IOWA PASSES FIRST DYSLEXIA LAW
On April 9th, 2014 Senate File 2319 was signed into Iowa law effectively defining dyslexia as "a specific and significant impairment in the development of reading, including but not limited to phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, that is not solely accounted for by intellectual disability, sensory disability or impairment, or lack of appropriate instruction" and addressing future educator training.
Defining dyslexia in the educational setting acknowledges that it is an identifiable disorder apart from less understood reading difficulties. Unlike other reading difficulties, the underlying neurobiology of dyslexia, as well as the way it manifests itself and the outcomes of proven treatment strategies are well documented. By naming and defining dyslexia in Iowa law the first steps have been taken to assure students with dyslexia get the assessment and specific treatment they need to succeed. |
Students struggling with reading disabilities are already benefiting from the 2012 Early Literacy Law (Iowa Code Section 279.68), most of which went into effect August 1, 2014. Now, with dyslexia being recognized as a specific reading disorder, dyslexic students will benefit even more from the following provisions it enacts.
Iowa Department of Education Early Literacy Implementation
So What Exactly is Dyslexia?
The International Dyslexia Association defines 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 the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge."
Secondary Symptoms
According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, some secondary symptoms students may exhibit include:
Iowa Department of Education Early Literacy Implementation
- Provision of an evidence-based summer reading program for students who exhibit a substantial deficiency in reading (Effective May 1, 2017)
- Retention of any student who is not proficient in reading by the end of the third grade, did not attend the summer reading program, and does not qualify for a good cause exemption from the retention requirement (Effective May 1, 2017)
- Provision of universal screening in reading for students in kindergarten through third grade
- Progress monitoring for students who exhibit a substantial deficiency in reading
- Provision of intensive instruction – including 90 minutes daily of scientific, research-based reading instruction - for students who exhibit a substantial deficiency in reading
- Notice to parents that a student exhibits a substantial deficiency in reading, including strategies the parents can use at home to help the child succeed
- Notice to parents of such a student’s subsequent progress
So What Exactly is Dyslexia?
The International Dyslexia Association defines 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 the growth of vocabulary and background knowledge."
Secondary Symptoms
According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, some secondary symptoms students may exhibit include:

- Failure to fully understand what others are saying
- Difficulty organizing written and spoken language
- Delayed ability to speak
- Poor self-expression (for example, saying "thing" or "stuff" for words not recalled)
- Difficulty learning new vocabulary, either through reading or hearing
- Trouble learning foreign languages
- Slowness in learning songs and rhymes
- Slow reading as well as giving up on longer reading tasks
- Difficulty understanding questions and following directions
- Poor spelling
- Difficulty recalling numbers in sequence (for example, telephone numbers and addresses)
- Trouble distinguishing left from right
Help your students succeed! Learn more about helping students succeed by identifying dyslexia, providing support strategies and implementing remediation plans by enrolling in these accredited courses.
Examining: Overcoming Dyslexia
Examining Dyslexia: Remediation that Works
Examining: Overcoming Dyslexia
Examining Dyslexia: Remediation that Works