Dyslexia is a language-based learning disability of neurobiological origin. It is a unique wiring of the brain which results in difficulty with the phonological part of language that is unexpected given the cognitive abilities of the child and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Children with dyslexia often experience:

  • Difficulty with learning the names of the letters of the alphabet
  • Difficulty assigning sounds to specific letters
  • Difficulty decoding, blending, and segmenting
  • Difficulty reading with fluency and comprehension
  • Difficulty with rhyming
  • Difficulty spelling
  • Difficulty organizing thoughts and putting them on paper
  • Difficulty copying from the board
  • Spoken language/Word retrieval
  • Poor memory

At the Great Hearts Irving Lower School, we have a comprehensive set of procedures in place designed to both successfully identify students with dyslexia and, once identified, provide them with the supports and specialized instruction they require to help them attain similar levels of reading fluency and comprehension as their non-dyslexic peers. The State of Texas mandates that all students be screened for dyslexia using a state-approved dyslexia screening assessment halfway through their First Grade year. At Great Hearts Irving, the assessment we use is called DIBELS. (For more on the DIBELS assessment, visit greatheartsirving.org/testing.)

Each spring, following the state-mandated dyslexia screening that occurs in First Grade, we host an annual Dyslexia Awareness Night. Parents of first graders who showed signs of dyslexia on this screening, as well as parents of scholars in other grade levels who have been identified as possibly in need of further evaluation for dyslexia, are invited to learn more about dyslexia from our certified dyslexia therapist Ms. Karen de la Chapelle. This year’s Dyslexia Awareness Night will be held Thursday, February 8th from 6 to 7pm and will be hosted virtually over Zoom. Ms. de la Chapelle will reach out directly to invited families to provide details on how to attend.