Dyslexia is a common problem many students face in Missouri. However, a new law will require all Missouri students to be screened for the learning disability. KRCU's Marissanne Lewis-Thompson spoke with State Rep. Kathy Swan who helped spearhead the legislation.
Lewis-Thompson: Recently governor Nixon signed into law a piece of legislation that you constructed about dyslexia. Can tell me a little bit about what the new law will do?
Swan: Yes, there's a task force initially--the 21 member task force that will study the issue. And members are to be appointed by the president pro tempore of the senate and speaker of the house by September 1. So, we're getting a very quick start after this bill takes effect on August 28. That particular task force has professionals who have expertise in dyslexia as well as individuals who are also have been determined to be dyslexic. That group will study dyslexia in the state of Missouri and come forth with a plan that they will submit to the [Missouri] Department of Elementary and Secondary Education as to what we need to be doing about dyslexia in the state. Particularly regarding children in our schools and when the screening should be done.
Lewis-Thompson: What would the screening process look like?
Swan: Probably I would anticipate there are several free or very low cost screening tools out there. One is on "Lexercise." It's a website that can be easily learned and easily administered by a teacher. Of course our teachers will be trained as well, and I would suspect that might be one of the tools that might be recommended. There is a new dyslexia specialist who's been hired at the department. She began work earlier this year.
Lewis-Thompson: Now the screening isn’t necessarily a diagnosis, correct? How would parents go about getting a diagnosis?
Swan: That is correct. It reveals the likelihood if a child is dyslexic. And then of course it's similar to a vision screening test and all of us have had those in school obviously at some point. A notice [is] sent home or parents are contacted. It appears that your child may have a likelihood of being dyslexic. At that point then the parent takes over as far as any additional testing. There are a battery of tests that can be administered by professionals and psychologists to actually make some sort of a final determination. But if there's a likelihood there are some very simple things that can be done in the classroom to help that child.
Lewis-Thompson: Like what for example?
Swan: Well one thing is if they participate in round robin type of reading is to not require that child to participate, because it can be very embarrassing. These children are usually very bright children. And they feel badly if they are called upon to read and they have difficulty reading. They could be made fun of by other students. Another technique that's used is to allow a child who is most likely dyslexic not to take a test in writing. Or to give the child more time to take the test and give the test verbally, because their auditory response is faster for them than it is trying to read out words and sound them out while taking a test.
Lewis-Thompson: Teachers are clearly going to be trained in this. How long will that training session go for them?
Swan: It's a couple of hours. And the bill language itself takes about a couple of hours of professional development training for them, because what they would be trained in is the screening portion after it's determined what screening tools would be recommended by the department based upon the recommendations from the work of this task force. Then the department will make guidelines in recommendations to districts. So, it'd be on the use of those tools and classroom accommodations. The simple ones such as: if you have a child who has been screened and seems to have a likelihood of being dyslexic then perhaps consider not requiring that child to take a written test. Give the test verbally.
Lewis-Thompson: How big of a problem is Dyslexia in Missouri schools?
Swan: Well 10-20 percent of the population in our country are dyslexic. So, it could be 1 in 5. That's a large percentage. You don't outgrow it. You learn how to adapt. There are adults who are dyslexic even adults that don't know that they are until maybe they're in their 20s and they realize what's going. It's a neurological condition that is often passed down through families. So it has a hereditary component. So this is an issue. And when we look at statistics of the results of dyslexia and when it is not recognized and interventions are not taken. There's a statistic that 35 percent of dyslexics drop out of high school. Up to 90 percent of some prison populations the inmates are dyslexic. A large percentage of those in an alcohol or substance abuse program are dyslexic. And a large percentage of juveniles in the juvenile justice system are dyslexic. So, there is quite a negative repercussion in our nation for not recognizing dyslexia in children and developing interventions to help them.
Lewis-Thompson: Let’s shift our focus to youth in the juvenile justice system. Often times a lot of youth in the juvenile justice system have dyslexia and they aren’t aware of it. How would this law benefit those youth? Is it too late for them at this point?
Swan: Well first the bill which will become law in a few weeks doesn't apply to them unless they are currently in the school system. But no it's not too late for them. I believe it's never too late to determine how to help someone regardless of what the issue is. And it's certainly not to late for them. Dyslexia can be defined as a reading failure. And imagine going through your life having difficulty reading. It impacts every aspect of your life. And if you get off on the wrong track because you can't read and drop out of school, obviously that impacts the ability to get a good job, [and] to provide for your family. So, it's time. It's time that we address this issue. And if we need to do something with the juvenile justice system perhaps that is the next step that we need to really take a very hard look at.
Lewis-Thompson: There was this article that I read about youth, and it was from the U.S. Department of Justice. And it talked about youth who have learning disabilities that go beyond dyslexia. And it has a profound impact on how they learn in school. And so, when you have kids that are not currently in the school system, but they're of school age, what do we do from legislative standpoint to get them help as well? Do those youth have options even though they're not in the school system right now?
Swan: You know I always believe that's it's better to try to do something without legislation. And one thing that could happen as a result of this is that our schools realize what a significant issue this is. And there are and we have one here an alternative program that we will begin to recognize it and to screen even children who are in those programs. Perhaps this might even be a recommendation that comes forth from this task force. Because obviously they are not individuals who are professionals dealing with this are not simply dealing with first, second and third graders, which will probably be one of the years in which that task force will indicate children should be screened. So hopefully, they may come forth with something that says 'we really need to do something, and we recommend that you look at those students in the juvenile justice or those in alternative programs. You know we also have Missouri drug courts that have been successful. And perhaps what we need to consider is, do we need to screen individuals that are in the drug court system for dyslexia. And if they are then we need some interventions for those as well. I mean as we indicated earlier you don't outgrow this. You learn to adapt to it. And depending on the severity of the reading failure issue in a child or an adult will determine exactly what types of interventions need to be taken. So, perhaps we need to certainly look at this in our drug court system as well.
Lewis-Thompson: And this is going to take effect during the school year 2018-2019, correct?
Swan: That is correct. The task force works for the next year. The department then will develop guidelines so that those recommendations and guidelines from the department then will be implemented in the 2018-2019 school year.
