Dyslexia

The Texas Education Code defines dyslexia in the following way: Dyslexia means a disorder of constitutional origin manifested by a difficulty in learning to read, write, or spell, despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence, and sociocultural opportunity.

The International Dyslexia Association defines “dyslexia” in the following way:

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by 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. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.

Dyslexia Characteristics

The following are the reading/spelling characteristics of dyslexia:

  • Difficulty reading words in isolation;
  • Difficulty accurately decoding unfamiliar words;
  • Difficulty with oral reading (slow, inaccurate, or labored);
  • Difficulty spelling.

The reading/spelling characteristics are most often associated with the following:

  • Segmenting, blending, and manipulating sounds in words (phonemic awareness);
  • Learning the names of letters and their associated sounds;
  • Holding information about sounds and words in memory (phonological memory);
  • Rapidly recalling the names of familiar objects, colors, or letters of the alphabet (rapid naming).

Consequences of dyslexia may include the following:

  • Variable difficulty with aspects of reading comprehension;
  • Variable difficulty with aspects of written language;
  • Limited vocabulary growth do to reduced reading experiences.
​Talking Book Program & Bookshare from the Texas State Library

Students identified with dyslexia or a related disorder or determined to have reading difficulties have the ability to borrow audiobooks for free from the Talking Book Program and Bookshare. Contact your campus dyslexia specialist for more assistance.

Talking Book Program

Bookshare