Dyslexia Screening and the Use of Acadience Reading K–6
Introduction:
What Is Dyslexia?
Dyslexia is a learning disorder characterized by significant difficulty with skills involved in accurate and fluent reading and spelling. While there is no single definition of dyslexia that is used universally, educators, researchers, and policy makers generally agree that the defining characteristic of dyslexia is a severe deficit in word reading. There is also general agreement that, to be diagnosed with dyslexia, children must have adequate vision and hearing acuity along with adequate cognitive skills to be able to learn to read (Elliot, 2020; International Dyslexia Association, 2002).
Increasingly, experts in the field of reading research point to multifactorial models of dyslexia, wherein risk factors interact with protective factors and the risk of dyslexia is increased or reduced (Catts & Petscher, 2018; Pennington et.al., 2012). There is, in fact, evidence to suggest that risk for dyslexia may be reduced through early identification and intervention on the essential early literacy and reading skills (e.g, Foorman & Torgesen, 2001; O’Connor, Harty, & Fulmer, 2005). In prevention models, effective instruction of essential skills becomes a critical protective factor.