Phone Monday through Friday 8:00 a.m.-6:00 p.m.
1-800-933-ASCD (2723)
Address 1703 North Beauregard St. Alexandria, VA 22311-1714
Complete Customer Service Details
April 2017 | Volume 74 | Number 7 Differences, Not Disabilities Pages 64-67
Kyle Redford
Students with dyslexia need intensive support—and protections matter in determining how much they get.
Research in neuroscience only confirms what I witness every day in the classroom: No two students share the same brain print. Each one learns differently, managing his or her own unique network of cognitive abilities and challenges to access information, make meaning, and express ideas. My students' interests, exposures, skills, and difficulties combine in complex ways to define their school experience. Even my "strugglers" struggle in unique ways.
A condition like dyslexia varies in the way that it impacts students because of the diverse intellectual strengths they are able to deploy to compensate for, and work around, their challenges. In fact, many of my dyslexic students, some of whom are among my deepest and most creative thinkers, ultimately manage to leverage their intellectual abilities to become community and scholastic leaders. Likewise, in the world beyond school, one doesn't need to look far to find high-profile dyslexics who left their academic struggles behind to become leaders in their chosen professional fields.
Join the education organization for all educators.
Get full access, plus expert resources and solutions to support whole child education.
Subscribe to Educational Leadership magazine and save up to 51% OFF the cover price.
Explore timely content from ASCD.