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EDUCATIONAL MILESTONES OF DYSLEXIA 

FIELD HEARING 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, 

LABOR, AND PENSIONS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS 

FIRST SESSION 

ON

EXAMINING EDUCATIONAL MILESTONES, FOCUSING ON DYSLEXIA 

OCTOBER 13, 2015 (Baton Rouge, LA) 

Printed for the use of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions 

( 

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ 

COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS 

LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee, Chairman 

MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming 

RICHARD BURR, North Carolina 

JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia 

RAND PAUL, Kentucky 

SUSAN COLLINS, Maine 

LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska 

MARK KIRK, Illinois 

TIM SCOTT, South Carolina 

ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah 

PAT ROBERTS, Kansas 

BILL CASSIDY, M.D., Louisiana 

PATTY MURRAY, Washington 

BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland 

BERNARD SANDERS (I), Vermont 

ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania 

AL FRANKEN, Minnesota 

MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado 

SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island 

TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin 

CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut 

ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts 

DAVID P. CLEARY, Republican Staff Director 

EVAN SCHATZ, Minority Staff Director 

JOHN RIGHTER, Minority Deputy Staff Director 

(II) 

C O N T E N T S 

STATEMENTS 

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2015 

Page 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Cassidy, Hon. Bill, M.D., a U.S. Senator from the State of Louisiana ............... 1 

WITNESSES

Shaywitz, Bennett A., M.D., Chief of Pediatric Neurology and Co-Director 

of the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity, Yale University School 

of Medicine, New Haven, CT ............................................................................... 4 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 5 

Shaywitz, Sally E., M.D., Audrey G. Ratner Professor in Learning Development and Co-Director of the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity, Yale 

University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT ................................................ 8 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 11 

Montgomery, Rev. Derrius M., Associate Minister, Greater King David Baptist Church, Baton Rouge, LA ............................................................................. 18 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 19 

Trapp, Allyce, Student, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA .............. 19 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 21 

Law, Margaret, CALT, Dyslexia & 504 Coordinator, Central Community 

Schools, Central, LA ............................................................................................ 22 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 23 

(III) 

(1) 

EDUCATIONAL MILESTONES OF DYSLEXIA 

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 13, 2015 

U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS, Baton Rouge, LA 

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 3:12 p.m., in Dalton 

Woods Auditorium, Energy Coast and Environment Building at 

Louisiana State University, Nicholson Drive Extension, Hon. Bill 

Cassidy, M.D., presiding. 

Present: Senator Cassidy. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR CASSIDY

Senator CASSIDY. This is actually a Senate committee hearing, 

and this is the protocol and format by which we will abide. 

We have a third panelist. I apologize for beginning late, but our 

third panelist is running late. We now know he’s nearby, so we’ll 

go ahead and start, and when he arrives, he will be able to join. 

This morning we are having a hearing titled ‘‘Educational Milestones of Dyslexia’’ that will highlight the importance of early identification of students with dyslexia, how high-stakes testing affects 

such students, and the need for appropriate accommodations. 

I will make an opening statement, then introduce our panel. 

Each panelist will have 5 minutes. That light right there which you 

cannot see but hopefully they can, the green light is go, the yellow 

means you have 1 minute left, and the red light means wrap it up 

or else I’m going to wrap you. 

[Laughter.] 

After our witness testimony, we will begin with a round of questioning. 

First, thank you all for being here. I see Joe from the school 

board. Thank you for being here. There are other educators here. 

My cousin is in the audience, Sophie. Again, I thank you all for 

being here. 

I’m pleased to host this hearing to discuss the issue of dyslexia— 

an issue important to me as a parent and as a Senator. 

Hi, Derrius. Welcome. 

My hope is to bring greater awareness and understanding to dyslexia to help drive new Federal policies and to create resources to 

help students identified as dyslexic. The goal of the hearing is to 

show the importance of the identification, how high-stakes testing 

affects such dyslexic students, and the need for providing appropriate accommodations for dyslexics. 

First the definition. Dyslexia is an unexpected difficulty in reading highlighted by a gap between an individual’s intelligence and 

2 

their reading level, the bright child that cannot read. Or, as I was 

speaking to someone in the audience, the bright adult who cannot 

read. 

An NIH study recently found that the prevalence rate of dyslexia 

is nearly 20 percent affecting Americans, but it’s international, 

from all walks of life, Members of Congress, our staff, our members, thousands of constituents, 20 percent of us, and in this room 

probably more than 20 percent. 

A couple of years ago my youngest daughter was diagnosed with 

dyslexia, so my wife and I set out to find out as much as we could 

and were amazed at how much is known and yet not incorporated 

into public policy. It is maddening. A recent GAO report found that 

many students with learning and other disabilities, including dyslexia, are not receiving accommodations such as extended testing 

time, which is required by the Americans with Disabilities Act 

when they take high-stakes testing such as the SAT, GRE, LSAT, 

or U.S. medical licensing exams and others. This is unacceptable, 

and by working together we can make sure that those with learning disabilities receive their proper and legally required accommodations. 

For those with money, you can get that accommodation. If your 

child has dyslexia and you can afford $10,000 to $50,000 in tuition, 

your child can have that accommodation. For most families, that is 

not an option, and the question is whether in a typical public 

school dyslexics are mainstreamed. Mainstreaming, since there is 

a scientific base curriculum which is just for dyslexics, 

mainstreaming quite likely means they will not receive the remediation they need. 

I applaud the schools and educators who have embraced science 

by providing students with the proper educational environment and 

curriculum that enables them to thrive personally and academically. Proper support at every level can make all the difference for 

a student struggling with a learning disability. 

Let me brag a little bit on Louisiana. I think there are maybe 

three charter schools in the Nation—I only know for sure two—that 

specialize for children with dyslexia, and those two are in Louisiana. The first is the Max Charter School in Thibodaux, and then 

the other is the Louisiana Key Academy here in Baton Rouge. Full 

disclosure, my wife helped start that charter school, and there are 

some LA Key Academy board members here. Aside from being 

proud of my wife, I more importantly think that it’s a good thing 

which extends access to that scientific curriculum to those who ordinarily would never be able to afford it. We need more of this. 

There is much work to be done in raising the awareness about 

dyslexia and making important policy changes that create opportunities for all dyslexics, but we cannot afford to ignore those who are 

challenged. In the House of Representatives, I started the congressional Dyslexia Caucus to raise awareness. Since moving to the 

Senate last week, joining with Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland, we passed a bipartisan resolution which calls upon ‘‘Congress, 

schools, and State and local educational agencies to recognize the 

significant educational implications of dyslexia that must be addressed’’ and which designated October 2015 as National Dyslexia 

3 

Awareness Month. I hope this resolution is the first of many steps 

in the right direction. 

Despite great strides, we still have much to learn about dyslexia, 

and we have a great panel today to speak to us on that subject. 

Let me now introduce the witnesses. I will start with the two right 

there. 

Drs. Sally and Bennett Shaywitz were to join us, but circumstances worked out that they could not. They are currently at 

Yale in Connecticut. I think you see that banner above Bennett’s 

head. They will be joining us via video, obviously. 

Sally, I will first speak to her, is the Audrey G. Ratner Professor 

in Learning Development at Yale University School of Medicine 

and co-director of the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity. Dr. 

Shaywitz has authored more than 200 scientific articles and books, 

and together with her husband, Dr. Bennett Shaywitz, is the originator of the Sea of Strengths model of dyslexia. Dr. Shaywitz is 

also an elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National 

Academy of Sciences. She received her Bachelor’s degree from the 

City University and her medical degree from the Albert Einstein 

College of Medicine. 

Dr. Bennett Shaywitz is the Charles and Henry Schwab Professor in Dyslexia and Learning Development and co-director of the 

Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity. He has devoted his career 

to better understanding and elucidating the neurobiological basis of 

reading and dyslexia to ensure that this new knowledge is translated into better care and treatment of children and adults who are 

dyslexic. Dr. Shaywitz has authored more than 300 scientific papers and has received many honors for his contributions. He currently serves on the Scientific Advisory Board of the March of 

Dimes and the National Vaccine Program Office of Safety Subcommittee. He received his Bachelor’s degree from Washington 

University and his medical degree from Washington University 

School of Medicine. 

Next is Reverend Montgomery. He is a nationally recognized educational advocate, entrepreneur, and social change influencer. Reverend Montgomery was born and raised in Louisiana, where he attended both Baton Rouge Community College and LSU, majored in 

marketing and a minor in business administration. He is currently 

enrolled in the New Orleans Theological Seminary. An ordained 

minister, Reverend Montgomery attends the Greater King David 

Church in Baton Rouge, serving as an associate minister. 

Allyce Trapp, Ms. Trapp is a senior at LSU from Houma. She is 

majoring in mass communications and minoring in history and 

business administration. She is involved in several extra-curricular 

activities, including student government. 

We’re interested in hearing your perspective as someone with 

dyslexia who has been able to do so well in a university setting. 

And last, Ms. Margaret Law. Margaret is currently the district 

dyslexia and 504 coordinator at Central Community Schools. She 

earned her Bachelor’s degree from LSU and is a certified academic 

language therapist. Her teaching expertise spans from 1st through 

12th grades in both self-contained classes and as an academic language therapist. She also provides multisensory-structured language services and has presented at conferences and workshops. 

4 

We are glad to have Margaret here to brief us on the needs of 

teachers who are vital to the success of students with dyslexia. 

If I may suggest to you three, as I mentioned to you two earlier, 

you all may want to sit there as the Shaywitzes speak, because 

they will have slides, and I am actually going to reference those as 

I then ask you questions. 

I think, Bennett, you went first earlier, so I will turn to you two 

to decide what to do next. 

STATEMENT OF BENNETT A. SHAYWITZ, M.D., CHIEF OF PEDIATRIC NEUROLOGY AND CO-DIRECTOR OF THE YALE CENTER FOR DYSLEXIA AND CREATIVITY, YALE UNIVERSITY 

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, NEW HAVEN, CT 

Dr. BENNETT SHAYWITZ. Thank you so much, Senator Cassidy. 

Welcome to all our other panel members. 

What we’d like to do in the next few minutes is give you a sense 

of how dyslexia serves as an explanation and potential solution to 

our national epidemic of reading and school failure. 

The problem, as Senator Cassidy outlined, is that there is really 

a national epidemic of reading and academic failure. Science has 

shown that dyslexia may be at the root of these reading difficulties, 

but yet schools are not using the scientific knowledge to address 

and remediate these problems. We think, and I think you would all 

agree, that schools really need to increase their awareness of dyslexia. 

Here is data from the National Assessment of Educational 

Progress, the so-called Nation’s report card, of Grade 4 reading, the 

most recent iteration, and you can see that about half of African 

American children, African American 4th graders, are not reading—are reading below what is considered basic reading levels 

compared to still a significant percentage, 21 percent, of white students. 

I think this emphasizes that dyslexia is especially prevalent and 

unrecognized in children of color and children who are disadvantaged. In these children, reading difficulties are often written off to 

environmental issues or lack of ability. We believe that these can 

be addressed and remediated, but only if the child is identified as 

dyslexic. 

Senator Cassidy mentioned the definition of dyslexia, and this is 

really the 21st century definition of dyslexia which has now been 

codified by Senator Cassidy and Senator Mikulski in the CassidyMikulski Resolution in the Senate, and here dyslexia is defined as 

an unexpected difficulty in reading for an individual who has the 

intelligence to be a much better reader. We now know that this is 

due to a difficulty in getting to the individual sounds of spoken language which affects the ability of an individual to speak, to read, 

spell, and often learn a second language. 

Here is data that supports the unexpected nature of dyslexia. We 

have IQ along this line and reading along this line, and reading 

and IQ are dynamically linked. Sally calls them kissing cousins. IQ 

affects reading, reading affects IQ, and so on. 

In dyslexic readers, in contrast, IQ and reading are very much 

separated. They don’t seem to be talking to one another, and what 

it means is that in dyslexic readers you can be very smart and still 

5 

not read very well. This supports the unexpected nature of dyslexia. 

Senator Cassidy mentioned that dyslexia is the most common of 

learning disabilities. In fact, it represents 80 to 90 percent of all 

children diagnosed as having a learning disability. 

We know that dyslexia is universal. It affects all racial, ethnic, 

and social groups, and we know that it affects one in five children. 

That is 10 million children in our country. Every classroom has 

children who are struggling readers. 

And we know the neural basis of dyslexia. Study after study— 

this is an illustration from one of our own studies showing the left 

side of the brain in typical readers and the left side of the brain 

in dyslexic readers. What we see is what we call the neural signature for dyslexia. That is, in typical readers, we see these three systems for reading, one in the front of the brain and two in the back 

of the brain. In dyslexic readers, we have the neural signature, and 

that is an inefficient functioning of those systems on the left side 

of the back of the brain. 

So what we now know in dyslexia is there’s not a knowledge gap. 

We have plenty of knowledge, but what we have is an action gap. 

Our goal, and I’m sure it is yours, is to align education with 21st 

century science. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Bennett Shaywitz follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF BENNETT A. SHAYWITZ, M.D. 

Good morning Senator Cassidy, fellow members of the panel and attendees. 

Thank you for the opportunity to speak with you about the science of dyslexia and 

share with you the tremendous scientific progress that has been made in dyslexia. 

In particular, we want to focus on dyslexia as an explanation and potential solution 

to the national epidemic of reading/school failure. 

My name is Bennett Shaywitz, M.D., I am a physician-scientist and the Charles 

and Helen Schwab Professor in Dyslexia and Learning Development and co-director 

of the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity at the Yale University School of Medicine. Both a child neurologist and neuroscientist I have been a leader in applying 

functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to understand the neurobiology of 

reading and dyslexia in children and adults. These studies identify a neural signature for dyslexia, making a previously hidden disability visible, and for the first 

time demonstrate the brain basis for the lack of fluency in dyslexia. Our most recent 

studies focus on differences in brain connectivity between dyslexic and typical reading children and adults and studies in progress use fMRI to investigate attentional 

mechanisms in reading and dyslexia. 

The author of over 300 scientific papers, my honors include election to membership in the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and 

recipient of the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Washington University. I currently serve on the boards of the Park Century School and the Westmark School. 

I previously served on the Institute of Medicine Immunization Safety Review Committee, on the National Vaccine Program Safety Subcommittee and on the Scientific 

Advisory Board of the March of Dimes. I have been selected annually for Best Doctors in America and America’s Top Doctors. 

As you will hear, in dyslexia, science has moved forward at a rapid pace so that 

we now possess the data to reliably define dyslexia, to know it’s prevalence, it’s cognitive basis, it’s symptoms and remarkably, where it lives in the brain and evidencebased interventions which can turn a sad, struggling child into not only a good reader, but one who sees herself as a student with self esteem and a fulfilling future. 

THE PROBLEM

Overwhelming evidence indicates that we are in the midst of a national epidemic 

of reading/academic failure. Accumulating scientific evidence demonstrates 

that dyslexia both may be at the root of the reading difficulties noted and 

provide a potential solution to this unfortunate epidemic. The difficulty is 

that although the evidence is there, schools do not appear to be aware of and/or 

6 

using this scientific knowledge to remediate the highly prevalent epidemic of reading failure. It is imperative that schools must increase their awareness of dyslexia. 

The most recent data from the National Assessment of Educational Progress 

(NAEP, 2013) demonstrate that African American students are especially impacted 

by this epidemic of reading failure. For example, fully half (50 percent) of African 

American boys and girls are reading below basic levels compared to 21 percent of 

white students. Sadly, these reading difficulties are not only highly prevalent in 

children of color and those who are disadvantaged, but they far too often go unrecognized and unaddressed. In these children their significant reading difficulties tend 

to be written off to environmental issues or lack of ability. What science has taught 

us is that these reading difficulties can be addressed and remediated, but only if 

the child is identified as dyslexic. 

UNEXPECTED NATURE OF DYSLEXIA

Dr. Morgan’s initial description of dyslexia over 100 years ago as an unexpected 

difficulty in reading has now been validated by empiric evidence. Our research 

group found that in typical readers, IQ and reading are dynamically linked, they 

track together over time and influence each other. In contrast, in dyslexic readers. 

reading and intelligence are not linked and develop more independently so that a 

child who is dyslexic can have a very high IQ and, unexpectedly, read at a much 

lower level. 

This unexpected nature of dyslexia is now recognized in the 21st century definition of dyslexia found in Cassidy-Mikulski Senate resolution 275. Here dyslexia is: 

(1) ‘‘Defined as an unexpected difficulty in reading for an individual who has the 

intelligence to be a much better reader’’; and 

(2) Due to a difficulty in getting to the individual sounds of spoken language 

which affects the ability of an individual to speak, read, spell and often, learn a second language. 

The Cassidy-Mikulski resolution not only recognizes the unexpected nature of dyslexia but also incorporates what 21st century science knows about the cognitive 

basis of dyslexia. Dyslexia is a difficulty within the language system, more specifically, the phonological component of language—it is not seeing words backward. 

Data from laboratories around the world now answer the question—why do otherwise bright and motivated children struggle or even fail to learn to read? Almost 

invariably, they have a phonologic deficit. To explain, converging evidence over the 

past several decades supports the phonological basis of dyslexia. Phonological refers 

to the smaller pieces of language that make up a spoken word. To understand the 

implications of this theory, we compare what we know about spoken compared to 

written language. Spoken language is natural and does not have to be taught—everyone speaks. Reading is artificial and must be taught. The key in learning to read 

is that the letters have to be linked to something that has inherent meaning—the 

sounds of spoken language. To read, the beginning reader must come to recognize 

that the letters and letter strings represent the sounds of spoken language. She has 


97273-4.eps
7 

to develop the awareness that spoken words can be pulled apart into their basic elements, phonemes, and that the letters in a written word represent these sounds. 

Children and adults who are dyslexic struggle to pull apart the spoken word and, 

as a result, cannot isolate each sound and attach it to its letter. Results from large 

and well-studied populations of dyslexic children confirm that in young children as 

well as adolescents a deficit in phonology represents the most specific and robust 

correlate of dyslexia. 

DYSLEXIA IS SPECIFIC; LEARNING DISABILITIES ARE GENERAL

Dyslexia is the most common and most carefully studied of the learning disabilities, affecting 80 percent to 90 percent of all individuals identified as learning disabled. Of the learning disabilities, dyslexia is also the best characterized and the 

oldest. In fact, the first description of dyslexia preceded the first mention of learning 

disability by over 60 years—dyslexia was first reported by British physician, Dr. 

Pringle Morgan, in 1896, describing Percy F., 

‘‘He has always been a bright and intelligent boy, quick at games, and in no 

way inferior to others of his age. His great difficulty has been, and is now, his 

inability to learn to read.’’ 

A description that characterizes the boys and girls, men and women, I continue 

to see to this day. In contrast, the term learning disabilities was first used only in 

1962. 

Dyslexia differs markedly from all other learning disabilities. Dyslexia is very specific and scientifically validated: we know its prevalence, cognitive and 

neurobiological origins, symptoms, and effective, evidence-based interventions. 

Learning disabilities is a general term referring to a range of difficulties which have 

not yet been delineated or scientifically validated. Learning disabilities are comparable to what in medicine are referred to as ‘‘infectious’’ diseases, while dyslexia 

is akin to being diagnosed with a strep throat—a highly specific disorder in which 

the causative agent and evidence-based treatment are both known and validated. 

EPIDEMIOLOGY OF DYSLEXIA

Scientific studies in a range of disciplines provide epidemiologic, cognitive and 

neurobiological data to characterize dyslexia. Epidemiologic data from sample surveys, in which each individual is assessed, indicate that dyslexia is highly prevalent, 

affecting one in five—yes you read this correctly. It is not the stated prevalence 

often quoted. Why? The why is the reason we are here today—schools far too often 

fail to acknowledge, much less identify, students who are dyslexic. Consequently, 

schools will report low, but incorrect numbers of students affected. If dyslexic children are not identified, they cannot be counted. 

Many believe that even this one in five estimate may be too low. For example, 

data from the 2013 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP, the Nation ’s Report Card) indicate that two in three students in 4th or 8th grade are not 

proficient readers. Among some groups of students the numbers are far worse. The 


97273-5.eps
8 

NAEP data show that four in five African American, Latino and Native American 

students are not proficient readers. Many would consider this to be an out-of-control 

epidemic of reading failure, and considering its negative consequences, a national 

crisis demanding action. Longitudinal studies, prospective and retrospective, indicate dyslexia is a persistent, chronic condition; it does not represent a ‘‘developmental lag.’’ 

Sample surveys in which every subject has been individually assessed show relatively equal numbers of males and females affected. Studies based on school-based 

identification show a high male prevalence with accompanying data indicating that 

the often disruptive behaviors of the boys in the classroom play a strong role in 

bringing them to the attention of their teacher with subsequent referral. Girls who 

may be struggling readers, but who are sitting quietly in their seats, far too often 

fail to be identified. 

Dyslexia has no known boundaries, it is universal, affecting virtually all geographic areas, and both alphabetic and logographic languages. For example, my 

book. Overcoming Dyslexia. (Knopf) has been translated, as expected, into alphabetic 

languages (Portuguese, Dutch, Croatian, etc.) but also, a surprise to me, logographic 

scripts including Japanese and Korean and most recently, Chinese. In addition, dyslexia occurs in every ethnic, race and socio-economic class. 

NEURAL SIGNATURE OF DYSLEXIA

Converging evidence using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) from 

our own and laboratories around the world has identified three major neural systems for reading in the left hemisphere, one region, anterior, in Broca’s area and 

two regions posterior, one in the parieto-temporal (or Wernicke’s area), and another, 

in the occipito-temporal region, often referred to as the word form area. Furthermore, such fMRl studies indicate that in dyslexic readers, the posterior neural systems are functioning inefficiently, providing a neural signature for dyslexia. Critically, these posterior neural systems appear to be important in skilled, automatic 

reading and inefficient functioning in these neural systems suggest an explanation 

for the slow, effortful reading characterizing dyslexic readers. Recent studies of 

brain connectivity by us and others demonstrate that in dyslexic readers there is 

reduced connectivity to the posterior neural systems responsible for skilled. automatic reading. 

IN DYSLEXIA: AN ACTION GAP

So what’s the problem? The good news is that our problem is a solvable one. Of 

course, we are always seeking new knowledge. In dyslexia there is sufficient high 

quality scientific knowledge to help and to turn around the lives of so many struggling children. In dyslexia, remarkably in America, in the year 2015, we have not 

a knowledge gap but an action gap. We have the knowledge but it is not being put 

into policy and practice and far too many children and adults, too, are suffering 

needlessly. There is an epidemic of reading failure that we have the scientific evidence to treat effectively and we are not acknowledging or implementing it. It is 

our hope that hearing the depth and extent of the scientific knowledge of dyslexia 

will alert policymakers to act and to act with a sense of urgency. 

The really good news: Science is there for those who are dyslexic. We must align 

education with 21st century science. A major step in bringing science and education 

together is the Cassidy-Mikulski Senate Resolution 275 which provides the most upto-date. universal, scientifically valid definition of dyslexia incorporating scientific 

advances in understanding dyslexia, especially, its unexpected nature, and represents a landmark in aligning science and education. 

STATEMENT OF SALLY E. SHAYWITZ, M.D., AUDREY G. RATNER 

PROFESSOR IN LEARNING DEVELOPMENT AND CO-DIRECTOR OF THE YALE CENTER FOR DYSLEXIA AND CREATIVITY, 

YALE UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, NEW HAVEN, CT 

Dr. SALLY SHAYWITZ. I will continue to give you a little bit of the 

background, the scientific background to dyslexia. Now that we 

have that, we have to focus on what are the action items, how do 

we act on that. A major question is what is dyslexia and what does 

dyslexia look like. I will just say very quickly, I don’t think the people in the room with you right now would respond this way, but 

far too many people, when you ask them what is dyslexia, they get 

9 

a puzzled look and say, ‘‘Oh yes, that’s when you read or see letters 

backwards.’’ 

No. 

Senator Cassidy mentioned our conceptual model of dyslexia as 

a sea of strengths, and here you can see what we envision is an 

encapsulated weakness in decoding and later on in fluent reading, 

but that encapsulated weakness is surrounded by a sea of 

strengths in higher level cognitive functioning, critical thinking, 

reasoning, problem-solving. 

You have this paradox. You have the weakness and the 

strengths. The goal is to identify the weakness and remediate it, 

but also to identify the strengths and allow students and others access to these strengths, and that is most typically accomplished 

through accommodation. 

This is very important. We have come to a stage of science in 

dyslexia where we have a pretty good idea of the origin of the difficulties, and that is the individual who is dyslexic has difficulty 

getting to the sounds of spoken language. That tells us what to 

look for. 

What are the symptoms of dyslexia? They’re not sort of random. 

They make sense in light of what science has taught us about dyslexia. If you have difficulty getting to the sounds of spoken language, you will have symptoms of difficulty with spoken language; 

very often, of word retrieval. The person, the child and the adults 

know what they want to say and the problem isn’t at a higher level 

but actually at a lower level in actually uttering the word. 

People who are dyslexic have trouble associating the letters with 

the sounds that represent the letters, affecting initially accurate 

reading and over time fluent reading, which is the ability to read 

not only accurately but rapidly, automatically, and with good comprehension. 

It also affects spelling, and also the ability—if you’ve had difficulty learning your basic primary spoken language, you can almost predict that that individual will have difficulty learning a second language, a foreign language. 

Here we have the science and the knowledge, but yet it’s not getting translated. It has stopped. So what are the barriers? It’s amazing. There are far too often schools who are unwilling to diagnose 

or even accept a diagnosis of dyslexia. It doesn’t make sense, but 

that’s the way it is. Or schools who will say I don’t believe in dyslexia. My response to that is, in the case of religion, you can choose 

whatever religion to believe in, but in the case of a proven entity, 

it’s not a case of I believe or don’t. It’s a fact, and in order to help 

our children, we have to utilize the science about dyslexia. 

Also, I’m so happy that discussions of accommodations are also 

part of this hearing because very often schools fail to provide both 

evidence-based interventions and accommodations. It’s very important that, yes, children have difficulty in reading, but they have 

difficulty, as I mentioned, in spelling, in learning a foreign language, and these difficulties affect the whole child. A barrier is 

thinking in very narrow silos and not broadening our interest in 

the child and in the whole child. 

This is very exciting. What you are seeing here are data that 

come from a paper that will appear in the Journal of Pediatrics 

10 

next month and is already online currently. You can see here the 

orange represents typical readers, the blue dyslexic readers, and 

here are their grades in school. You can see this is the achievement 

gap between typical and dyslexic readers. 

Look over here. Look at that. This is 1st grade. Look at the size 

of that achievement gap. People say, oh, let’s wait until 3d or 4th 

grade. That’s too late. An achievement gap, and a very big one, is 

already present in 1st grade. We must screen for dyslexia, identify 

it, and then provide evidence-based effective treatments for it. 

What do we do about it? Well, Dr. Bennett Shaywitz and I are 

really passionate about dyslexia. It turns out we all can visit 

schools, speak to many people, and do research. Our very firm conclusion is that it is in the best interest of a dyslexic child to attend 

a specialized school for dyslexia, and that’s in keeping with having 

an early diagnosis, an early intervention, screening students for 

dyslexia early on. 

A specialized school is where the climate is right, and by that I 

mean the atmosphere in the school, where everyone is on board. 

It’s not just the reading interventionist that pulls that child out for 

45 minutes twice a week, but it’s every teacher. It’s the principal. 

It’s the PE teacher. Everyone is on board, and that becomes incredibly important. 

Classes are small. Evidence-based methods are used. The teachers are knowledgeable, flexible and caring. This is really important. 

What you have in a specialized school is consistency in instructions 

across all classes, which is very different if a child is in a regular 

school and is pulled out for the 45 minutes or so. What happens 

when that child goes to his or her History class or Social Studies? 

The teachers typically have no idea what that child’s reading is 

like. Whereas the reading may be one way during the reading instruction, it doesn’t cross into other areas of instructions. In fact, 

teachers may be angry at the student: ‘‘Oh, I thought you knew 

this. Why can’t you answer this question?’’ 

What happens when you have a specialized school, the teachers 

form a team. They all communicate and support one another because they want to support the child. That’s very rare in nonspecialized schools. 

Here is a wonderful school. It’s the Windward School in New 

York, and they do wonderful work. The tuition is $52,000 a year. 

I think it’s good for those who can afford it, but think of how many 

people can’t. What about middle-class children and disadvantaged 

children? 

The question is—that’s one model—are there any other models 

that work? I’ll say there are, and right where you all are. 

Here’s a model that works, a specialized school for dyslexia, the 

Louisiana Key Academy, which is free to all dyslexic students. I see 

there the principal, Evelyn. I see teacher Dale Smith. I see my 

hero, Dr. Laura Cassidy, who not only started this school but 

works harder than almost anyone I know to make sure this school 

serves all children optimally. There’s one of the students. 

Hold on. We’re trying to fix something. I’ll try to go quickly. I’m 

from New York, so I can speak very quickly. 

[Laughter.] 

11 

Accommodations basically are essential to dyslexic students 

based on scientific knowledge, the law, and ethics. Students who 

are dyslexic can often think at the highest levels, but they can’t 

read fluently, quickly, or automatically. It’s critical for tests to 

measure ability rather than disability, and accommodations level 

the playing field. It’s especially important in high-stakes tests that 

they be appropriate for students who are dyslexic, or the results 

will be incorrect and misleading. I must say, the Cassidy office has 

been in the forefront of supporting students in terms of accommodations. 

I’ll finish in 2 minutes. 

There’s neurological evidence. I won’t go into it now. The recommendation is schools shouldn’t ignore it, and to create and support specialized schools like the state-of-the-art LKA (Louisiana 

Key Academy) model. 

This is the last slide, to provide students with the knowledge 

about dyslexia. That’s empowering, because it provides the student 

with self-understanding and self-awareness of what she or he has 

and what they need to do. It also provides students with a community to join. They know they’re not alone. For the parent, teacher, 

and importantly the student, the knowledge that he or she is 

dyslexic brings with it the information that that student is not stupid or lazy. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Sally Shaywitz follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF SALLY E. SHAYWITZ, M.D. 

Good morning Senator Cassidy and fellow panel members. I too, thank you for 

the opportunity to speak with you about the science of dyslexia and share with you 

the tremendous scientific progress that has been made in dyslexia. Following Dr. 

Bennett Shaywitz, I, too, will focus my statement on dyslexia as an explanation and 

potential solution to the national epidemic of reading/school failure. 

My name is Sally Shaywitz and I am a physician-scientist. The Audrey G. Ratner 

Professor in Learning Development and co-director of the Yale Center for Dyslexia 

& Creativity at the Yale University School of Medicine. I am a member of the National Academy of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, and have served 

on the Advisory Council of the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and 

Stroke (NINDS). the National Research Council Committee on Women in Science 

and Engineering, co-chaired the National Research Council Committee on Gender 

Differences in the Careers of Science, Engineering and Mathematics Faculty and 

have served on the congressionally mandated National Reading Panel and the Committee to Prevent Reading Difficulties in Young Children of the National Research 

Council. I am also the recipient of an Honorary Doctor of Science degree from Williams College. 

I speak to you as a physician-scientist. As a physician, I have all too many memories of sitting by an ailing child’s bedside, wishing so desperately that we had the 

knowledge to help that child. As a physician I know the power of science and how 

once new knowledge becomes available we act quickly, indeed, race to put that 

knowledge to good use. We want to close that knowledge gap and improve the lives 

of the affected children. When I sat on the Advisory Council of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, we constantly asked ourselves: how have 

we benefited mankind, how has our research improved the well-being of children 

and adults. 

Given that there has been so much scientific progress, we must take definitive 

steps to translate this remarkable scientific progress into practice. A fundamental 

question we can now address is what is dyslexia and what does dyslexia look like. 

THE PARADOX OF DYSLEXIA

Dyslexia is a paradox, the same slow reader is often a very fast and able thinker—giving rise to our conceptual Sea of Strengths model of dyslexia as a weakness 

12 

in getting to the sounds of spoken words surrounded by a sea of strengths in higher 

level thinking processes such as reasoning and problem solving. Reflecting this paradox are many eminent dyslexics—financier Charles Schwab, attorney David Boies, 

cardiac surgeon Dr. Toby Cosgrove, Hollywood agent Ari Emanuel, producer Brian 

Grazer and economist, Diane Swonk. On the other side of the coin are many who 

are not identified, and do not receive evidence-based instructions, continue to struggle to read and see themselves as failures. Sadly, these boys and girls have no 

knowledge of what their difficulty is or that it even has a name, have no self-understanding, come to view themselves as dumb or stupid, see themselves as not meant 

for school, suffer low self-esteem, often drop out of school with a loss to themselves, 

to their families and to society. 

UNDERSTANDING THE ORIGIN OF THE DIFFICULTIES LEADS TO AN UNDERSTANDING

OF THE SYMPTOMS OF DYSLEXIA

With the phonologic deficit recognized and validated, it is now possible to understand and to predict the symptoms emanating from this basic difficulty, which can 

be both observed and measured, resulting in an accurate diagnosis of dyslexia. Dyslexia is a language-based difficulty and impacts spoken language, for example, word 

retrieval difficulties: reading, initially impacting reading accuracy and then reading 

fluency, the ability to read not only accurately, but also rapidly and automatically 

with good understanding. Not being able to read automatically, dyslexic readers 

must read what I refer to as ‘‘manually,’’ requiring the output of large amounts of 

effort and consuming much of the individual’s attention. A dyslexic reader lacks fluency meaning that he reads slowly and with great effort, although he may understand the content at a high level. Importantly, the dyslexic’s vocabulary and comprehension may be quite high. Spelling is also problematic as is learning a foreign 

language—all reflected in the Cassidy-Mikulski Senate Resolution 275. 

BARRIERS TO UTILIZING SCIENTIFIC KNOWLEDGE TO ENHANCE THE EDUCATION

OF DYSLEXIC STUDENTS

Unfortunately, scientific knowledge is not being utilized by far too many schools. 

The major barriers include: schools that are unwilling to diagnose or accept a diagnosis of dyslexia and schools that don’t ‘‘believe’’ in dyslexia. As a consequence, students are hurt by the failure of these schools to provide evidence-based interventions and accommodations. In addition, the lack of understanding of dyslexia leads 

to a failure to address the needs of the whole child. As noted, dyslexia affects: spoken language, reading accuracy, reading fluency, the ability to read math problems, 

to spell and to learn a second or foreign language. These struggles particularly when 

not addressed lead to anxiety and at times depression and loss of self-esteem, often 

with negative life-long effects. 

READING GAP ALREADY PRESENT BY FIRST GRADE AND PERSISTS

Scientific knowledge, too, has delineated the progression of reading development. 

Reading growth is most rapid early on, during the first few years of school and then 

plateaus. In a report to be published in November 2015, we report the results of 

a longitudinal study of reading from first grade to twelfth grade and beyond. We 

find that as early as first grade, compared with typical readers, dyslexic readers had 

lower reading scores and their trajectories over time never converge with those of 

typical readers. These data demonstrate that such differences are not so much a 

function of increasing disparities over time but instead because of differences already present in first grade between typical and dyslexic readers. We conclude that 

the achievement gap between typical and dyslexic readers is evident as early as first 

grade, and this gap persists into adolescence. These findings provide strong evidence 

and impetus for early identification of, and intervention for, young children at risk 

for dyslexia. Implementing effective reading programs as early as kindergarten or 

even preschool offers the potential to close the achievement gap. 

13 

NATIONAL READING PANEL AND TEACHING READING

Fortunately, thanks to congressional action there is now strong evidence of what 

treatment elements are effective in teaching children to read. In 1998 Congress 

mandated the formation of a National Reading Panel to investigate the teaching of 

reading. I was proud to serve on the panel which produced the Report of the National Reading Panel. As a result, today it is no longer acceptable to use reading 

programs lacking scientific evidence of efficacy: instead it should be mandatory to 

use programs that are evidence-based, proven to be effective in the same way that 

medications must be tested and proven to be effective before they can be approved 

by the FDA. Our children deserve no less. And yet, today, this powerful information 

is not being used in schools, children are not learning to read and giving up, and 

not reaching their full potential. We have what amounts to an educational emergency in the United States. Children are not learning to read with serious academic, 

economic and health consequences including, school drop-out, being half as likely to 

go on to college, significantly lower lifetime earnings, significantly higher unemployment, higher rates of mental health issues such as often incapacitating anxiety, and 

as reported in 2013. significantly higher mortality rates related to lack of a high 

school diploma. These harsh consequences harm not only the dyslexic individual but 

place our country at a competitive disadvantage. 

EFFECTIVE READING INTERVENTION FOR DYSLEXIA

There is much known scientifically and clinically about dyslexia and its impact 

on children. Synthesizing that information brings with it the strong suggestion that 

a dyslexic child is best served, first by early diagnosis which should lead to early 

intervention, especially that there are now data indicating, as noted above, that the 

achievement gap is already present and large at first grade. The size of this gap 

makes it exceedingly difficult to overcome with time. It provides a strong impetus 

to identify and address dyslexia very early in the student’s school career. Assessment for phonological skills early on and/or having the child’s teacher complete a 

relatively short questionnaire, such as the Dyslexia Screening Measure (DSM) 

which is based on longitudinal data, can provide data with good sensitivity and 

specificity indicating a child’s risk of being dyslexic. 

Currently, dyslexic children are either not identified, and even if, identified provided with pull-out instructions of about 45 minutes several times a week. The child 

feels isolated and embarrassed. S/he is often teased and/or bullied, and returns to 

a class where s/he has missed the instructions other students have received. Most 

of his/her teachers have no idea of what dyslexia is, and believe it is reversing letters. This means that teachers in the child’s other classes such as social studies, 

science or biology, math or literature are totally unprepared to understand or educate the dyslexic child. These educators have no or little idea of the student’s reading level and how to best address the child’s reading, writing, spelling and word retrieval difficulties. Points are taken off for mis-spellings in history, a student’s difVerDate Nov 24 2008 13:11 Nov 16, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\97274.TXT CAROL

97273-3.eps
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ficulty in reading the words in a math problem are mistakenly ascribed to lack of 

understanding of math principles and so it goes. It is critical that the dyslexic child 

is in a school where the entire faculty is on board and understands dyslexia and 

how best to address the needs of a child who is dyslexic. 

Dyslexic students require frequent opportunities to interact with their instructor; 

this is only possible in small groups as noted by the Report of the National Reading 

Panel. In large groups, dyslexic students have little opportunity to interact with the 

instructor, perhaps once during a period, if that. This is totally insufficient and does 

not provide the opportunity for the instructions to take hold. Methods must be based 

on evidence and not anecdote or belief systems, e.g., ‘‘I know in my heart that this 

methods works. I believe in it.’’ Teachers must be knowledgeable about dyslexia and 

flexible. Dyslexic students are not fluent readers, this means that they may know 

how to read one moment and then, a short while later, not be able to decipher the 

very same word. It is imperative that teachers understand the impact of lack of fluency on reading, and similarly, are aware that if a dyslexic student is called on to 

read aloud, it is often unbearably embarrassing or if she is asked a question, her 

word retrieval difficulties arising from her dyslexia may result in her not being able 

to retrieve the correct word—due not to a problem in higher level cognitive functioning or lack of knowledge but due to her inability to access and retrieve the 

sounds of the words that are needed for her to articulate the word correctly. Students are in a school during the day going to many classes: it is critical that the 

child’s teachers are united and function as a knowing and caring team that is fully 

aware of where the child is in his/her reading, how s/he is being instructed and the 

effective approaches to supporting this student in each teacher’s subject class and 

is aware of, and following, the student’s progress carefully. This requires teachers 

to function as a team, that is, to be in constant contact with one another and there 

to be on-going consistency in instructions. 

The most effective models that work for dyslexic students are specialized schools 

specifically for these students. There are a number of such specialized schools for 

dyslexic students nationally. Students attending such schools benefit, learn to read 

and succeed in their academic work and come to appreciate, too, that they are not 

stupid. However, what these independent schools have in common is high tuitions 

that many middle-class parents, and certainly not disadvantaged families, can afford. What is wonderful to see is a new model that has been developed, one exemplified by the Louisiana Key Academy (LKA) started by Dr. Laura Cassidy, which is 

a free public charter school that brings into the school and each and every classroom 

all the scientific knowledge now known about dyslexia, along with a deep understanding and concern for each student at the school. I have personally visited the 

school, spoken with teachers, students and parents and was elated to see how well 

the students are learning. how they now viewed themselves as learners rather than 

as school failures, and, perhaps, most importantly, how much pride and self-esteem 

they have developed. It is very powerful to be at a school where you are part of a 

community of dyslexic students who are bright and where you are no longer viewed 

as different, inferior and not part of the group. Given the terrible epidemic of reading and school failure, and the high prevalence of dyslexia of one in five, we must 

ensure that LKA is sustainable and strongly supported. This school has made an 

extraordinary difference for so many dyslexic students who were previously ignored, 

feared going to school and were on the path to academic, and sadly, life failure. The 

difference this school has made in these students’ lives is breath-taking and life-affirming. This opportunity for a chance at success must be made available to every 

boy and girl who is dyslexic, especially those who are disadvantaged or African 

American. We, as a society, must do no less; having successful learners will not only 

benefit the student, but his family and community, and, indeed, the Nation. The 

model of LKA, a free public charter school is a model that works, a school 

that provides the needed ‘‘all hands on board’’ climate and instructions to 

dyslexic students. Critically LKA addresses the needs of the whole child 

the entire day rather than the artificial belief that giving a child a package 

of instructions for a period a day will address the significant and on-going 

needs of a dyslexic child. 

ACCOMMODATIONS

Given that a student who is dyslexic has both a weakness and strengths, it is critical that, for example, tests, both in school and on high stakes standardized examinations and Common Core assessments actually measure the student’s ability and 

not his disability. The dyslexic student may learn to read fairly accurately but hardly ever with fluency; he remains a slow reader albeit a quick thinker. These dyslexic 

students may know the answer to a test question, but as a result of their slow readVerDate Nov 24 2008 13:11 Nov 16, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00018 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\97274.TXT CAROL
15 

ing never get to reach many questions or to finish the test, the student simply runs 

out of time. Or, she is so anxious about finishing the exam that she races through 

it and misses questions which, given the needed time, she would be able to answer 

correctly. Thus, it is critical that students who are dyslexic receive the accommodation of extra time; it is not a perk but a necessity if the result of the test is to reflect 

that student’s knowledge. In adolescents and young adults applying for high-stakes 

standardized tests for college, graduate or professional schools, the Americans with 

Disability Amendment Act (ADAA) of 2008 is highly supportive of the need for accommodations for those with disabilities like dyslexia that impair a major life activity like reading. The ADAA regulations also state that students should receive accommodations even if they are doing well in school, it is not the outcome of their 

performance but rather what they have to do to achieve the outcome. 

High school and college students with a history of childhood dyslexia often present 

a paradoxical picture; they may be similar to their unimpaired peers on measures 

of comprehension, but they continue to suffer from the phonologic deficit that makes 

reading less automatic, more effortful, and slow. Neurobiological data provide strong 

evidence for the necessity of extra time for readers with dyslexia. Functional MRI 

data demonstrate that in dyslexic readers the word-form area, the region supporting 

rapid reading, functions inefficiently. Readers compensate by developing anterior 

systems bilaterally and the right homolog of the left word-form area. Such compensation allows for more accurate reading, but it does not support fluent or rapid 

reading. For these readers with dyslexia, the provision of extra time is an essential 

accommodation, particularly on high stakes tests such as SAT, ACT and tests for 

professional schools such as LSAT, MCAT and GRE—and for the Common Core 

tests. The accommodation of extra time allows the student time to decode each word 

and to apply his unimpaired higher order cognitive and linguistic skills to the surrounding context to get at the meaning of words that he cannot entirely or rapidly 

decode. While readers who are dyslexic improve greatly with additional time, providing additional time to non-dyslexic readers results in very minimal or no improvement in scores. 

A special word about the Common Core State standards (CCSS) and tests such 

as PARCC, which are designed to assess whether students are meeting the CCSS. 

It can be stated unequivocally, that the CCSS and accompanying tests such 

as PARCC are totally inappropriate for students with dyslexia. Such tests 

are based on the mistaken belief that all students, including dyslexic students, will be fluent readers by the end of second grade and that all students should read at grade level and above, clearly an expectation that 

flies in the face of all that has been learned about the development of reading in dyslexic children. 

Furthermore, CCSS and PARCC are based on the belief that comprehensionfocused reading instructions using ‘‘complex text’’ should be the basis of reading instructions, ignoring whether or not the student can actually read the words in the 

‘‘complex text.’’ This has had serious implications for dyslexic students. For example, 

the PARCC test for third-grade students is more targeted to the reading level of students in fifth grade and focused on reading comprehension. This has had the pernicious effect of schools dropping all other instructions, including the much-needed 

decoding instruction, to focus almost exclusively on comprehension. In addition, it 

is well-known that multiple choice questions in the PARCC are inappropriate for 

students who are dyslexic. Common Core’s overwhelming focus on comprehension 

may be appropriate for students in high school but is wholly inappropriate for children in very early grades, especially dyslexic students who are invariably still struggling with and working hard to master decoding. 

Although providing extra time for reading is by far the most common accommodation for people with dyslexia, other helpful accommodations include allowing the use 

of computers for writing essay answers on tests, access to recorded books and text 

to voice software. Other helpful accommodations include providing access to syllabi 

and lecture notes, tutors to ‘‘talk through’’ and review the content of reading material, alternatives to multiple-choice tests (e.g., reports or projects), waivers of highstakes oral exams, a separate, quiet room for taking tests, and a partial waiver of 

the foreign language requirement. Dyslexic students who have difficulty accessing 

the sound system of their primary language will, almost invariably, have difficulties 

learning a foreign language. Students with dyslexia most often have no difficulty 

with the mastery of high level courses. The problem lies in their lack of fluent, rapid 

reading so that it is the time necessary for them to read through the materials that 

is problematic. Many rigorous schools allow these students to take one course less 

during the school year and take this course during the summer. With such accommodations, many students with dyslexia are successfully completing studies in a 

range of disciplines, including science, law, medicine and education. It is accomVerDate Nov 24 2008 13:11 Nov 16, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00019 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\97274.TXT CAROL
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modations such as these that are encouraging and allowing more students who are 

dyslexic to enter and to succeed in STEM fields. 

SUMMARY AND IMPLICATIONS OF THE SCIENCE OF DYSLEXIA

Yes, dyslexic children can learn to read and must be taught to read. It is imperative that teachers and parents learn about the powerful science of dyslexia, know 

how to identify dyslexia early on and to provide a positive climate where the entire 

school faculty is on-board in understanding and teaching students who are dyslexic. 

This can only take place in specialized schools where dyslexic students are understood, taught by evidence-based methods and are part of a community that they are 

welcomed into, rather than being isolated. We must not give up on teaching dyslexic 

children and limit a child’s future options. Education must, and can be, aligned with 

science. To best serve the dyslexic child, we must serve the whole child throughout 

the school day and not limit his education to a 45-minute pull-out once a day. 

We must ensure that scientific knowledge is translated into policy and practice 

and that ignorance and injustice do not prevail. We know better, we must act better. 

I cannot look into the face of one more child who has lost faith in himself and 

the world, I cannot look into the face of a child’s father who is desperately trying 

to hold back tears; I cannot hear once again about how a school told a mother, ‘‘we 

do not believe in dyslexia.’’ 

As an iceberg is 90 percent underwater with only 10 percent visible; similarly, in 

dyslexia, we hear about the 10 percent who have made it. Let’s not give up on the 

invisible 90 percent still underwater asking, indeed begging, to be helped. 

I am optimistic, once Congress, educators and parents are aware of the strong 

science of dyslexia, educators will want to align their practices and policies with 

21st century science. Congress, in particular, can do much to address the needs of 

dyslexic students, to transform struggling students who do not see themselves as 

learners into empowered learners who see themselves as having a positive future. 

First and foremost, it is critical that all recognize that dyslexia cuts across all 

boundaries—ethnic, racial, SES, gender, national and political. All including Republicans and Democrats must come together on this human issue; dyslexia is not, and 

should not, be used as a political issue. Recognizing and addressing dyslexia, the 

explanation and potential solution to our terrible epidemic of reading and academic 

failure is in the interest of the one in five who are dyslexic, their families and our 

Nation. I congratulate Senators Cassidy and Mikulski who have come together to 

sponsor the bipartisan Senate Resolution 275 that provides a 21st century definition 

of dyslexia and states, unequivocally, that dyslexia has significant educational implications. Isn’t it time that the IDEA written first in 1974 joins the 21st century 

science and gives dyslexia the primacy it deserves, rather than being lost in the verbiage as an afterthought. Let’s rise above political interests, acknowledge dyslexia 

and 21st century knowledge of dyslexia, including its prevalence, definition, identification, provision of not only evidence-based instructions but, critically, strong support for specialized schools for dyslexic students, schools whose climate of having everyone on-board and instructional methods allow dyslexic students to have their 

strengths, rather than their weaknesses characterize their future lives. 

Schools must not be allowed to ignore or fail to recognize dyslexia. We must act 

now. This requires creating and supporting specialized schools for dyslexic students 

using the state-of-the-art LKA model. We must always keep in mind: OUR CHILDREN CAN’T WAIT. 

For far too long, the word and the condition it represents, dyslexia, has been overlooked, not said and not used, much to the detriment of the millions of children who 

are dyslexic. Dyslexia is specific, highly relevant and carries with it explanatory 

meaning. Science provides its definition, epidemiology, cognitive basis, neurobiological basis, developmental progression, and long-term outcome. 

Perhaps, most important of all, the greatest beneficiary of knowing who she or 

he is, is the dyslexic student him/herself. To know what you have has a name and 

explains so much of what you experience on a daily basis and lets you know that 

you are intelligent, even if you can’t read quickly, is incredibly empowering. I have 

had the experience of telling so many children (and adults, too) that they are 

dyslexic and what that means. The absolute relief this provides can be life-changing, 

and indeed, life-saving. Knowledge that you are dyslexic provides the student with 

self-understanding and self-awareness of what s/he has and what s/he needs to do 

in order to succeed. Furthermore, such knowledge provides students with a community to join—for many, it is the very first time they know they are not alone. For 

his or her parent, teacher and importantly, the student, knowledge that s/he is 

dyslexic brings with it the information that the individual is not stupid or lazy. 

Top priority recommendation: 

17 

Given that dyslexia affects the whole child in every class throughout the 

school day it seems reasonable to strongly encourage the creation of specialized charter schools that focus solely on dyslexia. Recognizing the rapid 

growth in reading in the very first years of school and the already present gap by 

first grade the school should begin as early as possible, by kindergarten or first 

grade. The goal is to reach children at-risk for dyslexia early on when reading intervention can be maximally effective and before the students fall further and further 

behind. At such specialized charter schools, such as the Louisiana Key Academy, the 

entire educational team from principal to classroom teacher to physical education 

instructor understand dyslexia, it impact students in various situations and are on 

board to support the students throughout their day. Here, students learn and there 

is no bullying by students or frustration expressed by teachers who may not understand the impact of dyslexia. These schools can also serve as resources where teachers can come, spend time and learn about dyslexia, what it is and how it impacts 

a student and learn specific evidence-based methods for teaching reading to dyslexic 

students and how to best implement these methods. 

Other Recommendations: 

• Schools must not be allowed to ignore, fail to recognize or deny the reality or 

diagnosis of dyslexia. 

• Schools, including teachers, principals and other administrators and parents 

should make every effort to use the word dyslexia since it has specific, highly relevant and explanatory meaning; science has provided its: definition; epidemiology; 

cognitive basis; neurobiological basis; developmental progression; and long-term outcome. For dyslexia, knowledge of its cognitive basis indicates what symptoms to look 

for so that symptoms of dyslexia in the classroom (and at home) are noted and acknowledged rather than as currently happens, ignored or overlooked. This greater 

awareness and understanding of dyslexia and its impact will benefit both the teacher and student both in the teaching of reading and in the climate and attitudes 

within the classroom. 

• Using the word dyslexia provides a common language facilitating communication among teachers, clinicians, scientists and parents. 

• For the student, the knowledge that he is dyslexic is empowering, providing the 

student with self-understanding and self-awareness of what he has and what he 

needs to do in order to succeed. 

• For students, knowledge that they are dyslexic also provides a community to 

join—they know they are not alone. 

• For the parent and teacher, and importantly the student, knowledge that he or 

she is dyslexic brings with it the information that the individual is not stupid or 

lazy. 

• Critically important is that schools must use evidence-based programs that have 

proven efficacy; research-based simply indicates that there are theoretical suggestions but does not provide evidence that the program is, indeed, effective. Evidencebased programs are akin to the level of evidence the FDA requires before a medication can be approved for use. Many, many theoretical, research-based approaches, 

when tested in the field, prove to be ineffective. Our children’s reading is too important to be left to theoretical, but unproven, practices and methods. We must replace 

anecdotal and common, but non-evidence-based practices, with those that are proven, that is, they are evidence-based. 

• Professional development programs targeted for teachers must provide evidence 

that the students of the teachers using these programs actually improve in their 

reading performance. This is in contrast to some professional development programs 

which seem to improve teacher’s understanding but not in a way that results in improvement in their student’s reading performance. 

• Schools of education must ensure that aspiring teachers are taught evidencebased methods to teach reading and have monitored experience demonstrating that 

they are effective in implementing these methods. 

• Scientific evidence that reading growth is maximum in the very first few years 

of school and then plateaus together with new data indicating that the reading gap 

between typical and dyslexic readers is already present at first grade and persists 

means that students must receive evidence-based instructions at the start of their 

school experience and their progress carefully monitored. Waiting is harmful and 

not acceptable. 

There is so much more to tell; for those who have questions and want to know 

more, visit the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity website: dyslexia.yale.edu or 

look at my book, ‘‘Overcoming Dyslexia,’’ which discusses the scientific basis of dyslexia and how to translate this knowledge into practice. 

18 

Senator CASSIDY. Derrius. 

STATEMENT OF REV. DERRIUS M. MONTGOMERY, ASSOCIATE 

MINISTER, GREATER KING DAVID BAPTIST CHURCH, BATON 

ROUGE, LA 

REV. MONTGOMERY. Again, my name is Derrius Montgomery. I 

am here on behalf of LA Key Academy. I serve as a board member. 

Can you all hear me? 

Senator CASSIDY. You have to turn on the microphone, I believe. 

REV. MONTGOMERY. Oh, much better. 

Again, my name is Derrius Montgomery. I have been in the education fight for about 2 or 3 years now. I joined this fight as an 

advocate originally with Stand for Children. I learned some horrific 

data, that 71 percent of 4th graders, along with 78 percent of 8th 

graders, weren’t able to read at grade level, and it frustrated me 


97273-1.eps 97273-2.eps
19 

because I remember being one of those, probably one of the 71 percent of 4th graders that couldn’t read. 

Thanks to my parents moving to Atlanta, GA, where I attended 

a middle school called Floyd Middle School, I got access to resources that were not offered to me here in Louisiana. That’s when 

I discovered I was dyslexic, when I moved to Atlanta. 

Senator CASSIDY. Derrius, can you speak a little louder, please? 

REV. MONTGOMERY. Can you hear me? OK. 

When I realized that I was dyslexic, I didn’t find out until I was 

an adult. When I looked at all the studies and I saw some of the 

main symptoms, the reading and the comprehension piece, that 

kind of disturbed me because I’m a grown man. I’m a father of 

three, a husband now, but I remember getting teased for simply 

not being able to comprehend and read at my grade level. I 

wouldn’t really say that my teacher didn’t care about me. I just believe maybe she didn’t have the resources in our little town of 

Opelousas to actually identify those traits that could have probably 

given me the education career that I needed right here in Louisiana, but I had to go away. 

When I think about other students, those who are right there in 

my community in the church that I serve, those kids can’t just get 

up, pack up and go to another State to receive that quality of education. 

When I learned of the Cassidy school, I quickly wanted to jump 

on board because this is something that I feel not only can be a 

partnership with our local school district here, but we get to educate other teachers across our State on what it really means to be 

dyslexic and how we can all work together to provide those tools 

to those teachers so that we don’t have any more kids falling 

through the gap. 

That’s all I have as an intro. 

[The prepared statement of Rev. Montgomery follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF DERRIUS MONTGOMERY

By the 4th grade, It was obvious that I suffered with some type of learning disorder. From difficulty memorizing, to difficulty of spelling and reading, I remember 

being forced to feel for many, many years, like I wasn’t trying hard enough. Since 

people who suffer with dyslexic have no outward visible signs of their difficulties, 

my parents and educators questioned the very existence of dyslexia. 

It was not until the 6th grade at Floyd Middle School, in Mableton GA, where 

my 6th grade teacher would discover that I was indeed a very smart and highly motivated learner. But due to my lack of self-confidence and the overlooking of all the 

tell-tell signs of dyslexia, it was evident that I may have come up through a system 

that No. 1, did not understand the symptoms of dyslexia, so they couldn’t provide 

the necessary accommodation or No. 2, my educators and school system did not care 

to provide the necessary accommodation. 

Because of my 6th grade teacher’s training, she was able to not only identify the 

symptoms of dyslexia, but also made a way for me to receive the proper accommodations needed to graduate high school, become a college graduate, then business 

owner and well-respected community leader. 

Senator CASSIDY. Allyce. 

STATEMENT OF ALLYCE TRAPP, STUDENT, LOUISIANA STATE 

UNIVERSITY, BATON ROUGE, LA 

Ms. TRAPP. Hello. I’m Allyce Trapp, and I’m a senior here at 

LSU. It sounds like I was the exception in living in Houma, LA. 

I was diagnosed in 1st grade. My parents immediately noticed that 

20 

I was way behind all the students in my class. I wasn’t reading as 

well. That graph they showed was perfect, a perfect example of the 

students in my class, they read something, they understood it. 

When I read it, it just went right out. I had no idea what I was 

looking at. 

My parents were quick enough to catch it, have me diagnosed, 

and found out I was dyslexic in the 1st grade. In my school, when 

you are dyslexic or ADHD, you are put into the Project Read program in the 2d grade. From 2d grade through 5th grade you are 

put into this program, and they take you out of the classroom for 

your English and your reading and they do multi-sensory things 

with you, like work on your vocabulary words and making flash 

cards. I still do that in college. They just teach you a bunch of ways 

to study. 

Senator CASSIDY. Allyce, can you pull that microphone up? People are listening online. 

Ms. TRAPP. Oh, I’m so sorry. 

Senator CASSIDY. Just a little bit closer. 

Ms. TRAPP. OK. They told me different ways to study, and they 

went all the way back to the beginning with basic words like ‘‘it’’, 

‘‘cat’’, ‘‘sat’’—just things I should have learned in kindergarten but 

I didn’t because I just couldn’t, just couldn’t retain it. 

That’s what Project Read did for me, and because I had that program, I caught up with everyone else in my grade. By the time I 

was in 5th grade and I was out of the Project Read program and 

put into the Resource program, I was caught up, and that’s because 

it was caught early. And, yes, it does happen as early as 1st grade. 

They could have noticed it in kindergarten if they really wanted to, 

because I was that far behind that early. 

I remember not learning how to tell time on a watch, like the actual watch, until I was in 8th grade; learning Spanish because I 

didn’t learn that in 1st grade because it went in one ear and right 

out the other. 

The accommodations, I can’t stress enough that my life completely changed after having those accommodations. If I didn’t have 

that, I wouldn’t be at LSU. I would be in Houma doing God knows 

what. I wouldn’t be in school, that’s for sure. It completely changed 

my life because before that, I don’t remember this because I was 

young. My mom said I’d come home, I would be discouraged, I had 

no motivation, low self-esteem. What kindergartener do you know 

who has low self-esteem? 

It’s because of dyslexia, because they see all the other students 

who are picking up everything, who are learning everything, and 

they’re not. It’s like, what’s wrong with me? Why am I dumb? 

There’s nothing wrong with the student, it’s just that they have to 

learn a different way, and that’s what these accommodations 

taught me, that I am just as smart as everyone else, I just have 

to learn a different way. That’s what having all the accommodations through elementary school and high school, and now in college, gave me. I had extra time on the ACT, and I’m so thankful 

for that because if I didn’t have that, I would not be at LSU, I 

would not have gotten that score that I needed. 

I had unlimited test time. I could take each section as long as 

I wanted. I zipped through certain sections, but I took that math 

21 

section for 2 hours, and that got me here. I just need small, little 

things like that, got me where I needed to be. 

Because I had a few teachers who really cared about me and 

really wanted the best for me, and had a few small accommodations and parents that cared about me and wanted to get me diagnosed, I’m here. I have a great future ahead of me. I’m planning 

to go get my Master’s in Business Administration, something that 

wouldn’t even be a concept if I hadn’t been diagnosed, and it’s all 

because I was caught early and I was given a few small accommodations early on. 

I think if every student had that, they would all be fine. They 

would all be in college, they would all be productive, highly motivated, highly educated. They’d have the world at their feet. I think 

that’s something that definitely needs to happen. 

That’s all for me. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Trapp follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF ALLYCE TRAPP

Hello, my name is Allyce Trapp, and I am a senior at Louisiana State University. 

I cannot emphasize enough the importance of having academic accommodations 

throughout my life. Before being diagnosed with dyslexia, I struggled with academics in kindergarten and was beginning to fail the first grade. As a consequence, 

I suffered from low self-esteem and was frustrated with my inability to learn. 

Thankfully, my mother had me tested for a learning disability, and I was diagnosed 

with dyslexia in first grade and began Project Read and a program called Resource 

in second grade. Without this diagnosis, I would not have been able to enter these 

programs and get the help that I needed. I watched friends who were not tested 

and did not get help struggle throughout their school years, which is something that 

could have easily been avoided. 

From that point on, I started to learn and retain what I was taught thanks to 

the teaching methods employed. Project Read started their students back at the beginning. For example, we went over the spelling of basic words like ‘‘it,’’ ‘‘cat,’’ ‘‘sat’’ 

and so on, all things I should have learned in kindergarten. Project Read took me 

out of the classroom and into a separate room with other students who struggled 

with learning disabilities. Project Read gave me a safe and comfortable environment 

to learn with other students like me. The teachers used a multisensory approach 

to learning such as tracing our vocabulary words in trays of sand and writing information on flashcards, which I still do today. This program gave me confidence in 

and out of the classroom and can be accredited with shaping the student I am today. 

I continued Resource upon entering high school. The Resource program offered 

typed notes for my classes, a quiet room with teachers on hand for assistance and 

extra time allotted for exams. When I went to take the ACT, I was again offered 

extra time and was placed in a quiet classroom where I could work at my own 

speed. Because I had sufficient time to take this extremely important exam, I made 

the score I needed to get into LSU. Now at LSU, I am registered in Disability Services, which offers me similar accommodations to those I had in high school. Thanks 

to the skills that Project Read gave me, I personally do not need the accommodations granted to me in college that some students do very much need. 

Project Read allowed me to achieve my early academic goals and helped me become a successful student. Without Project Read, I would most likely have lost my 

motivation to learn. Because I was diagnosed and helped early on in my life, I was 

able to grow and adapt to my disability, and I am now a successful and confident 

college student. I am graduating in May with a degree in Mass Communications 

and have plans to attend graduate school to pursue my MBA. 

What can Congress do for students like me? First and foremost, I would like to 

stress the importance of early testing for children who struggle. Second, all students 

with dyslexia should have access to programs like Project Read so that they do not 

fall behind in their studies. Finally, the public as a whole should be better informed 

about dyslexia and other learning disabilities. A learning disability is not a symptom of low IQ or insufficient effort. The public needs to know that learning disabilities are beyond the students’ control but can successfully be treated. 

My graduation from LSU and my dream of going to graduate school would never 

have been possible had I not been tested early and accommodated throughout my 

22 

life. Thanks to the early intervention and consistent support I was provided, I have 

a real chance of being a highly productive member of society. I only recently became 

aware that not all students receive the same accommodations as me. It saddens me 

to think that not everyone has the same help and support that I did. If all students 

had the help that I did, they would have just as bright of a future as I do. So I 

am asking you, the Members of Congress, to please give these students a chance 

to live without being held back by dyslexia. 

Senator CASSIDY. Margaret. 

STATEMENT OF MARGARET LAW, CALT, DYSLEXIA & 504 COORDINATOR, CENTRAL COMMUNITY SCHOOLS, CENTRAL, LA 

Ms. LAW. Good afternoon. Thank you for the invitation to participate in the hearing for a cause that is really near and dear to my 

heart, and that is the education of the dyslexic student. My contribution will be from the perspective of the dyslexia and 504 coordinator that I am in Central Community Schools, with a focus on 

accommodations. 

All districts and everybody in this audience may know that, but 

all districts have to abide by Bulletin 1903, and that’s the regulations and guidelines for the implementation of the Louisiana Law 

for the Education of Dyslexic Students, and that allows for the 

identification and the receiving of multisensory-structured language services. 

Once a student has been identified at-risk and goes through an 

evaluation and is identified with characteristics of dyslexia, which 

is what this bill requires, or this law requires, they are enrolled in 

a multisensory-structured language class in our district and in 

other districts, and then the committee looks at them to see if 

they’re eligible for section 504 accommodations or a 504 plan. The 

504 is not like IDEA, which is an education benefits plan. 504 is 

a non-discrimination law that guarantees the disabled child has 

the same ability to access education in the same fashion as the 

non-disabled child. 

A school building-level committee is in charge of identifying if 

they are 504 and selecting the accommodations that are datadriven that that child needs, and those accommodations occur in 

the classroom and on high-stakes testing. For kids in school it 

would be PARCC, LEAP, ACT, the EOCs for those kids in college 

or high school. The goal of accommodations is to provide the 

dyslexic student with the support they need to succeed. 

Two of the most critical accommodations I want to talk about are 

extended time and tests read aloud. Extended time is needed for 

those kids who have poor decoding abilities or they are very slow 

at reading. I am asked how much constitutes extended time? I had 

a conversation with the 504 coordinator for the State, and she told 

me that extended time should be based on what the child needs. 

You should observe to see how much time they need to take a test, 

and then that’s what they should be given. 

Tests read aloud are needed for the phonological deficits. When 

a student has to try to read something they can’t read, it causes 

anxiety, it causes stress. 

I have two examples to share with you. I met this young man 

in our school system in middle school. He was identified with characteristics of dyslexia and assigned tests read aloud and accommodations. He is a talented athlete. He finished the MSL program 

23 

in 9th grade. He has been offered a scholarship already to play his 

chosen sport at a college. Accommodations helped him keep his 

GPA up so that he could do that. He is going to live his dream because he was able to get the accommodations that he needs. As a 

matter of fact, the college has already contacted me and asked me 

what accommodations he will need to succeed in college, so I 

thought that was great. 

A second student I met when I was an academic therapist at a 

private school. A high school teacher came to tell me that she had 

a struggling reader. I met with him. He had his hoodie up over his 

head. You couldn’t see him. I said, what can I do for you? He said, 

I want to be able to read like everybody else. 

He was tested, entered our MSL program, received accommodations. The biggest thing for him was that not only did his reading 

improve, but the big thing was his self-confidence improved, and 

one of his teachers told me that he actually volunteered to read in 

class. That is a feat that the dyslexic student shies away from, and 

she was very proud of him, and it was great to see him in the hallway. He wasn’t hidden in his hoodie. He was looking at people and 

he was smiling. 

The IAP and the accommodations needed change over time. The 

parent is always the advocate when they are younger. As the child 

gets older, they become advocates for themselves. They sit in on 

the IAP reviews. ‘‘Yes, I need that accommodation.’’ It’s datadriven. They receive those accommodations. 

College, as they have already spoken about, I get parents who 

ask me about accommodations in college. There are no official 504 

plans in college. The student has to be an advocate and go to the 

disabilities department where they ask for accommodations. The 

college will ask for documentation that they have that disability, 

and then they will ask for documentation on what they used, which 

ones they were given in high school, and then they will decide if 

those accommodations are merited and they can earn them at the 

college level. 

In conclusion, accommodations support the dyslexic student. 

They lead to academic success. They build self-confidence, and most 

of the time and many times they let that student achieve the goal 

of what they want to do, or a personal goal. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Law follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MARGARET LAW

Being Dyslexia and 504 Coordinator for a school district in Louisiana encompasses many responsibilities. A coordinator must be educated about dyslexia and be 

knowledgeable about the Section 504 Law. A coordinator must insure that the provisions of Bulletin 1903, Regulations and Guidelines for Implementation of the Louisiana Law for the Education of Dyslexic Students be properly implemented. Finally, 

a coordinator must remember that the needs of the student come first. 

LEAs must follow Bulletin 1903. This publication provides for, 

‘‘Implementation of R.S. 17:7(11), Louisiana’s Law for identification and services within the regular education program for students demonstrating characteristics of dyslexia.’’ 

While this Louisiana Law states that LEAs must only identify for characteristics 

of dyslexia, there is also a statement in the law that, 

‘‘Any private evaluation presented by the parent must be considered by the 

school system’s pupil appraisal staff for review and interpretation.’’ 

24 

Once a student has been identified by an initial Section 504 evaluation with characteristics of dyslexia (Bulletin 1903) and/or the LEA has received a diagnosis of 

dyslexia by way of a private evaluation, a student may be eligible to receive services 

and accommodations for characteristics of dyslexia or dyslexia. An Individual Accommodation Plan (IAP) is written and accommodations are selected by the consensus of the School Building Level Committee (SBLC). Accommodations are selected that will remove barriers caused by poor reading and writing and allow the 

student to access education in the same way as non-disabled peers. Also, the student is enrolled in a Multisensory Structured Language (MSL) Program. 

The SBLC is assigned the task of selecting accommodations for the student’s IAP. 

Accommodations must be data-driven with the intent of leveling the playing field 

for the dyslexic student. Section 504 accommodations are intended to support the 

student but not create an advantage. 

While the selection and implementation of appropriate accommodations seems 

straight forward, it can be a challenging process. Consideration must be given in 

selecting accommodations in four categories: setting, presentation and response, 

time demands and behavior. Accommodations are also selected for standardized 

tests. 

One frequent accommodation for the student with characteristics of dyslexia is extended time. Deciding a fair amount of time for each student poses a challenge. I 

am frequently asked what constitutes a fair amount of time. While this seems a 

straight forward question, it is sometimes complex. For example, the parent of a 

student called the State 504 coordinator and voiced concerns regarding the amount 

of extended time her child received for testing. The State 504 coordinator suggested 

that defining a set amount of time for extended time may possibly be a point that 

is arbitrational. A better approach was suggested. This approach involves monitoring the time it takes a student to take a test and then calculating the average 

extended time used. In this way, the accommodation is specific to the needs of that 

particular student. 

Another accommodation needed to support most students with characteristics of 

dyslexia is tests read aloud. It is very frustrating for a student who has phonological 

deficits to read and demonstrate what is learned when they are struggling to read 

text. It causes anxiety and impedes success. With accommodations success is viable. 

To illustrate this, I share the story of a middle-school male student identified with 

characteristics of dyslexia. The student began receiving services through an MSL 

Program and an IAP was written with accommodations of extended time and tests 

read aloud. These accommodations supported the student so that content learned 

could be assessed fairly. 

This student completed the MSL Program in his first year of high school. He is 

a talented athlete. It is important that the student maintain a strong grade point 

average so that he can pursue his goal of playing his chosen sport at the collegiate 

level and possibly beyond. A college interested in recruiting him has already contacted me inquiring about the kinds of accommodations he may need for support in 

college. 

A second example follows. When I was an Academic Language Therapist in a private school, I was approached by the teacher of a high school student who was a 

struggling reader. When I first met this young man, he sat with his head down and 

did not make eye contact with me. I asked him what I could do for him and he said 

he wanted to be able to read like everyone else. 

The student began receiving instructions through an MLS Program. He began receiving accommodations of extended time and tests read aloud. His grades improved 

with these two accommodations. He was able to access education when his struggle 

to read was removed. Most importantly his self-confidence increased. So much that 

he volunteered to read aloud in one of his classes. Not an easy feat for a student 

with characteristics of dyslexia but a milestone for this student! When our paths 

crossed on campus, I was delighted to see that his head was held high and a smile 

was on his face. 

As a district coordinator, I am asked by parents if students will be able to receive 

504 accommodations in college. I explain that there are no formal Section 504 Plans 

in college but colleges will issue accommodations. The student must advocate for 

themselves and contact the disabilities department at the college and inquire about 

the process of receiving accommodations. Normally, a college will require a student 

to provide documentation of their disability and provide documentation that accommodations were used in high school. However, colleges make their own determination on what the student needs to perform academically. 

The IAP and selection of accommodations evolves and changes over time. Early 

on, the parent is the sole advocate for their child and may play a major role in selecVerDate Nov 24 2008 13:11 Nov 16, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6621 S:\DOCS\97274.TXT CAROL
25 

tion of accommodations. But as the child progresses through school, they learn to 

become their own advocate in selecting accommodations. 

The following is an illustration of a parent who became an advocate for their 

child. The parent of a middle school student reported that her son was not receiving 

extended time on a test that measured his reading level. So, the parent advocated 

for son’s extended time. He was allotted the accommodation, and his measured reading level increased from fourth to eleventh grade. 

Part of my responsibilities as dyslexia and 504 coordinator is teacher training. At 

the beginning of the year, I provide school counselors with an overview of section 

504. A significant part of training is instructions on how to select appropriate accommodations and how the accommodations can be implemented in the classroom 

to support the student. 

Administrators, counselors and teachers often inquire about ways to provide the 

accommodations of tests read aloud, extended time and small groups if a number 

of students in a class require these accommodations. First, I encourage them to use 

text to speech programs for tests read aloud. For a small group, I encourage teachers to organize the classroom at the first of the year to include a small group testing 

area. Occasionally, teachers asked if students can leave the room to receive accommodations. A reminder is given that Section 504 law mandates that accommodations 

be given in the least restrictive environment. 

I also pass on a reminder received from a workshop on Section 504 presented by 

Hammonds, Sills, Adkins & Guice, LLP, Attorneys at Law. This reminder states: 

‘‘ The Section 504 Plan or IAP is essentially a contract. If a service is written 

into the Section 504 Plan and signed by a designated representative of the 

school system, it must be provided to the child.’’ 

‘‘ The lack of staff, lack of money or unwillingness of the staff to perform the 

duties are insufficient to justify a failure to implement the Section 504 Plan as 

written. If the service is not needed, the Section 504 committee has a responsibility to address the removal of the service from the child’s Section 504 Plan.’’ 

In order for the dyslexic student to be successful, they must be given accommodations that allow them to access education in the same way a non-disabled student 

accesses education. In this way, support leads to success, which leads to self-confidence, which leads to the achievement of a personal goal. 

Senator CASSIDY. Thank you all. 

This is a Senate hearing, so unfortunately you in the audience 

are not allowed to ask questions. What I will try to do is, based 

upon what we’ve heard, ask questions that would hopefully reflect 

what your interests are. 

Derrius, you describe up until 4th grade you are recognized as 

bright and no one knows what is going on with you. Were you the 

young man wearing the hoodie who wanted to read but couldn’t? 

Do you know what I’m saying? No. 1, I would just like to know how 

you felt. 

And No. 2, when you went to Atlanta, what was it about that 

teacher that she recognized the signs of dyslexia, and what did 

they do to help you? 

REV. MONTGOMERY. To answer both questions, for me it was not 

only being held back in the 1st grade, but the tell-tale sign was 

being held back in the 6th grade and moving to Atlanta. The teacher saw my academic track record, and nothing indicated that I was 

a problematic child or anything like that—but reading, the comprehension piece. Again, all of this is secondhand because my mom 

told me most of it, right? I don’t have that great of a memory. 

I do remember as a second-time 6th grader being told that Louisiana had cheated you, and I really didn’t understand what that 

meant. That came—I’m actually saying it nice, because the teacher 

I had was really, for lack of a better word, pissed off, because she 

thought I was one of those children who had just been passed 

along, you see? 

26 

What they had at this particular school was a Jump Start program. That program was devised for kids like myself who were 

very highly intelligent; however, our academic careers didn’t line 

up to our personalities. I remember it was me and about 12 other 

students in that particular Jump Start program. And I must say, 

by the end of that school year, I was actually going into high 

school, into the 8th grade. That’s how much intensity—not only 

was the work intense, but it was tailor-made just for us and I 

didn’t have to deal with the issue of being pulled out of a class and 

given the IAP or anything like that and being labeled. Back in my 

day, it was the retarded kids that had to go into a different setting. 

For me, just being able to go through that was liberating, to 

graduating on time and being able to graduate on time. Having 

younger sisters coming up behind me who were straight-A students 

and me being the only boy, it just did something to my selfconfidence knowing that that opportunity was there for me. 

Senator CASSIDY. Margaret, Louisiana cheated him. I’m told that 

the typical parish in Louisiana has less than 1 percent of its students identified as dyslexic. I guess, could you comment to that and 

then tell us, is it just that there’s a teacher who is aware of the 

issue who then notifies someone such as you, or is there a formal 

screening program? If not, should there be? 

Ms. LAW. Well, first I guess I’ll have to say that in our district 

we have about 3 percent of our kids identified, so we’re a little bit 

above that. We have a lot to do, though. 

I think that part of the problem is that there is not funding. This 

comes under 504, and 504 is an unfunded law. There’s not funding 

even though districts have in place procedures to identify their kids 

with characteristics of dyslexia, and in Bulletin 1903 it says you 

have to do that between kindergarten and 3d grade. If that is not 

done by the district, for whatever reason, then that definitely penalizes the child. 

Funding, to me, is always a way where you can get more personnel and maybe get people to follow the law the way they’re supposed to follow the law. 

And then it’s education. I talked to a teacher who is a new teacher and I asked her, I said what kind of course work did you have 

in college in dyslexia? She said, ‘‘Well, in my special education 

class, we had a little bit about it, and they also had a simulation 

that they did of a dyslexia program.’’ 

I still don’t think that there’s enough information out there, and 

that’s still part of the problem. 

Senator CASSIDY. I will ask Sally or Bennett to address this. I 

have to admit, if it affects 20 percent of the population, is it a principal cause for children reading below grade level? The only instruction she received was a little bit about it in a special education course. It seems as if there should be more. 

Ms. LAW. Yes, I agree with you. 

Senator CASSIDY. Sally or Bennett, would you want to comment 

on that particular issue? 

Dr. SALLY SHAYWITZ. Well, it just strikes me as somehow odd, because I’ve heard that in Louisiana people entering prison are 

screened for dyslexia. You can do it for prisons but not for children 

entering school and perhaps help them avoid prison? 

27 

I think schools of education can do a lot more than they’re doing. 

I think they need to introduce dyslexia, what is known about dyslexia, what programs are offered as well. I also think that it’s not 

just a matter of reading about dyslexia, turning pages, getting tested. I think what needs to be done in addition to course work is to 

actually take time and intern in, optimally, specialized schools like 

LKA (Louisiana Key Academy) can serve as a resource where 

teachers, budding teachers can go and spend time with the students and learn what a dyslexic student look like, how do they 

react in class, and what are the most effective approaches to the 

students, because students not only have reading difficulty but 

many, many more issues. 

We—Senator Cassidy, Bennett and myself—as physicians, went 

to medical school, but we learned even more of practical importance 

when we were interns and residents. I think any teaching mode 

has to link to an actual experiential approach. 

Senator CASSIDY. Sally, you mentioned it in your talk, but could 

I also ask you to address once more, Allyce’s parents suspected she 

had an issue in kindergarten or 1st grade. I am so impressed with 

that. My daughter, I was totally unaware until she was older. My 

wife is rolling her eyes right now saying I always would be unaware. 

[Laughter.] 

What would you ask a parent to look for or a teacher to look for 

when a child is in kindergarten or 1st grade? 

Dr. SALLY SHAYWITZ. That’s the really exciting thing about scientific progress, because now that we know that the basic difficulty 

is getting to the sounds of spoken language, we can look for not 

even non-reading signs. For example, even early on in delayed language, a toddler not appreciating the nursery rhyme because in 

order to appreciate a nursery rhyme you have to be able to pull 

apart the spoken word and focus just on the end—mat, hat, cat. 

These children not only don’t appreciate nursery rhymes, they 

often lack an appreciation of any kind of rhyme. They may mispronounce words and have difficulty learning and remembering the 

names of letters, or they don’t even know the letters in their own 

name. 

As they go on through kindergarten and 1st grade, it’s difficult 

for them to appreciate that spoken words come apart, like ‘‘cowboy’’ 

is made up of two parts, ‘‘cow’’ and ‘‘boy’’. They have a great inability to associate letters with sounds, and the reading effort shows 

no relationship to the letter to the sound. 

What is really upsetting is these children, sooner than we often 

appreciate, turn off to reading. They claim how hard reading is, 

and when it’s time for reading they run away or learn that if their 

behavior is bad, they get asked to leave the room so they don’t 

have to be called on to read aloud. 

I think it’s important for parents to be aware of this, but also not 

to accept, oh, this is just developmental, or she’ll outgrow it, or it’s 

just a glitch. It has to be attended to and not excuses and delays 

accepted. 

Senator CASSIDY. Let me also ask you to comment. Derrius’ testimony spoke to how once he was identified, it sounds like it was 

boot camp for reading, and for a year it was wraparound and perVerDate Nov 24 2008 13:11 Nov 16, 2017 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00031 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6601 S:\DOCS\97274.TXT CAROL
28 

vasive. You mention in your testimony, Sally, that 20 minutes 

twice a week is not adequate. Again, could you just speak to that? 

Dr. SALLY SHAYWITZ. OK. I’m really glad you asked me about 

that. You know, dyslexia affects the whole child. It’s not in a silo 

that if you pull the child out and inject them with some instructions that will solve it. 

What happens if that happens, the child comes back into a class 

where they have missed what’s going on. That child also, when he 

or she goes to another subject—Social Studies, History, Literature—the teacher has no idea about the child’s reading problem, 

and the child is expected to do what everybody else does, and very 

often the teachers will get frustrated or annoyed, ‘‘Why don’t you 

know this?,’’ without any idea of what the child’s reading level is. 

What you need, and what I had said previously, is to have the 

teacher in each child’s subject class be aware of where he or she 

is in reading, what helps them, what’s effective, and to be able to 

follow the student’s progress carefully, and that there’s consistency 

in instructions. You need to be in a school where the climate is all 

hands on board, so the climate and instructions to dyslexic students is all unified. It needs a whole child approach during the entire day rather than the artificial belief that giving a child a package of instructions for a small period a day will address the significant, ongoing needs of a dyslexic child. 

Senator CASSIDY. Allyce, you told me earlier you attended Vanderbilt Catholic. Vanderbilt Catholic is a parochial school, as you 

might guess, which has instructions for dyslexic students integrated in their program. Dr. Sally Shaywitz just said you want to 

integrate it. Vanderbilt Catholic does integrate instructions for dyslexia. Could you speak to that from your experience at Vanderbilt 

Catholic? 

Ms. TRAPP. Integrate as in—the only thing that they did differently was that you had the option of being taken out of the 

classroom, which is something I found interesting because, yes, 

they would teach you in class, you never had to leave the classroom 

at Vanderbilt, unlike at St. Francis when I was in elementary 

school and you’d leave the classroom. Once you got to high school, 

you’re in class with everyone, and all the teachers knew. They 

knew who was disabled, who had learning disabilities and you only 

had to leave the classroom if you wanted to, and that’s only during 

testing times. 

That was only if you wanted a quiet place to go to and you wanted teachers there who could read the test to you. I honestly didn’t 

even need that by the time I got there because I had dozens of people who were late in the game. 

So, yes, it was pretty much integrated by the time I got to Vanderbilt. I was very lucky to be in a parish that already had a very 

sound system that was in place for students with learning disabilities. 

Senator CASSIDY. I’m struck that you advocate for yourself at 

LSU. Margaret said oftentimes in college you have to go and tell 

folks, listen, I need an accommodation. You had just told us that 

when you take the math test, you are accommodated for it. I think 

one of Sally’s slides I took notes from is the child has to learn to 

advocate for himself or herself. I gather that your experience with 

29 

dyslexia appears to have taught you that ability to self-advocate. 

A fair statement? 

Ms. TRAPP. Oh, absolutely. You have to know how to advocate for 

yourself because you won’t always have a parent or a teacher there 

doing it for you. You have to be able to explain yourself because 

when you’re on the playground as a child, you’re not going to have 

a teacher there telling your friends why you were not in class 

today. You’re not going to have a parent there explaining to other 

students you meet why you speak differently, why you do things 

differently from them. You have to be able to advocate for yourself. 

By the time you get to high school, most people know. Most of 

your friends understand. You always have a friend who says, ‘‘I 

don’t believe in dyslexia’’ or ‘‘I don’t think you’re very smart,’’ and 

you have to advocate for yourself. That’s when you have to step up 

to the plate and say you don’t have to believe it’s a real thing, but 

it is. You don’t have to believe it. 

It took me about 4 years to get my best friend to actually believe 

I was dyslexic and that it was a real learning disability. He 

thought I was just lazy and I didn’t want to study, which was not 

the case. If you saw the stack of flash cards I have in my room 

each day—that was not the case. 

You have to advocate for yourself. You have to be your No. 1 

champion, honestly, because if you don’t tell people what’s going on 

with you and you don’t understand yourself and your own learning 

disability, how do you expect anyone else to, and how do you expect 

to get the accommodations? 

Senator CASSIDY. Derrius, I’m struck, you now advocate for others. 

REV. MONTGOMERY. Yes. 

Senator CASSIDY. Your empathy with the children who struggle 

brought you to seek out the opportunity to serve on a board that 

would minister to those struggling children. I think that’s what I 

gathered. Would you comment on that? 

REV. MONTGOMERY. Yes, and the fact that I have three toddler 

boys that I’m raising right now was the fire that was lit, you know? 

I don’t want them to go through it. My wife and I are probably 

driving Dufrocq crazy. That’s where my oldest son attends. Because 

we’re very, very much still involved. His mom is a smarty, right? 

Dad is the one with the little struggles. Anything that he deals 

with, of course they’re looking on my side. We just want to make 

sure that he’s accommodated properly. 

When I think about the lack of a father in my own family in 

terms of relatives, I have no choice but to advocate for kids outside 

of my own home. 

Senator CASSIDY. You mentioned your child in 1st grade. If I can 

ask you, right now we’re trying to do a reauthorization of what is 

called the No Child Left Behind or the Elementary and Secondary 

Education Act. One of the things that has come up is standardized 

testing. 

Bennett, could you speak to standardized testing and the 

dyslexic, please? 

Dr. BENNETT SHAYWITZ. Well, yes. I think this is a really important point, Senator Cassidy. I didn’t get a chance to show these 

slides earlier, but I think that it’s really critical for everybody to 

30 

understand that the standardized tests that are used in dyslexic 

students are, in fact, inappropriate for dyslexic students. 

For example, I was talking about the State standards and the 

PARCC, which is designed to measure those standards. That State 

standard and the PARCC are inappropriate for dyslexic elementary 

students because the Common Core standards and the PARCC are 

based on the mistaken belief, and this is in the description of the 

Common Core, that all students, including dyslexic students, will 

be fluent readers by the end of 2d grade. That’s what Common 

Core demands, and that’s just not true. It’s not true for dyslexic 

students. 

Also, the Common Core says all students, including dyslexic students, should read at grade level and above. Well, for dyslexic students, that’s just not the case. 

The Common Core standards are comprehension-focused for 

reading instructions. Reading instructions says that you should use 

complex tests and that should be the basis of all reading instructions, and they ignore whether or not the student can actually read 

the words in the complex test. This really has serious implications 

for dyslexic students. 

For example, anybody who has ever looked at the 3d grade 

PARCC, the PARCC for 3d grade students is more targeted to 

reading level of the 5th grade, and it’s focused on reading comprehension, and it’s very inappropriate for dyslexic students. It has 

the pernicious effect of schools dropping all other instructions, including much-needed decoding instructions, to focus almost exclusively on comprehension. 

In addition, the multiple-choice questions in the PARCC are really inappropriate for students who are dyslexic who need a lot more 

context to be able to understand. Everybody should understand 

that the Common Core’s focus on comprehension may be appropriate for students in high school or perhaps upper-level junior 

high school, but it’s wholly inappropriate for children in very early 

grades, especially dyslexic students who are invariably still struggling and working very hard to master decoding. 

The danger is that the PARCC will provide misleading data, with 

very serious consequences not only for the student, but for the parents and for the teachers. It’s not that the students are not doing 

what they should do; the test is inappropriate. It should not be 

used in dyslexic students. 

Senator CASSIDY. I stepped away from the microphone, Bennett, 

to see your slides, so that was the slight hesitation. 

Sally, did you have something to say? 

Dr. SALLY SHAYWITZ. Yes. I was listening to the accommodations 

discussion and self-advocacy, and I thought we heard that the 

school’s report—that they identified 3 percent of their population as 

dyslexic, when we know that it’s, I’m doing quick math here, it’s 

seven times more common. Think of all the children who can’t selfadvocate because they don’t know what they have. They have never 

been identified. They can’t have, even though they’re dyslexic, they 

can’t have the benefit of accommodations because they don’t know 

they’re dyslexic. 

It’s such a huge disservice on so many levels to not identify 

dyslexic children. Not only don’t they receive the intervention and 

31 

the appropriate schooling, but it follows them through life. They 

think they’re not smart, they don’t have self-awareness, they can’t 

advocate for themselves, and even though they’re slow readers because they are dyslexic, they can’t even think of or apply for or receive accommodations. It keeps them back all through life, and 

that’s not fair. We’re better as a nation than that, and we can’t 

know about dyslexia at the level of a school but then just ignore 

the children who need us. 

Senator CASSIDY. Margaret, that raises the issue of funding. You 

mentioned that the 504 is unfunded. 

Ms. LAW. Right. 

Senator CASSIDY. What does it cost to screen all 1st graders or 

all elementary school kids or all new transfers? 

Ms. LAW. Well, I never put an actual number to the cost, but in 

time, it takes much time, as we have 350 kids in second grade. 

Starting in January, we will begin the universal screening. It takes 

a team of teachers to go through the process of all the steps that 

you have to do for that to identify all of the students and then pull 

the ones at risk and then administer tests to them. It’s a lot of time 

for the counselor who does the testing. I would say in the second 

semester, the counselor probably spends 50 percent of their time 

looking at universal screening in our school system, and we have 

about 350 kids, as I said, that we look at. 

Senator CASSIDY. Three-hundred-fifty 1st graders, or 350 2d 

graders? 

Ms. LAW. We do 2d grade, and in the month of January of 2d 

grade is our year to do universal screening. 

Senator CASSIDY. Let me ask, Sally and Bennett, you can also 

weigh in on this question. 

Dr. SALLY SHAYWITZ. Well, given the data that we now have, 

strong published scientific data showing that that achievement gap 

is already present in 1st grade, my hope is that we would rethink 

our approach to screening and begin screening as early as possible, 

kindergarten or 1st grade. There are measures for the child, but 

also new measures that teachers can use, because that gap, it’s so 

hard to overcome. It’s there already. 

I think we have an obligation to our children and to our teachers 

to identify this at the earliest possible time, because it’s so hard 

to overcome, and it’s huge. It really is very, very large, and it’s now 

supported by scientific data. 

Senator CASSIDY. I’m struck, in support of that, Allyce mentioned 

when she went to high school she had been accommodated early 

and therefore did not need as much help. Those who had not been 

diagnosed until later in their education were the ones who still 

needed help. The absence of early screening intervention ends up 

having persistent effects into adolescence. 

Again, Sally and Bennett, do the data show that? 

Dr. BENNETT SHAYWITZ. Yes. In fact, it is persistent. 

Dr. SALLY SHAYWITZ. Oh, my goodness, it’s persistent. You have 

the additional difficulties of not knowing what you are, thinking 

you’re stupid, not wanting to go to school, all the other consequences, and also to have avoided reading. We get better in reading by reading. There are so many negative consequences, and it 

becomes more and more difficult to remediate. 

32 

We had the personal experience of trying to work with middle 

schoolers versus working with kindergarteners and 1st graders, 

and there’s no comparison. We really have to get there early. When 

we think of, oh, it’s costly, what is the cost to society of the child 

not being identified and not receiving what that child needs? That’s 

huge on a personal level, on a family level, and on a national level. 

Senator CASSIDY. Yes. I will point out that I read once that you 

can look at poor reading rates in 3d grade and predict the number 

of prison cells you need 20 years later. The cost of a prisoner I 

think is $50,000 a year or something such as that. If we could 

somehow understand that and do something at the earlier stage. 

Let’s see if there are any other questions I had that I wanted to 

ask. 

By the way, I’m also struck, Allyce, that you feel totally comfortable with dyslexia, again almost fighting with your friend to 

kind of prove, you know, ‘‘C’mon, guy, get off it.’’ I speak to some 

who are older, and they don’t want anyone to know. I know an 80- 

year-old guy, incredibly successful, and he doesn’t want anyone to 

know that he’s dyslexic, even though he’s so successful that it 

wouldn’t matter. 

Clearly, at some point you just became you, like you have blonde 

hair and you’re tall and whatever, and it’s nothing to be ashamed 

of. Is that a fair statement? 

Ms. TRAPP. Absolutely. I can’t see why someone so successful 

wouldn’t want to talk about how he got to his success with dyslexia. I think that’s something incredible to share with everyone 

how he did that. I think Walt Disney had dyslexia. I think that’s 

incredible. It shows you that you don’t have to have the regular 

processing brain to do incredible things. 

I’m totally comfortable with it because I don’t know anything 

else. I don’t know what it’s like to have a regular functioning brain. 

I only know the brain that I have, and I love the brain that I have. 

Yes, sometimes I’m really frustrated, but I’m just like, ‘‘Oh my 

gosh, I wish I knew what it was like having a different brain,’’ but 

I don’t. I work with what I have and I go with it, and it’s just part 

of being me. 

I’m an extremely confident person, and I have been since I was 

a little thing, so it’s like, ‘‘all right, cool, one more thing, let’s work 

with it.’’ I had so many teachers who were like, this isn’t a hindrance, it’s just something else to work on, it’s not a big deal. I 

have parents who said it’s OK, we’re just going to work with it, and 

all my friends were fine with it growing up. 

Of course, I had the friend who didn’t believe it was a real thing, 

but he came around. My senior year in high school he said, ‘‘it’s 

real, it’s no joke.’’ He had seen it in action for 4 years. 

It’s nothing to be ashamed of. There’s nothing wrong with me. 

It’s just a different way of thinking, and it’s a whole new window 

of creativity and opportunity, and I’m doing just fine with it. I’m 

totally fine with it. It’s a comfortable setting for me. I’m comfortable with my dyslexia. I’m comfortable with my disability. I 

don’t even define it to be a disability because I’ve overcome it. It’s 

not holding me back. 

Senator CASSIDY. Derrius, you were diagnosed later in life, and 

frankly you recounted how you had a real struggle prior to that 

33 

point. Do you find that your attitude toward having a self-diagnosis 

of dyslexia is different than Allyce’s or exactly the same? 

REV. MONTGOMERY. I think mine is exactly the same. I’m proud 

to identify with it, but I have to look at my own successes in my 

own life with the disability. I have still been able to get married, 

finish school, go back to school. I started a small business here in 

Baton Rouge. I have achieved the American Dream, and I’m still 

trying to achieve it. I’m only 31, so I have a lot more to conquer. 

I think that would only motivate one to continue to speak out. 

Senator CASSIDY. Let me ask if there are any final comments. 

Sally and Bennett, do you all have any final comments? 

Dr. SALLY SHAYWITZ. It won’t surprise you that I do. 

[Laughter.] 

If we remember that dyslexia is a paradox, if we think of the sea 

of strengths model, we have that encapsulated weakness in decoding, getting to the sound of the spoken word, but we also have 

those higher level strengths. The way we look at it is when a child 

starts school, they can go in either direction. What will it be? The 

weakness that characterizes their life or the strengths? That won’t 

be determined. Are they identified? Are they in the proper school? 

Do they get the proper intervention? 

People who are dyslexic are filling our prisons, but they’re also 

receiving Nobel Prizes and Pulitzer Prizes. The capabilities go in 

both directions. We as a society are letting them down by not identifying and providing what they need. 

Again, I just have to say, having visited and seen what happens 

in LKA (Louisiana Key Academy), a specialized public charter 

school that’s giving so many children the opportunity, disadvantaged children, children of color, that they would not have had, and 

that can help ensure that it’s the strengths rather than the weakness that characterizes their future lives. 

Senator CASSIDY. Bennett. 

Dr. BENNETT SHAYWITZ. I’ll leave it there. It’s hard to follow 

Sally. 

Senator CASSIDY. Margaret, anything else? 

Ms. LAW. I think one of the things I want to point out is that 

the students who have dyslexia have to have a specialized program 

in order for them to be a better reader and to be successful, and 

in the State of Louisiana, to my knowledge, there are no colleges 

or training centers where you can train to be an Academic Language Therapist. When I decided I wanted to go into the field of 

dyslexia, I had to go to Texas to do my training. There’s nowhere 

in the State of Louisiana. It would seem that perhaps a community 

college or something could be done so that we could train and have 

a Certified Academic Language Therapist training center in our 

State. 

Senator CASSIDY. Allyce. 

Ms. TRAPP. All I’ll say is thank you so much for having me today. 

I really appreciate you giving me a chance to talk about what it 

was like growing up with dyslexia and hopefully helping, in some 

small way, other students to get what they need. 

Senator CASSIDY. Derrius, you’re the clean-up man. 

REV. MONTGOMERY. I’m with these two here. I thank you for the 

opportunity, and I think that as long as we continue to have these 

34 

types of discussions, both privately and publicly, I think the whole 

community will definitely get behind this movement and you’ll 

start to see more people stand up and advocate for students of dyslexia. 

Senator CASSIDY. I will finish by—first, Evelyn Gauthreaux, we 

talked about LKA (Louisiana Key Academy), she is the principal, 

so let me just point her out right there. She is raising her hand. 

[Applause.] 

Let me just echo what Sally said, her observation. It seems as 

if the diagnosis of dyslexia leads one to a point, and if there’s appropriate remediation and accommodation, the struggle to overcome and then the subsequent success actually leads to insights 

that one would otherwise not have. If everyone is thinking like 

this, the dyslexic is the out-of-the-box thinker who thinks so creatively when others are just in a path. If they are not accommodated and their needs not addressed, then it is not an arc toward 

success, it is a descent into a frustrated life which, at its worst, 

ends up in prison, and at its not-so-bad ends up much lesser than 

it could be, and that comes through over and over. 

That said, I thank you all for being here. 

I have a script to follow. 

The hearing record will remain open for 10 days for Senators to 

submit additional comments and any questions for the record they 

may have. 

Thank you for being here today. 

The committee will stand adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 4:24 p.m., the hearing was adjourned.] 

Æ