When dyslexia is missed: The impact on students of color

Dyslexia is a common learning and thinking difference that makes it difficult for kids to read and process words. And in communities of color, these challenges are often missed for many reasons. Lack of teacher training and limited access to early testing are just a few examples.

In this episode, we talk to Shaquala Holmes, MEd.  Shaquala has spent her career helping students become better readers. Listen as she breaks down what can happen when dyslexia isn’t diagnosed early and why testing matters. Then find out how parents can support their children at home and in school.

We love to hear from our listeners. Email us at opportunitygap@understood.org.

• Dyslexia

• Signs of dyslexia at different ages

(00:55) How dyslexia affects students in the classroom

(03:47) What can happen if dyslexia is left undiagnosed 

(07:38) Next steps after a dyslexia diagnosis

(11:52) How parents can support their child with dyslexia

Julian: Dyslexia is a common learning difference, but in Black and brown communities, it's often underdiagnosed and left untreated. What's going on, family? This is the "Opportunity Gap," and I'm your host, Julian. Today, we're talking about dyslexia and its impact on our kids.

We're joined by friend of the show, and actually I'd say friend of this show. This is family right here. We started together. So, we have Shaquala Holmes. Shaquala is a regional literacy specialist, and she's here to help us understand more about dyslexia. How's it going, Shaquala?

Shaquala: It's going great. I'm so excited to be back.

Julian: So, today we're talking about dyslexia. In general, when we talk about dyslexia, we're always wondering, how does it impact the academic achievement of our students?

Shaquala: Yes. So, yeah, dyslexia, I feel like it's one of those things where when we think of the land of learning and thinking differences, it's clouded with so many misconceptions. I was actually talking to my mom this weekend about dyslexia because there was a book on my table and she was like, "Oh, dyslexia. Who's dyslexic?" And I was like "Mom, I'm a literacy specialist. I work with kids, you know, that have dyslexic tendencies or dyslexia diagnosis." And she was like, "Oh, that's like when the letters flip back and forth?" And I was like "No, that a common misconception, you know?"

So, I think, first of all, I think the academic achievement gap and how it affects students and common challenges is just the knowledge of what is dyslexia and misunderstanding, you know, like, because if I don't know what it is, I don't know how to fix it per se, right? And kids don't need to be fixed, but you know, I don't know how to advocate or give kids what they need when they need it.

So, I think first is have an understanding that dyslexia is a brain-based learning difference, right? So, that means it just makes it a little harder for the kids to do things like match letters to sounds, blend words, read words, but it has nothing to do with intelligence, right?

Julian: Right.

Shaquala: So, we oftentimes wanna measure academic achievement. And if you put a child who struggles in the literacy realm and put their measurement only by their academic achievement, it could come off as, "Oh, you're not smart," or "You can't read," or, you know, because those are the measurements.

So, dyslexia is about how the brain processes language, not about the effort or vision, right? It's not about what they're seeing with their eyes, it's literally how they're processing what they are seeing in their brain. So, with the right instruction, that means it's explicit, systematic, focused on phonics, students with dyslexia can become skilled readers.

Julian: So, can you explain, just give us a couple of specific ways that we might see struggles with dyslexia in the classroom? What does that look like?

Shaquala: There are some early signs, I'm thinking early, because the earlier we spot it, the better. So, they may have troubles remembering letter names, letter sounds, they may be mixing up words that sound alike, like trouble rhyming, right? So, if you were to say, plain rain, do those rhyme? They may not recognize or hear the sounds that they do rhyme, so they may struggle with activities like that. Or you may see them avoiding reading altogether.

Julian: You know, you're on the early end, our listeners know, I'm a high school administrator. So, I work at the high school level, and I've encountered many, many students who have either prospered with dyslexia because they had support early on. And I've also worked with students who are just figuring out that, "Oh, snap, I have dyslexia. This is why I've been struggling with my reading." What can happen if we don't catch this early enough?

Shaquala: By the time you get to high school, no one's teaching phonics lessons. Let's just say that, right? So, the earlier you identify the deficits, kindergarten, first grade, and I know some people that said they didn't learn to read until they were in third grade. And that's honestly the cutoff where the foundational skills are being taught. And the knowledge level of teachers at that level that can even teach you how to read.

I was a fourth-grade teacher, and I had five kids in my classroom, two that were diagnosed as dyslexic. I had no understanding of how to teach them how to read. And that's why I'm in this job today because I remember looking at two little brown and Black boys who I didn't know what to do for them. And I knew that one had behavior, severe behavior issues. The other one was sweet as pie. And I went to fill out a scholarship for them at a school, a local school that actually targets students with dyslexia. One couldn't get in even if he wanted to because they couldn't have any behavior issues to be accepted into the school.

Julian: And I love that you, you know, you mentioned like the earlier, the better, you know, anything that we want to do intervention-wise, we want to do it early. But it doesn't mean that it's ever too late. Like we have to find the support. Make no mistake, literacy is the most important skill you will learn in school. If you cannot read, you cannot learn. It's as simple as that.

And so, when we look at what their results is in the later stages when kids don't get that help, what it looks like is, like you said, behavior issues. What it looks is kids that are coping, they figure out how to fake it till they make it. When we look at high school and beyond, if they don't figure out how to become literate before they leave high school, the chances of them being successful outside of high school are very, very low.

Shaquala, based on that, say I'm a parent listening, and I'm concerned that my child might be dyslexic. How is dyslexia diagnosed? Is there an evaluation? And do I gotta pay for it?

Shaquala: So, bottom line, anything in our medical system, we're all trying to figure that out. But yes, a lot of times you have to pay for it. And a lot times, families don't have access to those services. But that's all is not lost in that because there's a lot things that you can do even within the medical work realm of trying to get tested and diagnosed.

Julian: Wait, so this is not something you can do in school?

Shaquala: I don't want to make a blanket statement, no, because I guess it depends, but in the current state that I'm in, we don't provide dyslexia testing in a way in which you can get a medical diagnosis, like you have to go to outside sources to do that.

Julian: What state are you in? For the listeners.

Shaquala: Alabama.

Julian: She's in Alabama, right? So, she's in Alabama. I'm in Pennsylvania. Many of our listeners come from New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, we have folks out in Cali. Some states, the school systems will test for dyslexia. Some states, they will not. And in some states, a medical doctor or a pediatrician can give you a referral. And that referral can allow you to get an MRI. And that MRI, if you have health insurance, depending on what your insurance allows, that MRI might be able to do the diagnosis to get you that support.

But in many, many cases, we explained that it's state by state, but going to a pediatrician or going through the medical field might be your best bet to try to get the diagnosis that you're looking for. Thinking through finally getting the path to that diagnosis, say you finally navigate all that, you get it done, what does it look like when you finally have this diagnosis? What happens?

Shaquala: In our state, they immediately are entitled to that dyslexia specific intervention. Like that's immediate. The child receives that interventions, like has access to that. Come about, if the parent wants to go through, of course, the RTI process to receive special education, they're entitled to, that to that as well.

Julian: You know, like Shaquala said, it's state-by-state but dyslexia falls under normally it falls under specific learning disability.

Shaquala: Right.

Julian: So, that would be labeled SLD in an IEP, and so that will allow your child to qualify for an IEP. Just to know, IEP stands for Individualized Education Plan, and so, when you get to the school building and you have a dyslexia diagnosis from a doctor, then the school can get that process started, and they can begin what we call evaluation. You can link into Understood.org to learn more about what that process looks like.

So, both of us strongly encourage you, if you're listening and you have questions about, "Well, what does this look like in school?" The number one thing is that you should be seeing upgraded intervention and upgraded support around literacy instruction, and that should be documented under some sort of written down plan with progress monitoring so that you can see how that instruction is supporting your child. That's number one, that is what you are entitled to no matter what.

Shaquala: And I would push even parents further in the advocacy because that's what happened in our state, is to push for strong national and state policies that fund teacher training and the science of reading that ensures that we have funding for high-quality instructional materials. So, that means students are using programs that's aligned and works for all learners, but specifically students with a dyslexia diagnosis.

And also support early assessments, because a lot of times there's no assessment protocol and a lot of state schools in the elementary realm, so kids get lost in this, like in shuffled through, and it's like no one knew, right? So, like I said, I was looking at fourth graders who could not read. And it was like, what happened? Like who... you know, so I think strong, we need money, we need to put money behind this, because...

Julian: Listen sis, we all need money. Let's call it what it is.

Shaquala: Hey, parents, yeah, like, knock on some doors, we need money to fund this, because parents shouldn't have to take their kids out of school and put them in a special school for this type of instruction. Every child should have access to this in their daily school day, you know, a diagnosis should be like, "Thank you for the information." We already are addressing the needs, you know, like because we've already had the screening processes in place to identify and provide the dyslexic specific interventions.

Julian: So, y'all heard that, right? She's saying we got to go down south to really learn what are they doing down there? No, honestly, I've heard the same thing that Mississippi and Alabama, Florida is also doing some great work around literacy. So, there's a lot of school systems and statewide school systems that are really figuring out how to really address the gap in literacy. And we know that both of those states, Mississippi and Alabama, have a very large population of non-native speakers. And also a large population of Black and brown students.

So, these are our kids, these are families that are getting the support that they deserve. So, that's on the state level, that's the advocacy, and we know that our folks get together and when we fight for something, we make it happen.

Shaquala: Right.

Julian: But I wanna end our episode by thinking about two or three very specific things, right? Like real, real, really actionable steps. What is two or three things that you think somebody can do to advocate for testing and support for children who may have dyslexia? Two or three things.

Shaquala: I would say if you get enough people to say the same thing, your voice would be heard, right? So, I think going to your school board, your local board, your legislators, like I'm telling you, what happened was our legislators got on board and they put money behind this. Like this is a big, it's not, I mean, if we think small, like I think it's a matter of having a conversation with your school, the principal, screening processes, saying like, have you considered how do we identify, you know, like, yes, you can have those conversations, but we're thinking of really putting a dent in stopping the school to prison pipeline.

This has to be something nationwide recognized and ensuring that I said, like I said, teachers have the training and the science reading. They have access to high-quality instructional materials. And that comes from our parents, knowing what their kids need and advocating for that.

Julian: Yes.

Shaquala: You know, and teachers, teachers sitting in the classroom saying like, "Hey, I don't have what I need to help kids. I don' even know, you know, what to do to help students with these learning and thinking differences as far as it relates to literacy." So, I think people coming together, one voice, one cause, and working to get funding behind this because this is really expensive. Like to change a system that's getting kids all the way to 11th and 12th grade, and they can't read. Like, you know, to undo that, that's a lot.

Like I'm a regional literacy specialist, I support 23 schools. Imagine every elementary school in your state currently, think about every elementary school in your state, however many that is, has to have a local reading specialist. That means someone who provides daily instructional coaching to your K-3 and oversees all the processes of the assessments and interventions. And then there's a regional coach that then supports those people. And then there's state people, like that's a lot of personnel, right?

And then you put in training all of us. So, I'm trained and facilitating letters, like a letters facilitator. I'm sure some teachers, if you're listening, like that's the science reading training, so I can train my local teachers here in my state on the science reading, but someone had to pay for me to go get the training. It's a whole lot that has to go into this, and it doesn't happen overnight. This work has been going on in Alabama for 20-plus years. And funding is what keeps it going. So, when the funding stops, the work stops.

Julian: So, listeners, I would say that in addition to researching some of the advocacy work that's happened in Alabama, in Mississippi, and in other states, I would also advocate for you to really, really, really understand the importance and fundamental necessity of engaging our children in becoming highly literate. So, what does that look like? Have a whole bunch of books in your house. Make it a thing in your home. Model what literacy looks like. Ask questions about what you're reading. Give a diverse set of reading resources, right?

Reading means looking at your phone and reading text messaging. Reading looks like looking at Instagram and reading what the hashtags are and understanding what those are saying. Reading is playing Super Smash Brothers on Nintendo Switch and reading the different skills that are required. Those are all forms of reading. It's just not about books. It's about literacy across the board, because guess what? Literacy is also contracts. Literacy, is reading the fine print on the mortgage. Literacy isn't understanding how to do TurboTax, so that you can get your taxes done and on time.

It's all of those things. And so we, we want to advocate, get the help you need. It is out there. Check out understood.org because there's tons of resources for how you can get to help you deserve. Once again, I want to say thank you so much to Shaquala, Mrs. Holmes, my sister from another mister all the way back. Thank you.

Shaquala: Thank you for having me.

Julian: Alright. As always, we will link some of the additional resources in the show notes, so please check them out. OG family until next time. See ya.

Understood.org is a non-profit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at Understood.org/give. The "Opportunity Gap" is produced by Tara Drinks and Cody Nelson. Video is produced by Calvin Knie and edited by Nico Rothenberg. Our theme music was written by Justin D. Wright, who also mixes the show.

Samiah Adams is our supervising producer. Briana Barry is our production director. Neil Drumming is our editorial director. From Understood.org, our executive directors are Laura Key, Scott Cocchiere, Seth Melnick, and Jordan Davidson. Thanks again for listening.