Parents


Welcome!

No matter how you started on the path to learning more about dyslexia, we are all walking together. By promoting structured literacy through research, education and advocacy, we at the Rocky Mountain Branch hope we can answer some questions for you along the way. We are here to help!

Click the links below for valuable information, about a variety of topics, you may find helpful!

What is Dyslexia?

The I.D.A. Dyslexia Handbook: What Every Family Needs to Know

I.D.A. Fact Sheets about Dyslexia

A Parent’s Guide to Response to Intervention (RTI)
(The National Center for Learning Disabilities)

Understanding 504 Plans By The Understood Team

Online Resources

Spanish Resources (en Español)

Colorado Dept. of Education

IDA Membership Benefits for Parents

RMB Service Provider Referral List

 

 


Click Here for Learning Ally’s Parent as Advocate – Parent Webinar Series.

Looking for a therapist, diagnostician, or tutor?

WTeacher-Student-Laptophile the IDA does not recommend or endorse any individual, business, school, or program, the following list of providers is available to help inform parents, advocates, and other stakeholders seeking professional services. Please contact the individual providers on the list to check on their availability and to answer any questions you may have about their practices and methodologies

Download our Service Provider Referral List


Colorado Kids – Parent Groups

Parents of struggling readers / dyslexic students in Colorado – you are not alone! Please CLICK HERE to join a local group to connect with other parents in your area to share successes and support each other with challenges. There is power in numbers, and we need each other! If you don’t see a group in your area and are interested in starting one, feel free to reach out – we can help! If you are part of a group that isn’t listed, please let us know and we’ll add to our list!  Also, subscribe to the cokid.org website to stay informed of state-level advocacy efforts for dyslexic students.

What is Dyslexia?

Dyslexia is a learning disability that affects one’s ability to easily process written and/or verbal language. It is the most common cause of reading, writing and spelling difficulties. Dyslexia is not a disease; it has no cure. Furthermore, it affects males and females nearly equally, as well as people from different ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds. Dyslexia results from differences in the structure and function of the brain. This neurological difference causes individuals with dyslexia to learn differently. The problem is not behavioral, psychological, motivational, or social. It is not a problem of vision; people with dyslexia do not “see backward.”

The following definition of dyslexia was adopted by the I.D.A. board of Directors, November 12th, 2002. This definition is also used by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD):

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological 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.

What Characteristics Accompany Dyslexia?
(Note that few individuals with dyslexia exhibit all the potential signs.)

  • Delayed spoken language
  • Errors in letter naming
  • Difficulty in learning and remembering printed words
  • Repeated spelling errors
  • Difficulty with handwriting
  • Difficulty in finding the “right” word when speaking
  • Slow rate of writing
  • Deficient written and oral language skills
  • Uncertainty as to right- or left-handedness
  • Difficulties in mathematical calculations
  • Difficulties with language in math problems
  • Similar problems among relatives
  • Difficulty with organization
  • Lack of awareness of sounds in words, sound order, rhymes, or sequence of syllables
  • Difficulty decoding words – single word identification
  • Difficulty encoding words – spelling
  • Poor sequencing of numbers, of letters in words, when read or written, e.g.: b-d; sing-sign; left-felt; soiled-solid; 12-21
  • Problems with reading comprehension
  • Difficulty expressing thoughts in written form
  • Imprecise or incomplete interpretation of language that is heard
  • Difficulty in expressing thoughts orally
  • Confusion about directions in space or time (right & left, up & down, early & late, yesterday & tomorrow, months & days)

 

Policy Statement on Dyslexia and Vision

Joint Technical Report – Learning Disabilities, Dyslexia, and Vision (reaffirmed 2014)
A collaboration between The American Academy of Pediatrics Section on Ophthalmology and Council on Children with Disabilities, American Academy of Ophthalmology, American Association for Pediatric Ophthalmology and Strabismus, and American Association of Certified Orthoptists.