Category Archives: Dyslexia overview

Many more enrolled in spe­cial edu­ca­tion

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The report showed that spe­cial edu­ca­tion enroll­ment has climbed in recent years, with more than 857,000 stu­dents statewide in spe­cial edu­ca­tion in the 2024-25 school year. That num­ber was 498,320 seven years ago, mark­ing a 72% increase.

The num­ber of Texas stu­dents with dys­lexia con­tin­ues to increase, from 149,943 stu­dents in 2023 to 212,167 in 2024. Over the past six years, the num­ber of stu­dents enrolled in spe­cial edu­ca­tion for dys­lexia has risen by more than 636%.

Those increases coin­cide with a rise in the num­ber of spe­cial edu­ca­tion eval­u­ations con­duc­ted statewide. Last school year, more than 178,000 ini­tial eval­u­ations took place in Texas, accord­ing to the TEA’s report. Recent state fund­ing included money for those eval­u­ations, giv­ing schools an extra $1,000 for each eval­u­ation to determ­ine if a stu­dent had a dis­ab­il­ity.

Con­trib­ut­ing to the jump, a 2023 state law defined dys­lexia as a learn­ing dis­ab­il­ity, mean­ing stu­dents with dys­lexia were required to get indi­vidu­al­ized edu­ca­tion pro­grams and have access to spe­cial edu­ca­tion ser­vices.

Read it all HERE

Is It Time to See Dyslexia as a Superpower?

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A new film reframes dyslexia as a distinct cognitive style with its own set of strengths.

Doctors Fernette and Brock Eide, psychologists who’ve studied dyslexia for decades, have come to believe that dyslexia is “not a disease, but a gift.”

As they put it, “Dyslexic minds are not disabled. They’re specialized. They’re wired to learn best through direct experience, not through print or rote repetition.”

See the original article HERE

Developmental language disorder can have life-long effects – and it’s easily missed in multilingual children

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developmental language disorder (DLD), a condition that severely impairs a child’s ability to learn, use and understand spoken language.

Such challenges are increasingly common for parents and teachers. In England, for example, around 21% of schoolchildren are growing up with a first language other than English. While most children’s language development – whether monolingual or multilingual – is typical, the average classroom includes two DLD-affected children. DLD’s prevalence, roughly 8%, is similar worldwide, from China to Mexico.

Even so, DLD remains under-recognised and under-served – especially compared to other developmental conditions, such as dyslexia, autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Read the whole article HERE

Understanding Neurodiversity: A Guide to School Support Models

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n recent years, the way we talk about learning differences in Irish schools has moved toward a “neurodiversity-affirming” perspective. This means we no longer view conditions like Autism, ADHD, Dyslexia, or Dyspraxia solely as “disorders” to be fixed. Instead, we recognize them as natural variations in the human brain—different ways of thinking, feeling, and processing the world.

For parents, navigating the support systems in a primary school can sometimes feel overwhelming. Understanding the roles of the Special Education Teacher (SET) and the Special Needs Assistant (SNA) is the first step in ensuring your child has the environment they need to flourish.

Read more about it HERE

Human model can safely mimic symptoms in neurotypical adults

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Recent neuroimaging studies suggest that developmental dyslexia comprises several subtypes with distinct symptom profiles, each associated with characteristic functional and structural abnormalities in the brain. However, how these regional brain-activity abnormalities lead to specific symptoms remains unclear. Moreover, while research using animal models such as mice or rats is effective in studying many brain disorders, it is not suitable for dyslexia because reading and writing are uniquely human skills.

To address this gap, the authors developed a human model of dyslexia, in which key dyslexia-related features are temporarily and safely induced in neurotypical human volunteers. 

Read more about it HERE