Dyslexia: Making the Invisible Visible
A student may be bright, articulate, creative, and highly engaged in classroom discussions—yet struggle to read words that classmates seem to recognize with ease. Another student may read accurately but so slowly and effortfully that understanding what was read becomes difficult. These students may be experiencing dyslexia, a disability that often hides in plain sight.
Dyslexia is a neurobiological learning disability that primarily affects accurate and fluent word reading, decoding, and spelling. It is frequently associated with difficulties in phonological processing—the ability to recognize and manipulate the sounds within spoken language. Most importantly, dyslexia is not related to intelligence, motivation, or effort. Students with dyslexia can be highly capable learners who simply require a different approach to reading instruction.
Because dyslexia is not physically visible, it is often described as an invisible disability. Students may develop ways to compensate for their difficulties by memorizing words, relying on pictures or context, avoiding reading aloud, or using strong oral language skills to mask their struggles. Unfortunately, these behaviors can sometimes be mistaken for lack of effort, inattention, or poor motivation.
Recognizing the difficulty is only the first step. What we do next matters.
Research supports reading instruction that is explicit, systematic, structured, and sequential. Students experiencing reading difficulties benefit from direct instruction in phonemic awareness, sound-symbol relationships, phonics, decoding, spelling, syllable patterns, morphology, vocabulary, fluency, and comprehension. Skills should be intentionally taught, modeled, practiced, reviewed, and built upon over time. For students with dyslexia, simply providing more opportunities to read is not enough; instruction must directly address the underlying skills that make reading possible.
California is taking an important step toward earlier identification. Beginning in the 2025–26 school year, local educational agencies are required to annually screen students in kindergarten through second grade for risk of reading difficulties, including dyslexia, using a state-approved screening instrument, unless a parent or guardian opts out in writing. California's approved screeners include Amira; mCLASS with DIBELS 8 and Lectura; Multitudes; and ROAR, with availability varying by grade and language.
It is important to remember that screening is not a diagnosis. A screening result does not determine that a child has dyslexia, nor does it determine eligibility for special education. Instead, screening provides an opportunity to identify risk early, examine a student's specific needs, provide targeted instruction, monitor progress, and determine whether additional assessment or intervention may be necessary.
For too long, many students with dyslexia have been identified only after years of struggling. Early screening offers us the opportunity to change that trajectory—but screening alone is not enough. The real impact comes from how we respond.
When we recognize the signs, provide effective instruction, and intervene early, we make an invisible disability visible—and give students a stronger opportunity to become confident, successful readers.