dyslexia help
Dyslexia and Reading Help for Birmingham-Area Parents
Your child is bright, curious, and working hard, and reading still isn't clicking. If something in your gut says this is more than a slow start, it's worth listening to. Here's how Alabama schools approach reading struggles, and where dyslexia fits.
WHAT ALABAMA SCHOOLS DO
Alabama screens young readers and steps in when they struggle.
Under the Alabama Literacy Act, schools screen K-3 readers and give intervention to those who fall behind, including dyslexia-specific intervention. Third graders must also show sufficient reading skills to move up, and the required score went up this school year.
From Hoover to Trussville, each district sets its own screening steps. You don't have to wait for those steps to finish before asking questions or requesting an evaluation.
Intervention is not the same as an evaluation.
Reading intervention is general education support. It's valuable, and it continues no matter what. But if a learning disability is suspected, state guidance says intervention shouldn't delay a special education evaluation. Alabama usually expects at least eight weeks of classroom intervention, before or during the evaluation, but that can be waived when a parent makes the referral.
Dyslexia isn't its own eligibility category in Alabama. It's named in the definition of Specific Learning Disability. A formal diagnosis isn't required for support. Alabama also doesn't require schools to find a large gap between ability and achievement scores, though some districts still use one, so it's fair to ask which method yours uses.
Sources: Alabama Literacy Act, Ala. Code § 16-6G; Ala. Admin. Code r. 290-8-9-.01(4) and .03(10); ALSDE Alabama Dyslexia Resource Guide (2022); OSEP Memo 11-07. Not legal advice.
You know your child best. I help you advocate like it.
From our kitchen table in Birmingham.
THE SHORT VERSION
A learning disability doesn't mean less. It means your child learns in a different language, and deserves teaching built for how she learns.
QUESTIONS
TO ASK
FOUR CALM, USEFUL QUESTIONS
Which reading skills is my child working on, and how is progress measured?
Has my child been screened for characteristics of dyslexia? May I see the results?
How long has she been in intervention, and what does the progress data show?
Given what we're seeing, can we talk about a special education evaluation?
REMEMBER:
let's work together
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