Helping Students with Dyslexia and Related Reading Disorders
I have been helping students with dyslexia and related reading disorders since 2021. It’s remarkable how long it has taken me to get to this point in my teaching career. In the Fall of 1998 I got a job teaching a 3/4 combo Speech Language Disorders Special Day Class. With a new bachelor’s degree in Communicative Disorders, my plan at the time was to teach while earning a Master’s Degree in Speech Language Pathology. It turned out I loved the classroom so much, I decided to earn a multiple subject teaching credential.
A Degree in Whole Language Does not Help Students with Dyslexia!
After earning my teaching credential, I pursued a Masters in Education with an emphasis in Reading/Language Arts, and a specialist credential in reading. Certainly at the time I was sure I had everything I needed to help children learn to read and write. No question, I taught a lot of children to read. However, there were many students who did not make as much progress as I would have liked. Despite employing every trick in the book and every tool in my reading specialist toolbelt, I was unsuccessful at helping all of my struggling readers. Many of my teaching years were spent looking for strategies to help those students.
What is LETRS?
Fast forward to 2019, my first year of Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS), which was developed by Dr. Louisa Moats and Dr. Carol Tolman. At the start of the training I completed an online exam. It was shocking that I found myself struggling with it, and only achieving a score of 60%! At that moment I did not feel confident that my reading specialist training had equipped me with what I really needed.
LETRS is a two-year professional development training that provides teachers with an in-depth background in language and literacy they almost certainly did not learn in their teacher credentialing program. It was during this training that I first learned about Tumner and Gough’s Simple View of Reading. Why didn’t I know about the Science of Reading before? Why wasn’t an understanding of dyslexia built into my teacher credentialing and reading specialist programs?
LETRS Training Helps Teachers Support all Struggling Readers
More useful information for helping struggling readers was covered in the first year of LETRS than in my entire two-year Masters degree program for reading specialists. It wasn’t my struggling readers who had a problem; my whole language, balanced literacy teaching was the culprit. With zero tools and knowledge for helping children with dyslexia and related reading disorders, I was unable to help my students who needed me the most.
Dyslexia Specialists are Required to Pass a National Certification Exam
After completing my LETRS training, I applied for a new reading specialist position in my K-12 school district. The new position included dyslexia interventionist training from Neuhaus Education Center. After completing the two-year program, I studied for the Knowledge and Practice Examination for Effective Reading Instruction (KPEERI) exam. My passing score allowed me to become a certified structured literacy dyslexia interventionist (C-SLDI).
My Ultimate Goal for Helping Students with Dyslexia was to become a Dyslexia Therapist
Two years after completing my C-SLDI, I thought about taking my training to the next level. Even with my dyslexia interventionist training, I had a few students who were not making adequate progress. The following year I entered Neuhaus Education Center’s Dyslexia Specialist Preparation Program. Throughout the program, I worked with the very students who had inspired me to deepen my knowledge of effectively teaching students with reading disorders. My students made excellent progress. Thinking about how far my students have come really makes me emotional. Becoming a CALT (certified academic language therapist) is an extraordinary investment of time and money.
Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS) Training was My First Introduction to Dyslexia
Last October I attended the International Dyslexia Association’s (IDA) Conference in Dallas, Texas. I ran into my LETRS instructor, Dr. Antonio Fierro. Excitedly I shared all that I had done since my initial training. I have always wanted to thank Dr. Moats for creating LETRS. I packed one of her many books in my suitcase in the hopes of having her sign it at the conference. On the second day of the conference, I received an opportunity of a lifetime. I met Dr. Moats and shared just how much my LETRS training meant to me. My literacy hero signed my book!
Finally, on Wednesday, July 16, 2025 I received the news I had been waiting for. I opened an email from the Academic Language Therapy Association (ALTA) congratulating me on passing the national therapist exam and welcoming me officially as a Certified Academic Language Therapist. Now that I have achieved my goal, I want to advocate for more public school teachers to receive dyslexia specialist training. Dyslexia specialists are sorely needed in my home state of California. I recently wrote an blog about the need for dyslexia specialists in California public schools which you can read here.
Find your Local International Dyslexia Association(IDA) and Reading League Chapters and Get Involved to Help Students with Dyslexia
As a founding member of The Reading League California, I regularly attend scheduled events that affirm my commitment to improving literacy for all students. If you want to learn more about helping students with dyslexia and related reading disorders consider joining your local Reading League or International Dyslexia Association Chapter. There is power in community!
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