Tennessee Dyslexia Resource Guide

Which of these is a defined term that covers a student’s struggle with foundational reading skills, such as phonological and phonemic awareness, sound-symbol recognition, alphabet knowledge, decoding, encoding, and rapid automatized naming?

• "Characteristics of dysgraphia"

• "Characteristics of dystopia"

• "Characteristics of dyscalculia"

• "Characteristics of dyslexia"

Answer explanation

“Characteristics of dyslexia” is a defined term in Chapter 0520-12-05 of the Department of Education Rules that covers a student’s struggle with foundational reading skills, such as phonological and phonemic awareness, sound-symbol recognition, alphabet knowledge, decoding, encoding, and rapid automatized naming.

What is dyslexia?

Answer explanation

Dyslexia is defined by an unexpected difficulty in learning to read.

Which of these is not a myth of dyslexia?

• Students with dyslexia see and write letters and words backwards.

• Most students will eventually outgrow dyslexia.

• All reading difficulties can be attributed to dyslexia.

• Students with dyslexia tend to have strong comprehension skills.

Answer explanation

Students with dyslexia tend to have strong comprehension skills, but this can be masked by (1) the amount of mental effort required to decode, limiting access to the ability to think critically, and (2) a limited

amount of reading, leading to a gap in the student’s vocabulary as compared to students who read large amounts of appropriate text

Response to Instruction and Intervention (RTI²) is a framework designed to meet the needs
of all students through increasingly intensive interventions.

• True

• False

Schools do not have to screen for characteristics of dyslexia, but if they decide to, they are responsible for coming up with their own screening methods for identifying characteristics of dyslexia

• True

• False

Answer explanation

In Tennessee, all school districts must implement RTI2. RTI2 requires for schools to use a universal screening process for identifying characteristics of dyslexia. The Tennessee Department of Education is responsible for developing procedures for identifying characteristics of dyslexia through the universal screening
process required by the existing RTl2 framework or other available means.

What is the purpose of school-based problem-solving teams? Be specific

Answer explanation

School-based problem-solving teams meet to review and analyze data obtained through the universal screening process. They use multiple data sources to discuss, plan, and determine appropriate evidence-based tiered instruction and interventions for students with skill deficits. Teams may suggest ways to meet student needs such as classroom accommodations and assistive technology usage.

Parent communication should: (Choose all that apply)

• occur at least every 4.5 weeks

• include specific areas of deficits associated with the characteristics of dyslexia

• only occur as needed

• inform the parent(s) of the student’s progress
  in skill development through tiered interventions, any changes in the intervention, and any
  additional concerns identified.

What are some methods that can be utilized to ensure effective instruction is provided for students who
display characteristics of dyslexia?

Answer explanation

Individualized instruction that
immerses them in rich experiences with alphabetic knowledge, phonological awareness, phonics, and decoding during whole and small-group instruction; explicit and systematic instruction in foundational reading skills; instruction of both skills-based and knowledge-based competencies as well as opportunities for application; access to texts at comprehension level even if they are about their decoding level to help expose them to more vocabulary; differentiation by identifying each student's strengths and needs and adjusting content, process, and product according to patterns in student readiness, interest, or learning profile.

Schools should make sure that they are using evidence-based interventions that are: (Choose all that apply)

• Explicit

• Systematic and cumulative

• Multi-sensory

• Language-based

• Aligned to individual student need

Schools must progress monitor students who receive intervention services at least every other week

• True

• False