Choosing the Right Dyslexia Intervention (Part 1): Structured Literacy and Sounds-First vs Letters-First
Dyslexia Help for Kids: Reading, Spelling & Handwriting — Boost Your Child's Skills & Confidence with Days with DyslexiaShow Notes
This Days With Dyslexia podcast launches a five-part series on choosing effective dyslexia intervention without wasting time or money, based on the host’s experience as a parent and as a speech language pathologist who specializes in literacy. The episode explains that research supports structured literacy: explicit, systematic, multimodal instruction that integrates sounds, letters/letter patterns, and meaning (triple word form theory). It warns against meaning-first approaches (whole langua...
More from Dyslexia Help for Kids: Reading, Spelling & Handwriting — Boost Your Child's Skills & Confidence with Days with Dyslexia
From Letter Awareness to Literacy Success: A Brain-Based, Language-Driven Handwriting Framework This Days with Dyslexia podcast episode explains how to teach handwriting through a language-based framework that integrates executive function to support reading and spelling development. It describes common handwriting struggles (illegible writing, slow and effortful neat writing, difficulty forming letters during spelling, heavy pressure and erasing) and argues that handwriting by hand recruits ...
On the Days with Dyslexia podcast, Michelle interviews special education advocate Sue Lux, a former special ed teacher with over 20 years of experience, two master’s degrees (learning disabilities and administration/supervision with school law), and founder of a Vienna learning center and Assets Special Education, where she supports families nationwide with IEPs and 504 plans. Sue explains that many disputes stem from inadequate data and lack of specialized instruction required by IDEA,...
Dyslexia Advocacy for Parents, Part 1: Gathering Data and Documenting Concerns The episode launches a new advocacy-focused mini series focused what parents can do when schools say a child’s reading and spelling are “fine" even when a parent knows it's not. Michelle explains why the process is frustrating, how parents can move it forward without waiting on the school, and why school staff may share incomplete or distorted policy information. This episode emphasizes gathering data: findin...
In part five of a series on choosing dyslexia interventions, Michelle reviews differences between meaning-first (to avoid), letters-first programs (e.g., Orton-Gillingham, Barton, Wilson), and sounds-first instruction, then focuses on teaching high-frequency/sight words. Letters-first approaches often have students memorize “red” or irregular word letter strings by repeating letter names, while sounds-first instruction maps sounds to letters and incorporates sounds, letters, and meaning...