OHRC Right to Read Inquiry Report Release (Streamed by the OHRC live on February 28, 2022) Posted by the Ontario Human Rights Commission
IDA Ontario On-Demand Course: Basics of Decoding and Spelling Instruction
» https://www.idaontario.com/wpeducation/basics-of-decoding-and-spelling-instruction/
Websites and Resources
Helping Every Teacher to Spot, Support and Empower Dyslexic Children, Made by Dyslexic
» madebydyslexia.org/teachers
ONlit
» onlit.org
International Dyslexia Association Ontario
» idaontario.com
Dyslexia Canada
» dyslexiacanada.org
Films
"Our Dyslexic Children" (short film) - Parents for Reading Justice: Dyslexia and Beyond, 2020
WATCH NOW
"Mical"
WATCH NOW
"Rock Boy" by Dyslexia Canada, Henry Bates
WATCH NOW
Research
Beckett, J. (2024). Dyslexia:‘The right diagnosis… The wrong treatment’. Support for Learning, 39(2), 71-84.
» https://nasenjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1467-9604.12472
Cross, L., Atherton, G., & Nicolson, R. I. (2024). People with dyslexia or dyscalculia are less biased: Results of a preregistered study from over 450,000 people on the implicit association test. Neurodiversity, 2, 27546330241288164.
» https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/27546330241288164
Snowling, M., & Hulme, C. (2024). Do we really need a new definition of dyslexia? A commentary. Annals of dyslexia, 1-8.
» https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s11881-024-00305-y.pdf
Curated by Instructor Jennifer Bates (jbates@trentu.ca)