I am looking for answers on what my daughter’s teacher and I can do to help her succeed. She is nine years old and still has reversals in her writing, mainly with numbers (2,3, and 5’s). Her teacher suggested getting her an assessment at school, which came back with 14th percentile for phonological awareness, 8th percentile phonological memory, and 12th percentile in rapid symbolic naming. I am very confused, though, because this girl has been reading Harry Potter and LOVES to read. She can tell me about books she read last year. Her reading tests at school put her at the 78th percentile on the MAP. Her disdain is not with reading, it is with Math (where she was at a 53), and she hates her handwriting.

I am lost and want to do everything to help her but don’t know where to even begin. I welcome any information, references, or help.

First, I’m impressed that your daughter’s teacher has picked up that there may be a problem, which is sometimes a challenge when we have a ‘bright’ student, particularly one who is testing well on the school’s standardized reading measures. It seems her teacher sees that your daughter is not achieving to her potential. Second, letter (and number) reversals that persist past 2nd grade can be a red flag for dyslexia. Challenges with handwriting can be another red flag. Our students with dyslexia can also have challenges with math (e.g. learning math facts, remembering/orchestrating the steps to solve a problem, understanding story problems). Last, your daughter’s phonological processing scores in all three areas – phonological awareness, phonological memory, and rapid naming – are all below average, and her score on phonological memory falls in the clinically disordered range (i.e., below the 10th percentile). I am not making a diagnosis here—just letting you know the behaviors and scores that would get my attention if she were coming to me for an assessment.

We can see students who so “fine” in school with “learning to read” during the early elementary years because the curriculum is strongly supported through the oral modality (i.e., the teacher is providing instruction and supporting students’ learning verbally). This begins to change as students transition from 3rd to 4th grade when they now have to use their “reading to learn.” I get a lot of referrals for diagnostic assessments around this time in a student’s life. Beginning around 4th grade, words that students are required to read become much harder, and they are required to read longer passages. Approximately 60-80% of unfamiliar words in 4th grade and beyond are morphologically complex (i.e., many syllables that contain prefixes, base words, roots, and suffixes). Students must have strong decoding skills and strategies to read (and spell) these words and access grade-level text.

I love that your daughter is reading Harry Potter. The research is clear that the more one reads, the better a reader one becomes. My suspicion is that her phonological awareness skills at the 14th percentile are/were strong enough for her to learn letter-sound correspondences to succeed in reading early on. We may see her having more challenges now that she is getting older. Her phonological memory challenges could now start to be a problem given all she has to remember in order to read longer, more complicated words and texts (and spell words and write). Also, naming speed (i.e., speed of accessing phonological information) has been found to be closely related to efficient word recognition, reading rate, and orthographic skill (i.e., understanding and facility with letter patterns and spelling rules). We can find that students with dyslexia, ultimately, can decode the text, but they may not be efficient in doing so, and therefore, it takes them longer to read (and write).

The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) has updated the definition of dyslexia, which I have here https://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/parents/learn-about-dyslexia/what-is-dyslexia/. I recommend getting a copy of Overcoming Dyslexia (2020), which Dr. Sally Shaywitz wrote for parents. Dr. Shaywitz explains what dyslexia is, how to assess/diagnose it, and, importantly, how to intervene. The IDA coined the term “structured literacy” to talk about the type of intervention students with dyslexia need early on. Programs that help students develop stronger phonological awareness, orthographic knowledge, and morphological knowledge are key. Additionally, our students with dyslexia need instruction in reading comprehension strategies and written expression. They also need accommodations in the classroom to allow for equal access and participation in school.

You may have to get a private comprehensive assessment because right now you only have a small piece to the puzzle. I do think that your daughter is lucky to have such an astute teacher who sees the disconnect between your daughter’s capabilities and classroom performance. The teacher can help you navigate the school landscape as the team will need to demonstrate that your daughter’s challenges are adversely affecting her education. I’m wondering if she had a full assessment in school and did not meet the criteria for eligibility, which does not mean she does not have dyslexia. It can be tricky when those MAP test scores are within the average range. An outside evaluation could be helpful. A good comprehensive assessment will not only identify her pattern of strengths and weaknesses and provide a template of where to begin intervention, but it will also assist with determining the accommodations she may need.