Outside of School Resources and IEP for newly diagnosed dyslexia

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone diagnosed dyslexia in a five year old who hasn't started kindergarten yet? That is incredibly concerning. I would hold off on pursuing tutoring or extra supports and instead see how your child does in kindergarten reading instruction.

I know you mean well, but you are wrong. Dyslexia is neurobiological. You can identify a dyslexic brain in an FMRI at 18 months. The core deficit in dyslexia is phonological, basically the ability to hear and separate individual sounds in the unbroken stream of speech. It is such a tiny thing, but it is essential to reading. If you can teach that skill before the child is taught phonics they have the possibility to learn to read “normally”. If they go into phonics instruction with the core deficit unremediated they can’t learn phonics. You need to be able to segment the speech sounds before you can’t map them to letters.

No, I'm not. For background, I am a psychologist and diagnose learning disabilities. First, just because something is neurobiological does not mean it can be identified at any age with brain scans. While there are certain neurological differences that we can see on scans, these differences are not diagnostic. This is true for many diagnoses (e.g., autism, depression). Second, phonological processing is core to dyslexia. However, early deficits in phonological processing may indicate children who are at risk for dyslexia, but are not enough to diagnose dyslexia. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability in reading. If someone is not yet at an age where they can be developmentally expected to read (and have also not been in school yet), they cannot be reliably or validly diagnosed with dyslexia.

I believe there may be new research you aren’t familiar with. Age appropriate phonological awareness (and there is a skill set that is developmentally appropriate for every age) isn’t just correlated with dyslexia, it is predictive of struggle acquiring reading. And improving phonological awareness at age 5-6 is preventative - it makes reading failure less likely. This child does not need phonics yet. That isn’t age appropriate. She needs explicit phonological awareness training, and moving into linking speech sounds to letter shapes.

I know many professionals prefer a watch and wait approach. It is risky, though, because kids with dyslexia can get turned off school and internalize reading failure very early. By first grade many dyslexic kids already have experienced repeated failure and are starting to have negative behaviors and coping strategies. When they do begin to read they rely on guessing and rote memory. It is unnecessary suffering.

I truly say this with respect for you and what you do for kids every day. Consider whether the research supports early diagnosis and referral to services. I believe it does, as do the dyslexia professional associations I belong to.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone diagnosed dyslexia in a five year old who hasn't started kindergarten yet? That is incredibly concerning. I would hold off on pursuing tutoring or extra supports and instead see how your child does in kindergarten reading instruction.

I know you mean well, but you are wrong. Dyslexia is neurobiological. You can identify a dyslexic brain in an FMRI at 18 months. The core deficit in dyslexia is phonological, basically the ability to hear and separate individual sounds in the unbroken stream of speech. It is such a tiny thing, but it is essential to reading. If you can teach that skill before the child is taught phonics they have the possibility to learn to read “normally”. If they go into phonics instruction with the core deficit unremediated they can’t learn phonics. You need to be able to segment the speech sounds before you can’t map them to letters.

No, I'm not. For background, I am a psychologist and diagnose learning disabilities. First, just because something is neurobiological does not mean it can be identified at any age with brain scans. While there are certain neurological differences that we can see on scans, these differences are not diagnostic. This is true for many diagnoses (e.g., autism, depression). Second, phonological processing is core to dyslexia. However, early deficits in phonological processing may indicate children who are at risk for dyslexia, but are not enough to diagnose dyslexia. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability in reading. If someone is not yet at an age where they can be developmentally expected to read (and have also not been in school yet), they cannot be reliably or validly diagnosed with dyslexia.

I believe there may be new research you aren’t familiar with. Age appropriate phonological awareness (and there is a skill set that is developmentally appropriate for every age) isn’t just correlated with dyslexia, it is predictive of struggle acquiring reading. And improving phonological awareness at age 5-6 is preventative - it makes reading failure less likely. This child does not need phonics yet. That isn’t age appropriate. She needs explicit phonological awareness training, and moving into linking speech sounds to letter shapes.

I know many professionals prefer a watch and wait approach. It is risky, though, because kids with dyslexia can get turned off school and internalize reading failure very early. By first grade many dyslexic kids already have experienced repeated failure and are starting to have negative behaviors and coping strategies. When they do begin to read they rely on guessing and rote memory. It is unnecessary suffering.

I truly say this with respect for you and what you do for kids every day. Consider whether the research supports early diagnosis and referral to services. I believe it does, as do the dyslexia professional associations I belong to.

NP here. I wish more school psychologists were familiar with this research so that more kids could be identified and get help earlier.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone diagnosed dyslexia in a five year old who hasn't started kindergarten yet? That is incredibly concerning. I would hold off on pursuing tutoring or extra supports and instead see how your child does in kindergarten reading instruction.

I know you mean well, but you are wrong. Dyslexia is neurobiological. You can identify a dyslexic brain in an FMRI at 18 months. The core deficit in dyslexia is phonological, basically the ability to hear and separate individual sounds in the unbroken stream of speech. It is such a tiny thing, but it is essential to reading. If you can teach that skill before the child is taught phonics they have the possibility to learn to read “normally”. If they go into phonics instruction with the core deficit unremediated they can’t learn phonics. You need to be able to segment the speech sounds before you can’t map them to letters.

No, I'm not. For background, I am a psychologist and diagnose learning disabilities. First, just because something is neurobiological does not mean it can be identified at any age with brain scans. While there are certain neurological differences that we can see on scans, these differences are not diagnostic. This is true for many diagnoses (e.g., autism, depression). Second, phonological processing is core to dyslexia. However, early deficits in phonological processing may indicate children who are at risk for dyslexia, but are not enough to diagnose dyslexia. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability in reading. If someone is not yet at an age where they can be developmentally expected to read (and have also not been in school yet), they cannot be reliably or validly diagnosed with dyslexia.

I believe there may be new research you aren’t familiar with. Age appropriate phonological awareness (and there is a skill set that is developmentally appropriate for every age) isn’t just correlated with dyslexia, it is predictive of struggle acquiring reading. And improving phonological awareness at age 5-6 is preventative - it makes reading failure less likely. This child does not need phonics yet. That isn’t age appropriate. She needs explicit phonological awareness training, and moving into linking speech sounds to letter shapes.

I know many professionals prefer a watch and wait approach. It is risky, though, because kids with dyslexia can get turned off school and internalize reading failure very early. By first grade many dyslexic kids already have experienced repeated failure and are starting to have negative behaviors and coping strategies. When they do begin to read they rely on guessing and rote memory. It is unnecessary suffering.

I truly say this with respect for you and what you do for kids every day. Consider whether the research supports early diagnosis and referral to services. I believe it does, as do the dyslexia professional associations I belong to.

I am aware, and fully support screening and early intervention. The great thing is that we don't need diagnoses to provide phonological processing and reading interventions, either in schools or privately. There are many options between diagnosing pre-kindergarteners with dyslexia and "watch and wait." Most (if not all) public schools in this area have reading intervention groups for kids who are identified as being at risk for reading difficulties.

Also, how familiar are you with phonics-based reading curriculums? Kindergarten level instruction includes phonological awareness (segmentation, blending, etc.) without a connection to written letters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone diagnosed dyslexia in a five year old who hasn't started kindergarten yet? That is incredibly concerning. I would hold off on pursuing tutoring or extra supports and instead see how your child does in kindergarten reading instruction.

I know you mean well, but you are wrong. Dyslexia is neurobiological. You can identify a dyslexic brain in an FMRI at 18 months. The core deficit in dyslexia is phonological, basically the ability to hear and separate individual sounds in the unbroken stream of speech. It is such a tiny thing, but it is essential to reading. If you can teach that skill before the child is taught phonics they have the possibility to learn to read “normally”. If they go into phonics instruction with the core deficit unremediated they can’t learn phonics. You need to be able to segment the speech sounds before you can’t map them to letters.

No, I'm not. For background, I am a psychologist and diagnose learning disabilities. First, just because something is neurobiological does not mean it can be identified at any age with brain scans. While there are certain neurological differences that we can see on scans, these differences are not diagnostic. This is true for many diagnoses (e.g., autism, depression). Second, phonological processing is core to dyslexia. However, early deficits in phonological processing may indicate children who are at risk for dyslexia, but are not enough to diagnose dyslexia. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability in reading. If someone is not yet at an age where they can be developmentally expected to read (and have also not been in school yet), they cannot be reliably or validly diagnosed with dyslexia.

I believe there may be new research you aren’t familiar with. Age appropriate phonological awareness (and there is a skill set that is developmentally appropriate for every age) isn’t just correlated with dyslexia, it is predictive of struggle acquiring reading. And improving phonological awareness at age 5-6 is preventative - it makes reading failure less likely. This child does not need phonics yet. That isn’t age appropriate. She needs explicit phonological awareness training, and moving into linking speech sounds to letter shapes.

I know many professionals prefer a watch and wait approach. It is risky, though, because kids with dyslexia can get turned off school and internalize reading failure very early. By first grade many dyslexic kids already have experienced repeated failure and are starting to have negative behaviors and coping strategies. When they do begin to read they rely on guessing and rote memory. It is unnecessary suffering.

I truly say this with respect for you and what you do for kids every day. Consider whether the research supports early diagnosis and referral to services. I believe it does, as do the dyslexia professional associations I belong to.

Which dyslexia professional associations recommend diagnosing pre-kindergarteners with dyslexia? I'm eager to do more reading if this is true.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone diagnosed dyslexia in a five year old who hasn't started kindergarten yet? That is incredibly concerning. I would hold off on pursuing tutoring or extra supports and instead see how your child does in kindergarten reading instruction.

I know you mean well, but you are wrong. Dyslexia is neurobiological. You can identify a dyslexic brain in an FMRI at 18 months. The core deficit in dyslexia is phonological, basically the ability to hear and separate individual sounds in the unbroken stream of speech. It is such a tiny thing, but it is essential to reading. If you can teach that skill before the child is taught phonics they have the possibility to learn to read “normally”. If they go into phonics instruction with the core deficit unremediated they can’t learn phonics. You need to be able to segment the speech sounds before you can’t map them to letters.

No, I'm not. For background, I am a psychologist and diagnose learning disabilities. First, just because something is neurobiological does not mean it can be identified at any age with brain scans. While there are certain neurological differences that we can see on scans, these differences are not diagnostic. This is true for many diagnoses (e.g., autism, depression). Second, phonological processing is core to dyslexia. However, early deficits in phonological processing may indicate children who are at risk for dyslexia, but are not enough to diagnose dyslexia. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability in reading. If someone is not yet at an age where they can be developmentally expected to read (and have also not been in school yet), they cannot be reliably or validly diagnosed with dyslexia.

I believe there may be new research you aren’t familiar with. Age appropriate phonological awareness (and there is a skill set that is developmentally appropriate for every age) isn’t just correlated with dyslexia, it is predictive of struggle acquiring reading. And improving phonological awareness at age 5-6 is preventative - it makes reading failure less likely. This child does not need phonics yet. That isn’t age appropriate. She needs explicit phonological awareness training, and moving into linking speech sounds to letter shapes.

I know many professionals prefer a watch and wait approach. It is risky, though, because kids with dyslexia can get turned off school and internalize reading failure very early. By first grade many dyslexic kids already have experienced repeated failure and are starting to have negative behaviors and coping strategies. When they do begin to read they rely on guessing and rote memory. It is unnecessary suffering.

I truly say this with respect for you and what you do for kids every day. Consider whether the research supports early diagnosis and referral to services. I believe it does, as do the dyslexia professional associations I belong to.

I am aware, and fully support screening and early intervention. The great thing is that we don't need diagnoses to provide phonological processing and reading interventions, either in schools or privately. There are many options between diagnosing pre-kindergarteners with dyslexia and "watch and wait." Most (if not all) public schools in this area have reading intervention groups for kids who are identified as being at risk for reading difficulties.

Also, how familiar are you with phonics-based reading curriculums? Kindergarten level instruction includes phonological awareness (segmentation, blending, etc.) without a connection to written letters.

I’m not familiar with every curriculum area schools use, for sure. What I do know is that no school, public or private, has a curriculum that has the level of intensity and explicitness that a dyslexic kid needs to build their phonological awareness skills to catch up to peers. That is why there are kids who go to great schools with excellent instruction aligned with the science of reading/structured literacy who still come out of 1st grade without the phonological skills they need. These kids would have a much more successful entry to schooling if they were provided what they need early.

It’s giving the antibiotic early, rather than waiting for sepsis.

We may actually be aligned with what we both know these little kids need. You believe that the schools will provide it, I think. I know from sad experience (personal and professional) that they will not, however well intentioned and passionate they are.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone diagnosed dyslexia in a five year old who hasn't started kindergarten yet? That is incredibly concerning. I would hold off on pursuing tutoring or extra supports and instead see how your child does in kindergarten reading instruction.

I know you mean well, but you are wrong. Dyslexia is neurobiological. You can identify a dyslexic brain in an FMRI at 18 months. The core deficit in dyslexia is phonological, basically the ability to hear and separate individual sounds in the unbroken stream of speech. It is such a tiny thing, but it is essential to reading. If you can teach that skill before the child is taught phonics they have the possibility to learn to read “normally”. If they go into phonics instruction with the core deficit unremediated they can’t learn phonics. You need to be able to segment the speech sounds before you can’t map them to letters.

No, I'm not. For background, I am a psychologist and diagnose learning disabilities. First, just because something is neurobiological does not mean it can be identified at any age with brain scans. While there are certain neurological differences that we can see on scans, these differences are not diagnostic. This is true for many diagnoses (e.g., autism, depression). Second, phonological processing is core to dyslexia. However, early deficits in phonological processing may indicate children who are at risk for dyslexia, but are not enough to diagnose dyslexia. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability in reading. If someone is not yet at an age where they can be developmentally expected to read (and have also not been in school yet), they cannot be reliably or validly diagnosed with dyslexia.

I believe there may be new research you aren’t familiar with. Age appropriate phonological awareness (and there is a skill set that is developmentally appropriate for every age) isn’t just correlated with dyslexia, it is predictive of struggle acquiring reading. And improving phonological awareness at age 5-6 is preventative - it makes reading failure less likely. This child does not need phonics yet. That isn’t age appropriate. She needs explicit phonological awareness training, and moving into linking speech sounds to letter shapes.

I know many professionals prefer a watch and wait approach. It is risky, though, because kids with dyslexia can get turned off school and internalize reading failure very early. By first grade many dyslexic kids already have experienced repeated failure and are starting to have negative behaviors and coping strategies. When they do begin to read they rely on guessing and rote memory. It is unnecessary suffering.

I truly say this with respect for you and what you do for kids every day. Consider whether the research supports early diagnosis and referral to services. I believe it does, as do the dyslexia professional associations I belong to.

Which dyslexia professional associations recommend diagnosing pre-kindergarteners with dyslexia? I'm eager to do more reading if this is true.

I’m not at my desk now, but I’ll find the links and post when I can.

[Anonymous]

5 is very young. Where I live they do provisional diagnosis at 7 (age expected to read) but won't fully diagnose until about 3rd grade as some kids are just on a different developmental trajectory and reading develops in bursts. They won't even test until 7 - they just recommend additional support until then.

I don't know of many programs that will take 5 year olds who developmentally are not yet reading or expected to read in most of the world. Orton Gillingham is a great resource for dyslexia.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

We may actually be aligned with what we both know these little kids need. You believe that the schools will provide it, I think. I know from sad experience (personal and professional) that they will not, however well intentioned and passionate they are.

Yes, I do think we agree about early intervention. The disagreement is about if dyslexia is an appropriate diagnosis for pre-kindergarteners who haven't been exposed to phonics instruction yet.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone diagnosed dyslexia in a five year old who hasn't started kindergarten yet? That is incredibly concerning. I would hold off on pursuing tutoring or extra supports and instead see how your child does in kindergarten reading instruction.

I know you mean well, but you are wrong. Dyslexia is neurobiological. You can identify a dyslexic brain in an FMRI at 18 months. The core deficit in dyslexia is phonological, basically the ability to hear and separate individual sounds in the unbroken stream of speech. It is such a tiny thing, but it is essential to reading. If you can teach that skill before the child is taught phonics they have the possibility to learn to read “normally”. If they go into phonics instruction with the core deficit unremediated they can’t learn phonics. You need to be able to segment the speech sounds before you can’t map them to letters.

No, I'm not. For background, I am a psychologist and diagnose learning disabilities. First, just because something is neurobiological does not mean it can be identified at any age with brain scans. While there are certain neurological differences that we can see on scans, these differences are not diagnostic. This is true for many diagnoses (e.g., autism, depression). Second, phonological processing is core to dyslexia. However, early deficits in phonological processing may indicate children who are at risk for dyslexia, but are not enough to diagnose dyslexia. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability in reading. If someone is not yet at an age where they can be developmentally expected to read (and have also not been in school yet), they cannot be reliably or validly diagnosed with dyslexia.

I believe there may be new research you aren’t familiar with. Age appropriate phonological awareness (and there is a skill set that is developmentally appropriate for every age) isn’t just correlated with dyslexia, it is predictive of struggle acquiring reading. And improving phonological awareness at age 5-6 is preventative - it makes reading failure less likely. This child does not need phonics yet. That isn’t age appropriate. She needs explicit phonological awareness training, and moving into linking speech sounds to letter shapes.

I know many professionals prefer a watch and wait approach. It is risky, though, because kids with dyslexia can get turned off school and internalize reading failure very early. By first grade many dyslexic kids already have experienced repeated failure and are starting to have negative behaviors and coping strategies. When they do begin to read they rely on guessing and rote memory. It is unnecessary suffering.

I truly say this with respect for you and what you do for kids every day. Consider whether the research supports early diagnosis and referral to services. I believe it does, as do the dyslexia professional associations I belong to.

Which dyslexia professional associations recommend diagnosing pre-kindergarteners with dyslexia? I'm eager to do more reading if this is true.

I’m not at my desk now, but I’ll find the links and post when I can.

Thank you! I look forward to reading. I do think we agree about the importance of early intervention. The disagreement is if it is appropriate/accurate to diagnose a SLD in reading in a child who is too young to have started reading instruction.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone diagnosed dyslexia in a five year old who hasn't started kindergarten yet? That is incredibly concerning. I would hold off on pursuing tutoring or extra supports and instead see how your child does in kindergarten reading instruction.

I know you mean well, but you are wrong. Dyslexia is neurobiological. You can identify a dyslexic brain in an FMRI at 18 months. The core deficit in dyslexia is phonological, basically the ability to hear and separate individual sounds in the unbroken stream of speech. It is such a tiny thing, but it is essential to reading. If you can teach that skill before the child is taught phonics they have the possibility to learn to read “normally”. If they go into phonics instruction with the core deficit unremediated they can’t learn phonics. You need to be able to segment the speech sounds before you can’t map them to letters.

No, I'm not. For background, I am a psychologist and diagnose learning disabilities. First, just because something is neurobiological does not mean it can be identified at any age with brain scans. While there are certain neurological differences that we can see on scans, these differences are not diagnostic. This is true for many diagnoses (e.g., autism, depression). Second, phonological processing is core to dyslexia. However, early deficits in phonological processing may indicate children who are at risk for dyslexia, but are not enough to diagnose dyslexia. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability in reading. If someone is not yet at an age where they can be developmentally expected to read (and have also not been in school yet), they cannot be reliably or validly diagnosed with dyslexia.

I believe there may be new research you aren’t familiar with. Age appropriate phonological awareness (and there is a skill set that is developmentally appropriate for every age) isn’t just correlated with dyslexia, it is predictive of struggle acquiring reading. And improving phonological awareness at age 5-6 is preventative - it makes reading failure less likely. This child does not need phonics yet. That isn’t age appropriate. She needs explicit phonological awareness training, and moving into linking speech sounds to letter shapes.

I know many professionals prefer a watch and wait approach. It is risky, though, because kids with dyslexia can get turned off school and internalize reading failure very early. By first grade many dyslexic kids already have experienced repeated failure and are starting to have negative behaviors and coping strategies. When they do begin to read they rely on guessing and rote memory. It is unnecessary suffering.

I truly say this with respect for you and what you do for kids every day. Consider whether the research supports early diagnosis and referral to services. I believe it does, as do the dyslexia professional associations I belong to.

Which dyslexia professional associations recommend diagnosing pre-kindergarteners with dyslexia? I'm eager to do more reading if this is true.

I’m not at my desk now, but I’ll find the links and post when I can.

Thank you! I look forward to reading. I do think we agree about the importance of early intervention. The disagreement is if it is appropriate/accurate to diagnose a SLD in reading in a child who is too young to have started reading instruction.

Yes, we are on the same page with early intervention. And I'm sure we agree that to intervene you need to identify kids who have phonological deficits, and you can do that at age 5. All kids should be screened at that age in school. The definitive text book for dyslexia intervention by Birsh and Carreker recommends screening, identification, and intervention in pre-k, k, and 1st (sorry, I don't have a link for that - its page 230, though). The International Dyslexia Association recommends screening and identification in K with immediate intervention. My professional association, the Academic Language Therapy Association, recommends the same with the information that a formal diagnosis is useful and must be made by a psychologist, but doesn't specify age. As these are all educational resources they stay in their lane and don't discuss age for formal psycho educational assessment. So our difference is between the words "identification" and "diagnosis." And important difference for you and me, but probably semantics for most families.

So I will stay in my lane, too, which is intervention when a child is identified as having deficits consistent with a later diagnosis of dyslexia. I will defer to you on when a proper psychological assessment can be considered valid. Maybe we could agree that if a child has been identified has having poor phonological skills in pre-k or k, parents should know their child is at risk of dyslexia and they should take action to help them catch up?

You may have seen this, but the results from Harvard's Nadine Gabb's new publication are important, I think. A description is in this article in the Harvard Gazette, and there is a link to the publication for anyone who wants to read it. The Gazette article is here: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/06/reading-skills-and-struggles-manifest-earlier-than-thought/ . I am not sure whether your concern about diagnosis at age 5 is that the assessment can't be conducted with fidelity that young, or that those with identified deficits consistent with dyslexia might just be slower developing and will catch up. Regardless, I think this study does suggest that we can identify kids really early with a combo of phonological assessment and maybe family history. Maybe our tools aren't there yet? I have no desire to label kids prematurely, or worry parents, or have families spend oodles of money they don't need to spend. I don't even care if we use the word dyslexia until kids actually struggle with reading. I just want kids to get help early so they can succeed, however we achieve that.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Someone diagnosed dyslexia in a five year old who hasn't started kindergarten yet? That is incredibly concerning. I would hold off on pursuing tutoring or extra supports and instead see how your child does in kindergarten reading instruction.

I know you mean well, but you are wrong. Dyslexia is neurobiological. You can identify a dyslexic brain in an FMRI at 18 months. The core deficit in dyslexia is phonological, basically the ability to hear and separate individual sounds in the unbroken stream of speech. It is such a tiny thing, but it is essential to reading. If you can teach that skill before the child is taught phonics they have the possibility to learn to read “normally”. If they go into phonics instruction with the core deficit unremediated they can’t learn phonics. You need to be able to segment the speech sounds before you can’t map them to letters.

No, I'm not. For background, I am a psychologist and diagnose learning disabilities. First, just because something is neurobiological does not mean it can be identified at any age with brain scans. While there are certain neurological differences that we can see on scans, these differences are not diagnostic. This is true for many diagnoses (e.g., autism, depression). Second, phonological processing is core to dyslexia. However, early deficits in phonological processing may indicate children who are at risk for dyslexia, but are not enough to diagnose dyslexia. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability in reading. If someone is not yet at an age where they can be developmentally expected to read (and have also not been in school yet), they cannot be reliably or validly diagnosed with dyslexia.

I believe there may be new research you aren’t familiar with. Age appropriate phonological awareness (and there is a skill set that is developmentally appropriate for every age) isn’t just correlated with dyslexia, it is predictive of struggle acquiring reading. And improving phonological awareness at age 5-6 is preventative - it makes reading failure less likely. This child does not need phonics yet. That isn’t age appropriate. She needs explicit phonological awareness training, and moving into linking speech sounds to letter shapes.

I know many professionals prefer a watch and wait approach. It is risky, though, because kids with dyslexia can get turned off school and internalize reading failure very early. By first grade many dyslexic kids already have experienced repeated failure and are starting to have negative behaviors and coping strategies. When they do begin to read they rely on guessing and rote memory. It is unnecessary suffering.

I truly say this with respect for you and what you do for kids every day. Consider whether the research supports early diagnosis and referral to services. I believe it does, as do the dyslexia professional associations I belong to.

Which dyslexia professional associations recommend diagnosing pre-kindergarteners with dyslexia? I'm eager to do more reading if this is true.

I’m not at my desk now, but I’ll find the links and post when I can.

Thank you! I look forward to reading. I do think we agree about the importance of early intervention. The disagreement is if it is appropriate/accurate to diagnose a SLD in reading in a child who is too young to have started reading instruction.

Yes, we are on the same page with early intervention. And I'm sure we agree that to intervene you need to identify kids who have phonological deficits, and you can do that at age 5. All kids should be screened at that age in school. The definitive text book for dyslexia intervention by Birsh and Carreker recommends screening, identification, and intervention in pre-k, k, and 1st (sorry, I don't have a link for that - its page 230, though). The International Dyslexia Association recommends screening and identification in K with immediate intervention. My professional association, the Academic Language Therapy Association, recommends the same with the information that a formal diagnosis is useful and must be made by a psychologist, but doesn't specify age. As these are all educational resources they stay in their lane and don't discuss age for formal psycho educational assessment. So our difference is between the words "identification" and "diagnosis." And important difference for you and me, but probably semantics for most families.

So I will stay in my lane, too, which is intervention when a child is identified as having deficits consistent with a later diagnosis of dyslexia. I will defer to you on when a proper psychological assessment can be considered valid. Maybe we could agree that if a child has been identified has having poor phonological skills in pre-k or k, parents should know their child is at risk of dyslexia and they should take action to help them catch up?

You may have seen this, but the results from Harvard's Nadine Gabb's new publication are important, I think. A description is in this article in the Harvard Gazette, and there is a link to the publication for anyone who wants to read it. The Gazette article is here: https://news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2025/06/reading-skills-and-struggles-manifest-earlier-than-thought/ . I am not sure whether your concern about diagnosis at age 5 is that the assessment can't be conducted with fidelity that young, or that those with identified deficits consistent with dyslexia might just be slower developing and will catch up. Regardless, I think this study does suggest that we can identify kids really early with a combo of phonological assessment and maybe family history. Maybe our tools aren't there yet? I have no desire to label kids prematurely, or worry parents, or have families spend oodles of money they don't need to spend. I don't even care if we use the word dyslexia until kids actually struggle with reading. I just want kids to get help early so they can succeed, however we achieve that.

Thank you so much for sharing! Starting to look through these resources now. I agree that we are on the same page, and that it is key to identify kids who are at risk for reading problems as early as possible. And yes, this is different that diagnosing a learning disability. Great conversation, thank you!

[Anonymous]

Responded too soon. I fully agree with this statement: "Maybe we could agree that if a child has been identified has having poor phonological skills in pre-k or k, parents should know their child is at risk of dyslexia and they should take action to help them catch up?"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Responded too soon. I fully agree with this statement: "Maybe we could agree that if a child has been identified has having poor phonological skills in pre-k or k, parents should know their child is at risk of dyslexia and they should take action to help them catch up?"

I’m glad we find we are on common ground. I’ve enjoyed the conversation - thank you!

[Anonymous]

I had my child who was showing red flags for dyslexia evaluated pre kindergarten at age 5. Evaluation came back as weaknesses consistent with dyslexia but dyslexia couldn’t be ruled in or out as they hadn’t received reading instruction with fidelity yet.

I’m not sure that you’ll be able to get an SLD IEP yet as before starting school there isn’t usually evidence that specialized instruction is required as no general instruction has even been given yet.

We’ve been doing 1 hr a week of private OG aligned therapy. We’re also in VA where public schools are legally required to provide literacy instruction aligned with the science of reading. A year in, we’re super happy. Child is fully keeping apace with grade level in literacy, has confidence and is voluntarily willing to practice reading. For our kid’s confidence, we were also super happy we were at a school where most kids also started K not knowing many letters etc. and the school didn’t expect more at the start. Private pre-k with an higher socioeconomic peer group expected more, which just led to low confidence and avoidance tactics which had to be unlearned.

Best of luck to your family.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a mother of a dyslexic child who attends a catholic school in Bethesda - you need to find an OG tutor who will work with your child during the school day. You need to pay for this out of your own pocket. It will be worth every penny. Start by asking the school if they already have an OG tutor coming in to the school.

You are so lucky you caught this early. With the right support (think 3 hours a week for multiple years) I am confident your child will be reading at grade level.

Thank you! How did you find your tutor?

ASDEC is a good place to look. I have a friend who has a child with dyslexia and gets tutored at an area private school who referred me to www.kiddereducation.com