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S. HRG. 114–759 

UNDERSTANDING DYSLEXIA: THE INTERSECTION 

OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION 

HEARING 

OF THE

COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, 

LABOR, AND PENSIONS 

UNITED STATES SENATE 

ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS 

SECOND SESSION 

ON

EXAMINING UNDERSTANDING DYSLEXIA, FOCUSING ON THE 

INTERSECTION OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION 

MAY 10, 2016 

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

( 

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

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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 

LINDSEY WARD SEIDMAN, Republican Deputy Staff Director 

EVAN SCHATZ, Minority Staff Director 

JOHN RIGHTER, Minority Deputy Staff Director 

(II) 

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C O N T E N T S 

STATEMENTS 

TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2016 

Page 

COMMITTEE MEMBERS

Cassidy, Hon. Bill, a U.S. Senator from the State of Louisiana, opening 

statement .............................................................................................................. 1 

Mikulski, Hon Barbara A., a U.S. Senator from the State of Maryland ............. 4 

Bennet, Hon. Michael F., a U.S. Senator from the State of Colorado ................. 43 

Murphy, Hon. Christopher, a U.S. Senator from the State of Connecticut ........ 45 

Warren, Hon. Elizabeth, a U.S. Senator from the State of Massachusetts ........ 47 

Casey, Hon. Robert P., Jr., a U.S. Senator from the State of Pennsylvania ...... 48 

WITNESSES

Shaywitz, Sally, M.D., Co-Director, Yale Center For Dyslexia and Creativity, 

Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT ....................................... 7 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 8 

Baraka, Ameer, Author/Actor, Terrytown, LA ...................................................... 16 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 18 

Eden, Guinevere, D. Phil., Director, Center for the Study of Learning, Georgetown University Medical Center, Washington, DC ........................................... 19 

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

Boies, David, Chairman, Boies, Schiller, and Flexner, LLP, Armonk, NY ......... 24 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 25 

Mahone, Mark, Ph.D., ABPP, Director, Department of Neuropsychology, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD .............................................................. 27 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 29 

Hanrath, April, Parent, Salt Lake City, UT .......................................................... 36 

Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 38 

ADDITIONAL MATERIAL 

Statements, articles, publications, letters, etc. 

Response to questions of Senator Sanders by: 

David Boies ................................................................................................ 57 

Mark Mahone, Ph.D., ABPP ..................................................................... 58 

April Hanrath ............................................................................................ 60 

Response to questions of Senator Casey by Guinevere Eden, D.Phil. ......... 62 

(III) 

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UNDERSTANDING DYSLEXIA: THE INTERSECTION OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION 

TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2016 

U.S. SENATE, 

COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS, 

Washington, DC. 

The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:08 a.m., in room 

SD–430, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Bill Cassidy presiding. 

Present: Senators Cassidy, Mikulski, Burr, Scott, Casey, Bennet, 

Murphy, and Warren. 

OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR CASSIDY

Senator CASSIDY. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, 

Labor, and Pensions will please come to order. Welcome to all. 

Thank you for being here. 

Let me remark that Senator Bennett’s funeral is this morning. 

So we’ve lost some of our colleagues who will be attending the funeral. Senator Hatch, who asked that I would note that he’s going 

to be in Utah attending former Senator Bennett’s funeral and 

wished he could be here and regrets that he cannot be here to introduce Ms. Hanrath. Under the circumstances, we understand. 

This morning, we’re having a hearing titled Understanding Dyslexia: The Intersection of Scientific Research & Education that, 

hopefully, will raise awareness and educate us on dyslexia, highlighting the importance of early identification of students with dyslexia, and ensuring that such students have access to evidencebased resources. 

Senator Mikulski and I will each make an opening statement, 

and then introduce our panel of witnesses. Each panelist will have 

5 minutes to summarize your testimony. We have a timer in front 

of you. Green light is go, yellow means you have 1 minute left, and 

red means I’m going to start pounding with my gavel. After our 

witnesses’ testimony, Senators will each have 5 minutes to ask 

questions. 

I am pleased to chair this hearing, and, again, I thank Senator 

Mikulski for co-chairing. I also thank my other colleagues who 

were in support of having this hearing. 

We’re discussing dyslexia, an issue very important to me, both as 

the parent of a dyslexic child and as a Senator. We have a great 

lineup of witnesses, including those who have personally addressed 

dyslexia. 

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Ameer Baraka, who is a friend, will speak about growing up with 

unrecognized dyslexia, without resources, but overcoming and 

eventually becoming an actor; David Boies, who overcame dyslexia, 

entering the most language-based of all professions, law; and Ms. 

Hanrath will speak of her daughter, who has been quite successful, 

but from the mother’s perspective. Thank you, Ms. Hanrath. 

There’s a common thread in each family’s testimony: a child who 

struggles to read and cannot. Often, the parent was dyslexic, too, 

and they relate. But a child frustrated by their inability to read, 

if a boy, acts out. If it’s a girl, she becomes shy, embarrassed to 

read aloud in class. Afraid of being mocked. Think about the teacher who has that bright child struggling to read, but does not have 

the training or resources to help that child become the better student and achieve their fuller potential. 

In October of last year, Senator Mikulski and I sponsored and 

the Senate passed a resolution that defined dyslexia as a, ‘‘unexpected difficulty in reading, highlighted by a gap between the individual’s intelligence and their reading level.’’ It’s the bright child 

who doesn’t read commensurate with their brightness. Put simply, 

in non-dyslexics, IQ and reading tend to track along the same line. 

In dyslexics, IQ is higher, and reading ability is lower. 

Dyslexia is the most common learning disability, many will mention. According to NIH sponsored research, nearly 20 percent of us 

have dyslexia, whether you’re watching on TV, in this room, in 

Congress, in your workplace. It’s from all walks of life. The impact 

of dyslexia on an individual, a family, a school, and our society is 

tremendous. 

What if I told you that by effectively addressing dyslexia, we 

could further prison reform by identifying students with dyslexia 

and providing science-based interventions? Or that we could get 

more bang from our Federal investments in education? Or that we 

could reach into the classroom and change the interaction between 

a dyslexic student and a frustrated teacher to a relationship between a learning, productive student and a fulfilled teacher? 

The goals of this hearing are simple: to raise awareness of the 

scope and scale of dyslexia; to increase awareness of what precisely 

dyslexia is, as defined by science; and to highlight the importance 

of early identification of those who are dyslexic and giving these 

children the necessary evidence-based resources needed to succeed 

in school and beyond. 

There are great schools for children with dyslexia, almost all of 

which are private, and if you can’t afford the $10,000 to $50,000 

a year, a family’s options are limited. If the family is less wealthy, 

quite likely, they cannot afford to have their child’s needs met. Perhaps that’s the one thing that should be taken from this hearing. 

There’s a correlation between your ability to have your child’s 

needs accommodated and your wealth, and that’s not good. 

We’ve heard testimony from Governors, superintendents, and 

other school administrators that screening for dyslexia is not happening. Your child may be dyslexic, and it may not be discovered, 

despite the fact that we’ll hear from Dr. Shaywitz that the achievement gap between a dyslexic and a typical reader is evident as 

early as first grade, and the gap continues into adolescence. 

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There are three public charter schools in the Nation that specializes in teaching dyslexics. I’m proud to say two are in Louisiana, 

the Louisiana Key Academy in Baton Rouge and the Max Charter 

School in Thibodaux. Parents choose to send their child to these 

schools, the goal being for the child to transition to a traditional 

public school as their reading difficulty is addressed. 

There are also colleges that accommodate for students with dyslexia. Nicholls State University has the Louisiana Center for Dyslexia and Related Learning Disorders. I think Senator Alexander 

has a school in his State of Tennessee. 

I mentioned about how addressing dyslexia can greatly impact 

the rates of incarceration. We know that many who are incarcerated are functionally illiterate. A study at the Texas State Prison 

in Huntsville found that 80 percent of prison inmates were functionally illiterate and 48 percent dyslexic. 

The prevalence of dyslexia is 20 percent in the general population and 48 percent in the incarcerated population. If appropriate 

science-based strategies to teach and treat dyslexia are instituted, 

the effect on our future prison population could be profound. 

Let me say, with all of this, there’s been progress. Last year, 

Senator Mikulski and I sponsored a bipartisan Senate resolution 

which passed that calls on Congress, schools, and State and local 

educational agencies to recognize the significant educational implications of dyslexia that must be addressed. It also designated October 2015 as the National Dyslexia Awareness Month. We will reintroduce this resolution this year. 

Representative Lamar Smith’s Research Excellence and Advancements in Dyslexia Act, or the READ Act, ensures the National 

Science Foundation has dedicated funding for dyslexia research, 

and this past Congress was signed into law. The Every Student 

Succeeds Act creates a dyslexia-focused comprehensive center providing evidence-based resources for identifying students struggling 

with reading and the appropriate interventions to States, school 

districts, teachers, and parents. 

Last, the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services issued a Dear Colleague letter 

that specifically clarifies that nothing in Federal law prohibits the 

use of the word, dyslexia, in evaluation, eligibility determinations, 

and an individualized education program, or IEP, for students. 

Anecdotally, however, State and local educational agencies are still 

reluctant to specifically reference the word, dyslexia, denying 

dyslexics the specific services they need to succeed. 

I hope these efforts are the first of many steps in the right direction. We’ve made great progress in the area of learning disabilities. 

We’ve seen that conditions like autism and dyslexia can be specifically diagnosed and that there are science-based interventions. We 

must continue efforts that all learning disabilities have the same 

science-based intervention. 

If there’s a call to action in this hearing, it’s that science should 

begin driving policy. We have the dots. Now let’s connect them. 

I will now yield to Senator Mikulski for her opening statement. 

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OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR MIKULSKI

Senator MIKULSKI. Thank you very much, Senator Cassidy. I’m 

delighted to co-chair this hearing with you on this very important 

issue of dyslexia. It’s important to both you and I, it’s important 

to the Congress, and it’s surely important to the Nation. I would 

like to thank Senator Alexander, the Chairman, and the Ranking 

Member, Senator Murray, for allowing us to hold this hearing 

today and to focus on dyslexia and the understanding of it and the 

intersection of scientific research and education. 

This is a very interesting hearing at many different levels. First 

of all, we’re co-chairing. That, in and of itself, is very different, and 

the fact is that we see each other as, really, not a Democrat or a 

Republican, but we see each other as advocates for children and 

children who need special attention, and then what type of special 

education they need. 

The second thing is that within the realm of Congress and the 

prickly atmosphere we sometimes find with each other, we would 

be regarded as an odd couple, because Senator Cassidy and I come 

from different parts of the country, we come from different political 

parties, and, occasionally, on our votes, even different political philosophies. Again, in this room, in this committee, we are focusing 

on the needs of children, and that doesn’t know politics. It doesn’t 

know the lines that separate us or divide us. Senator Cassidy is a 

physician. I’m a social worker. We bring those kinds of attitudes 

and skills to this table. 

We look forward to hearing from our witnesses, and you should 

know that this will be a hearing where we really want to engage 

in a conversation with you on how we can best help these children 

that are facing these challenges. This won’t be a harass and a harangue hearing. This will be an informational dialog, and I look 

forward to doing this. 

I regard each and every one of you as experts at the table who 

come from very esteemed academic centers of excellence, Yale, 

Georgetown, Hopkins, Kennedy Krieger. There are other great centers of learning, and they’re called the streets and neighborhoods 

where kids grow up, because as they face challenges, their education comes from the street. 

The first teacher and the first learning center is in the home, 

and that’s why it’s so important that we hear from a parent who 

has actually lived these issues and tried to cope with the issues as 

well as how to get the best plan and the best opportunity. All of 

you are experts in different ways. 

We expect a lot from our teachers, and I would like to salute our 

teachers. As we worked so hard on the Elementary and Secondary 

Education and No Child Left Behind and now our latest version of 

that, we believe that every problem could be solved if we had a 

highly qualified teacher in the classroom. We need highly qualified 

teachers in the classroom. There’s no doubt about it. When a child 

walks into that classroom, the child brings a lot. They bring a lot 

from the home, their family history, their social situation, and so 

on. We expect a lot of our teacher, but the teacher should begin to 

expect some things of the larger community. 

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I support the schools with children who are trying to do the famous individual education plans. I forget how all those acronyms 

come together. The fact is this. You can have the best plan, but unless you can operationalize that plan, what does it mean? Because 

of the very nature of the unfunded mandate, where we only pay 10 

percent of special education funding, and then we argue over title 

II and how we can even provide additional training for our teachers, school systems are hard pressed to have that individual education plan and to be able to operationalize it. 

Today is not a day to talk about budgets. Today is a day to talk 

about children and science. But I do bring to your attention that 

special education is an unfunded Federal mandate, and we need to 

come to grips with that, and we need to come to grips with it across 

party lines, because I think one area that we could agree upon is 

that we should fund that and meet our obligation so that States 

and then local school systems could do what we told them to do. 

I urge my colleagues to think about that as part of an action plan. 

Today is about dyslexia, a lifelong condition that affects the way 

the brain processes written and spoken language. It’s considered 

the most important learning disability. I know that Senator Cassidy has gone into a lot of the information and a lot of the data 

that I won’t say again. 

The recent report from the National Center for Learning Disabilities highlights the many challenges our country faces when trying 

to meet the needs with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. 

These challenges include a lack of awareness and understanding 

among educators and even healthcare professionals, a lack of teacher training when they’re in schools learning how to be teachers and 

then in the mentorship, and then a lack of scientifically based reading interventions and a lack of resources to accommodate it. 

Today, I want to listen to the experts, those that are from officially designated learning centers, but also those that have been in 

the streets and neighborhoods and lived the life of being challenged 

by dyslexia, those who have been a mother trying to be on the 

phone, trying to be in the chat room, and trying to do everything 

that she could to make sure that her daughter had a fair shot at 

following her dreams and her passions. 

I want to thank you for your consistent leadership and I look forward to hearing this testimony. 

Senator CASSIDY. I’ll now defer to Senator Murphy to introduce 

Dr. Shaywitz. 

Senator MURPHY. Thank you very much. I’m eager to get to the 

testimony as well. I may have to step out to another hearing and 

come back. I’m very excited to introduce the expert of experts at 

the end of the table which is Dr. Sally Shaywitz from Yale University where she is the Audrey Ratner Professor in Learning Development at the Yale School of Medicine. 

She has a long list of titles, including the Co-Director of the Yale 

Center for Dyslexia and Creativity. She’s one of the leading researchers in this field, and as a physician, her research focus really 

has been on neurobiology and epidemiology, providing a scientific 

basis for understanding dyslexia. She has written more than 200 

journal articles and chapters in books on this topic. I know that she 

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is a great source of counsel for both the Chairman of this hearing 

and myself, and I’m glad to have Dr. Shaywitz with us. 

Senator CASSIDY. I’ll introduce Mr. Baraka. Ameer is an actor 

and author from New Orleans who struggled to read his whole life. 

He didn’t learn that he was dyslexic until age 23 and incarcerated. 

In prison, he earned his GED and was empowered to influence 

youth who struggled the same way as he. I’m eager to hear how 

he has used his stardom—he is now an actor—to steer children off 

the path to incarceration. 

I’ll defer to you, Senator Mikulski, to introduce Dr. Eden and Dr. 

Mahone. 

Senator MIKULSKI. I’d like to introduce Dr. Guinevere Eden. She 

is considered to be a nationally recognized expert in dyslexia research and one of the very first to use brain imaging and MRIs to 

better understand the neurological basis for dyslexia. She’s been 

supported both by NIH and NSF and currently directs the Center 

for the Study of Learning at Georgetown. She continues to investigate while she is actively involved in teaching graduate students, 

investigating all the sensory processes related to reading and how 

these may be different in individuals. She’s going to bring a lot to 

us. 

We also have Dr. Mark Mahone, who is a Baltimore guy through 

and through. He grew up in a neighborhood called Dundalk, which 

was very close to the one where I grew up. He’s a pediatric 

neuropsychologist, and he is at the esteemed Kennedy Krieger Institute in Baltimore. This is an institution internationally recognized and dedicated to improving the lives of those, particularly 

children, with brain and other challenges. 

What Dr. Mahone does is provide clinical services for young kids 

with neurodevelopment disorders, works on the training of psychologists and educators and physicians on these issues, and really 

is an expert on involving the study of brain behaviors in children 

with or without these neurodevelopment disorders. He currently 

serves as the Co-Director of the Center for Innovation and Leadership in Special Education, and he brings really great knowledge 

about what the children need, but what the systems that are supposed to help the children need to do. I’m very proud to bring he 

and Dr. Eden to the committee’s attention. 

Senator CASSIDY. I’ll next introduce David Boies, who is the 

Chairman of Boies, Schiller, and Flexner. He has been selected as 

one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine in 2010. He has been named Global International Litigator of 

the Year by Who’s Who Legal an unprecedented seven times and 

has received many prestigious awards and numerous honorary degrees. Mr. Boies is a former Hill staffer, having served as Chief 

Counsel and Staff Director for the Senate Antitrust Subcommittee 

and the Senate Judiciary Committee. 

Thank you, Mr. Boies. 

And, last, Ms. April Hanrath, a small business owner and a single mom of two adopted children from Salt Lake City. Ms. Hanrath 

has been recognized as a child advocate in Utah for her work on 

behalf of children like her daughter, Jocelyn, who is behind her, 

who has dyslexia and other learning disabilities. She is a parent 

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advocate with Understood, at www.understood.org, and attended 

the University of Utah before taking over the family business. 

Thank you all, and now I’ll ask Dr. Shaywitz to begin her testimony and the rest to follow in order. 

STATEMENT OF SALLY SHAYWITZ, M.D., CO-DIRECTOR, YALE 

CENTER FOR DYSLEXIA AND CREATIVITY, YALE UNIVERSITY 

SCHOOL OF MEDICINE, NEW HAVEN, CT 

Dr. SHAYWITZ. Thank you. Good morning, Senator Cassidy, Senator Mikulski, and other committee members. 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 and its important implications for education. 

The problem: Our Nation is in the midst of a national nightmare 

where substantial numbers of children are not learning to read, especially boys and girls from disadvantaged families. Just released, 

2015 data from NAEP—I’m going to be showing a number of slides, 

and it would be helpful if people could see it. 

[Slides Shown] 

Senator MIKULSKI. We’re looking at it right here. 

Senator CASSIDY. We see it on the TV. 

Dr. SHAYWITZ. Oh, great. 

Senator MIKULSKI. Are you going to give us the NAEP 2015 High 

School Reading Scores? We’ve got it. 

Dr. SHAYWITZ. Great. Just released 2015 data from NAEP, the 

Nation’s report card, sends a loud warning signal. Here, outlined 

in yellow, the lowest achievers show large declines in reading, and, 

most alarming, the greatest drop in reading in two decades occurs, 

between 2013 and 2015. 

Reactions from experts: We’re stalled. We’re not making any 

progress. We need something substantially different. Increasing scientific evidence strongly points to dyslexia as the explanation and 

potential solution to our education crisis. 

As shown here, dyslexia puts all the pieces together. Dyslexia 

represents 80 percent to 90 percent of all learning disabilities and 

differs markedly from all others in that dyslexia is very specific 

and scientifically valid. Dyslexia is very common, affecting one out 

of five. 

Initial descriptions of dyslexia as an unexpected difficulty in 

reading are today empirically validated. A major step forward is 

Cassidy-Mikulski Resolution 275, providing a 21st century definition of dyslexia incorporating scientific advances in dyslexia, especially its unexpected nature, and emphasizes the cognitive basis of 

dyslexia, difficulty getting the individual sounds of spoken language. It is not seeing words backward. 

Resolution 275 represents a landmark in aligning science and 

education. Dyslexia is a paradox. The same slow reader is often a 

very fast and able thinker, giving rise to our conceptual model of 

dyslexia as a weakness in getting the sounds of words surrounded 

by a sea of strengths in higher level thinking processes. 

Converging evidence has identified a neural signature for dyslexia. That is an inefficient functioning of those posterior left hemisphere reading systems. Our ongoing studies examine disruptions 

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in brain connectivity in dyslexia, the role of attentional mechanisms in reading, and the economic consequences of dyslexia. 

Dyslexia is real. However, imaging cannot be used to diagnose 

individuals. The achievement gap between typical and dyslexic 

readers is large, occurs as early as first grade, and persists. Dyslexia has often dire consequences. Dyslexic students drop out of 

school at a significantly greater rate than their typically reading 

peers. As a consequence, they are often doomed to higher unemployment, lower earnings, and, as you heard from Senator Cassidy 

a few minutes ago, almost 50 percent of prison inmates are 

dyslexic. 

In aligning education with science, certain principles emerge. 

One, given its high prevalence and scientific validity and harsh impact, dyslexia must be given prominence in reauthorization of 

IDEA. Schools must screen for and identify dyslexic students early. 

The dyslexic student should know his diagnosis and that he is 

smart. 

Moving forward, implementation requires a model incorporating 

21st century scientific knowledge about dyslexia as shown in this 

slide: a school climate where everyone is on board, and the word, 

dyslexia, is used; small classes; evidence-based methods; et cetera. 

Where can this model be found? Independent schools for dyslexic 

students, for example, the Windward School in New York. However, the tuition is $52,000, a tuition out of reach of most middle 

class and certainly disadvantaged children. Public charter 

schools—a new model serving dyslexic students. An example is the 

Louisiana Key Academy, LKA, in Baton Rouge. Schools like LKA 

bring a quality and hope to all dyslexic children so that disadvantaged children are no longer left behind. 

I always think of people who are dyslexic—it reminds me of an 

iceberg, where you just see 10 percent—and we see the people who 

have succeeded, including my hero, David Boies, who is seated at 

this table—but we forget about the 90 percent that are unseen that 

are asking for help and could benefit from help. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Dr. Shaywitz follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF SALLY SHAYWITZ, M.D. 

UNDERSTANDING DYSLEXIA: THE INTERSECTION OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH

& EDUCATION

DYSLEXIA: EXPLANATION AND POTENTIAL SOLUTION TO THE EDUCATIONAL CRISIS

Good morning Senator Cassidy, Senator Mikulski, and other committee members. 

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 

and its important implications for education. 

THE PROBLEM

Our Nation is in the midst of a national nightmare where substantial numbers 

of children are not learning to read, especially boys and girls from disadvantaged 

families. 

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(Slide 1) Just released 20015 data from NAEEP, the Nation’s report card, sends 

a loud warning signal. 

Here on the lower right—the lowest achievers show large declines in reading and, 

most alarming, the greatest drop in reading occurs between 2013 and 2015. Reactions from experts: ‘‘We’re stalled . . .’’ ‘‘We’re not making any progress.’’ ‘‘We need 

something substantially different . . .’’ 

Increasing scientific evidence strongly points to dyslexia as the explanation 

and potential solution to our education crisis. 

Dyslexia represents 80 percent to 90 percent of all learning disabilities (Slide 2) 

and differs markedly from all others in that dyslexia is very specific and scientifically validated. 

Prevalence: Dyslexia is very common, affecting 1 out of 5. 

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Unexpected Nature: (Slide 3) Initial descriptions of dyslexia as an ‘‘unexpected’’ 

difficulty in reading are today empirically validated. 

Cognitive Basis: Dyslexia is a difficulty within the language system, more specifically, the phonological component of language—it is not seeing words backwards. 

A major step forward is Cassidy-Mikulski Resolution 275 (Slide 4) providing a 

21st century definition of dyslexia incorporating scientific advances in dyslexia, especially, its unexpected nature, and represents a landmark in aligning science and 

education. 

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(Slide 5) Dyslexia is a paradox, the same slow reader is often a very fast and 

able thinker. 

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Neurobiology: Converging evidence has identified a neural signature for dyslexia—(Slide 6) that is, an inefficient functioning of those posterior, left hemisphere 

reading systems and (Slide 7) disruptions in connectivity. 

Early identification of dyslexia critical: (Slide 8) The gap between typical 

and dyslexic readers is large, present by first grade and persists. 

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High Cost of Dyslexia: Dyslexia has often dire consequences (Slide 9). Dyslexic 

students drop out of high school at a significantly greater rate than their typically 

reading peers. 

As a consequence they are doomed to higher unemployment, lower earnings, and 

significantly higher rates of anxiety and depression. Studies indicate that almost 50 

percent of prison inmates may be dyslexic. 

In aligning education with science certain principles emerge: 

1. Given its high prevalence + scientific validity + harsh impact—dyslexia must 

be given prominence in reauthorization of IDEA. 

2. Schools must screen and identify dyslexic students early. 

3. The dyslexic student should know his diagnosis (dyslexia) and that he is smart. 

Moving forward—Implementation—requires a model incorporating 21st 

century scientific knowledge about dyslexia; for example: 

• School climate—everyone at school on board, use the word dyslexia. 

• Small classes. 

• Evidence-based methods. 

• Knowledgeable, flexible, caring teachers. 

• Consistency in instruction across all classes. 

• A community to join—know they are not alone. 

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Specific solutions: where can this model be found? 

• Independent schools for dyslexic students, (Slide 10) example, the Windward 

School in New York. (Slide 11). 

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15 

Clearly, a tuition out of reach of middle class and disadvantaged children. 

• Public Charter Schools serving dyslexic students. (Slide 12) An example is the 

Louisiana Key Academy in Baton Rouge. (Slide 13) 

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20151-11.eps
16 

A school like LKA brings equality and hope to all dyslexic children so 

that disadvantaged children are no longer left behind. (Slide 14) 

Senator CASSIDY. Thank you, Dr. Shaywitz. 

Mr. Baraka. 

STATEMENT OF AMEER BARAKA, AUTHOR/ACTOR, 

TERRYTOWN, LA 

Mr. BARAKA. Good morning, Senators and panelists. I want to 

thank you for taking your valuable time to listen to my message. 

We are coming up on an important Presidential election, and I 

know your time is important. 

I am also not oblivious to the challenges we face as a country. 

One such challenge is the lifelong curse of dyslexia. One out of five 

live with this challenge each day of their lives. Many will never 

reach their full potential and enjoy this great country as you and 

I do. Many people have lost the will to believe because the enemy, 

dyslexia, has forced them into the shadows. Today we have found 

a new way to address this enemy once and for all. 

For many years, I allowed dyslexia to control my life by robbing 

me of my God-given potential. Can you imagine in my early teens 

never wanting to be anything but a drug dealer? Neither my mother nor my school teachers were able to diagnose the reasons why 

I had trouble learning. In my mind, pursuing a more formal education was irrelevant. I knew early in life that being a dentist, a 

physical therapist, or a lawyer was out of my reach because I could 

not read. 

I turned to quicker pathways out of the New Orleans projects. I 

saw men in my community making ways for themselves without 

having to read by selling drugs. My defeatist attitude seemed to 

outweigh the positive values my grandmother tried to teach me. 

There were many more ingredients that helped me make my decision to sell drugs, for example, having my mother and siblings call 

me names such as dumb and stupid. Using names such as these 

can cause any child to feel hopeless and lost. 

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20151-12.eps
17 

You will notice that I never mention my father in this presentation. That’s because he left when I was 3 years old to chase his 

dreams of finding a better grade of heroin to use. It was the perfect 

storm for me. I chose to succumb to my environment while both my 

brother and sister excelled in school. I didn’t care about my future 

or anyone else, because I thought I was a dummy like my mother 

and my siblings said. 

I became a street thug and full of anger because I felt cheated 

out of an education. I went to school just because I had to as a kid. 

Many Fridays, I would malinger because I couldn’t pass the spelling test, or I would sleep in a project hallway until school was out 

just to avoid embarrassment. I pushed myself into a hole, and I 

couldn’t get out of it. My teachers had to know that I couldn’t read. 

My young mother ran the streets and didn’t seem to value my education. 

What became the final thing that caused me to pledge my allegiance to the lies of the streets was a girl. I was in sixth grade and 

a girl I liked was in my class. It was our first week of school. We 

were in English class and the teacher called on me to read out 

loud. My palms began to sweat. It felt like drops of blood on my 

forehead. I couldn’t pronounce any of the words and the teacher 

made me continue, knowing I couldn’t read. Some students laughed 

while others looked in amazement. 

From that day forward, I knew that school wasn’t the place for 

me, and the young lady never really liked me much from that day 

forward. The streets became my classroom, and looking back, the 

lessons I learned were shameful. I shot and killed a young person 

because the streets taught me that that is how you resolve conflict. 

After my release from prison at 15 years of age for manslaughter, 

I got back into the drug game, still never learning to read. I ended 

up doing prison time as an adult. 

I ran from the law for 4 years as a fugitive because I was facing 

60 years for drug distribution and I was guilty. I ended up doing 

4 years because, by God’s grace, a jury found me guilty of a lesser 

charge. At age 23, I entered into a prison correctional facility reading at a third grade level. I didn’t feel so bad because many of the 

men there were just like me. We all read poorly. After reading the 

autobiography of Malcolm X, I discovered that he dropped out in 

seventh grade and still made something of himself. I thought for 

the first time in my life that I could accomplish something too. I 

worked hard, writing down each word I couldn’t pronounce. I just 

kept memorizing words and writing letters and reading short 

books. 

A GED teacher noticed that I struggled with phonics and had me 

tested. He asked if my siblings could read. I told him that my siblings went to college. After testing me, he said I had a reading disability and it could be corrected if I was willing to work hard. I 

would write words down wrong so I sat in the front of class and 

double checked my answers. I worked for 4 years trying to attain 

my GED. My reading ability surged and I was ready for the test. 

I passed and started helping others in math and vocabulary. 

Since my release from prison, I went on to model for clothing 

lines such as Nike. Also, I went to acting classes and worked with 

Academy Award winners Jessica Lange, Kathy Bates, Angela BasHELPN-003 with DISTILLER

18 

sett, Forest Whitaker, Blair Underwood, Hill Harper, and many 

others. I have produced four independent films and written my 

first book titled The Life I Chose: The Streets Lied to Me. It is 

meant to inspire others who are just like I was, hiding in the shadows and not getting help. It is also for those who believe that dealing drugs is a way out. Today there are schools available to help 

kids fight and dyslexia, schools like the Cassidys have. 

Thank you for your time and consideration. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Baraka follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF AMEER BARAKA

Good morning Senators. I want to thank you for taking your valuable time to listen to my message. We are coming upon an important presidential election and I 

know your time is important. I’m also not oblivious to the challenges we face as a 

country. One such challenge is the life-long curse of dyslexia. One out of five people 

live with this challenge each day of their lives, so many will never reach their full 

potential and enjoy this great country as you and I do. Many people have lost the 

will to believe because the enemy, dyslexia, has forced them into the shadows. But 

today we have found a new way to address this enemy once and for all. 

For many years, I allowed dyslexia to control my life and rob me of my God-given 

potential. Can you imagine in your early teens never wanting to be anything other 

than a drug dealer? Neither my mother, nor my school teachers, were able to diagnose the reasons why I had trouble learning. In my mind, pursuing more formal 

education wasn’t relevant. I knew early in life that being a dentist, physical therapist, or lawyer was out of my reach because I couldn’t read. I turned to quicker 

pathways out of the New Orleans projects. I saw men in my community making a 

way for themselves, without having to read, by selling drugs. And my defeatist attitude seemed to outweigh the positive values my grandmother tried to teach me. 

There were many more ingredients that helped me make my decision to sell drugs, 

for example, having my mother and siblings call me names like ‘‘stupid’’ and 

‘‘dumb.’’ Using names such as these can cause any child to feel hopeless and lost. 

You will notice, I never mention my father in this presentation. That’s because 

he left when I was 3 years old to chase his dreams of finding a better grade of heroin to use. It was the perfect storm for me. I chose to succumb to my environment 

while both my brother and sister excelled in school. I didn’t care about my future, 

or anyone else, because I thought I was a dummy like my mother and siblings said 

I was. 

I became a street thug and full of anger because I felt cheated out of an education. 

I went to school just because I had to as a kid. Many Fridays, I would ‘‘malinger’’ 

because I couldn’t pass the spelling test, or I would sleep in a project hallway until 

school was out just to avoid embarrassment. I pushed myself into a hole that I 

couldn’t get out of. My teachers had to know that I couldn’t read. My young mother 

ran the streets and didn’t seem to value my education. But what became the final 

thing that caused me to pledge my allegiance to the lies of the streets was a girl. 

I was in sixth grade and a girl I liked was in my class. It was the first week of 

school. We were in English class and the teacher called on me to read out loud. My 

palms began to sweat. It felt like drops of blood on my forehead. I couldn’t pronounce any of the words and the teacher made me continue, knowing I couldn’t 

read. Some students laughed, while others looked in amazement. From that day forward, I knew that school wasn’t the place for me, and the young lady, never really 

liked me much from that day forward. The streets became my classroom and looking 

back, the lessons I learned were shameful. I shot and killed a young person because 

the streets taught me that is how you resolve conflict. After my release from prison 

at 15 years of age for manslaughter, I got back into the drug game, still never learning to read. I ended up doing prison time as an adult. 

I ran from the law for 4 years as a fugitive because I was facing 60 years for distribution of cocaine and I was guilty. I ended up doing 4 years because, by God’s 

grace, a jury found me guilty of a lesser charge. At age 23, I entered into a prison 

correctional facility reading at a third grade level. I didn’t feel so bad because many 

of the men there were just like me. We all read poorly. But after reading the Autobiography of Malcolm X and discovering that he dropped out in seventh grade and 

still made something of himself, I thought for the first time in my life that I could 

accomplish something too. I worked hard, writing down each word I had trouble pronouncing. I just kept memorizing words and writing letters and reading short books. 

A GED teacher noticed that I struggled with phonics and had me tested. He asked 

HELPN-003 with DISTILLER

19 

if my siblings read well. I told him they went to college. After testing me, he said 

I had a reading disability and it could be corrected if I was willing to work hard. 

I would write things down wrong so I sat in the front of class and double checked 

my answers. I worked for 4 years trying to attain my GED. My reading ability had 

surged and I was ready for the test. I passed and started helping others in math 

and vocabulary. Since my release from prison, I went on to model for clothing lines 

such as Nike. Also, I took acting classes and worked with Academy Award winners 

Jessica Lang, Kathy Bates, Angela Bassett, Forest Whitaker, Blair Underwood, Hill 

Harper and many others. I have produced four independent films and written my 

first book titled ‘‘The Life I Chose: The Streets Lied to Me.’’ It is meant to inspire 

others who are just like I was, hiding in the shadows and not getting help. It is 

for those who believe that dealing drugs is a way out. Today there are schools available to help kids fight and defeat dyslexia. Schools, such as the one Senator Cassidy 

and his wife have created, provide a model for what could be a solution. In my opinion we can stop people from allowing the dyslexia to rob them of all that this great 

nation has to offer. If we understand this enemy, we can work to prevent it from 

stealing our most fundamental asset, our youth. We need to remember that 1 in 5 

has dyslexia and dyslexia is 80 to 90 percent of the LD or learning disability community. The science about dyslexia, where the problem is in the brain, may be the 

key to reversing the curse of dyslexia that is now plaguing this great country. 

Senator CASSIDY. Thank you. 

Dr. Eden. 

STATEMENT OF GUINEVERE EDEN, D.Phil., DIRECTOR, CENTER FOR THE STUDY OF LEARNING, GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER, WASHINGTON, DC 

Ms. EDEN. Thank you, Senator Mikulski and Senator Cassidy, 

for inviting me to speak to you today. The research I’ll be describing is largely emerged from the field of neuroscience and uses brain 

imaging technology to study the brain’s structure and function. 

This research has resulted in tremendous advances in our understanding of the human brain, how it perceives information, how it 

learns, remembers, builds knowledge, and how it performs skills 

that are unique to humans, such as reading. 

Reading, a cultural invention that allows us to represent speech 

in symbolic form, involves a coordination of the brain’s language 

areas with visual and auditory systems. At Georgetown University, 

with support from NIH and NSF, we have studied brain activity 

with functional MRI while participants process words. This allows 

us to noninvasively characterize the developmental trajectory of 

reading acquisition in children and also to understand the brain 

basis of reading in different writing systems and in different languages. 

Researchers have learned that acquiring reading changes the 

brain’s structure and function. It is thought that learning to read 

involves co-opting of brain regions involved in language and visual 

object recognition and that these become recycled into a reading 

network. In other words, children’s brains change as they learn to 

read. 

Brain imaging has also heightened our understanding of dyslexia. The field has grown rapidly and made significant contributions. It has helped people understand that the brains of children 

and adults with dyslexia are different. Their struggles with reading 

are not because they are stupid or because they are not trying hard 

enough. There is an explanation for their reading difficulties. There 

should not be a stigma. 

Researchers have also examined the impact of intensive reading 

intervention. We have learned that children and even adults with 

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20 

dyslexia not only make gains in reading, but also show 

measureable brain activity changes and plasticity. One of our studies has shown that some of the same brain areas that are used for 

reading are less engaged when children with dyslexia solve arithmetic tasks, highlighting the far-reaching consequences of dyslexia 

and the connection to other forms of learning disabilities. 

Sometimes we make novel discoveries with brain imaging for 

which there are no obvious indicators from behavioral studies. For 

example, we found that the brains of females with dyslexia do not 

conform to the neurobiological model of dyslexia that was largely 

derived from studies in males. This might have important implications for diagnosing and treating females with dyslexia. 

Dyslexia runs in families, and genetic researchers have utilized 

brain imaging to examine the brains of those who carry the dyslexia associated genes. Taken together, researchers have made significant advances in characterizing the brain basis of dyslexia. 

However, the exact mechanism of dyslexia, how it comes about, is 

not yet fully understood and requires further research. Also, the information gained has not been applied as well as it could be. 

For example, the fact that dyslexia is heritable, with roughly a 

40 percent chance of your child having dyslexia if you have dyslexia, is greatly underutilized when it comes to early identification. 

This critical information is a warning sign, and there should be a 

place to note it on the questionnaire of an entering kindergartner. 

This, together with the child’s performance on behavioral measures 

tapping skills known to predict later reading outcome, such as phonemic awareness and letter naming, can be used to signal that a 

particular child is at risk for difficulties in learning to read. 

On the other hand, imaging is not used to identify the child who 

has dyslexia. Brain imaging is used in research studies involving 

groups of participants. However, parents often ask for a brain scan 

in their child because they see the difficulties in their child with 

reading, and they worry that the school is not recognizing the problem, and they hope that a brain scan will provide some information. 

I understand such parents’ quest for objective information because my own daughter recently had trouble reading and exhibited 

anxiety and avoidance around reading, which she described as a 

stupid activity. While the school was not concerned about her gradual decline, I was, and we pursued early intervention focused on 

phonemic and orthographic awareness. Her improvement, measured objectively by standardized tests, now manifests in her reading for pleasure. 

For parents of struggling readers, it’s a challenge to determine 

if there is a problem and what to do about it. Parents have to educate themselves and navigate a complex educational system. They 

stay up late at night to try and make sense of the scientific research and how it applies to their child. 

Fortunately, there are resources to support families of children 

with learning issues, such as the website, understood.org. Here, the 

information is provided online, accessible to parents and educators, 

and tied to the findings of current research. This is one example 

of how those involved in understanding dyslexia can engage in a 

common language. However, much needs to be done by researchers 

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21 

and educators to jointly harness the knowledge of teaching and 

learning to benefit the children with dyslexia. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Eden follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF GUINEVERE F. EDEN, D.PHIL. 

Thank you, Chairman Alexander and Ranking Member Murray, for holding this 

hearing and for the invitation to speak to you today about the intersection of scientific research and education in dyslexia. Thank you Senator Cassidy and Senator 

Mikulski for co-chairing today’s hearing. 

BRAIN IMAGING TECHNOLOGY: ADVANCES IN UNDERSTANDING THE BRAIN BASES

FOR READING AND DYSLEXIA

The research I will be describing today has largely emerged from the field of neuroscience. The ability for scientists to use brain imaging technology to noninvasively study the brain’s structure and function has resulted in tremendous advances to the understanding of the human brain, how it processes sensation, how 

it learns, how it remembers, and how it builds knowledge. Neuroscientists have 

been able to produce maps of brain regions underlying cognition and, importantly, 

skills that are uniquely human, such as reading. 

Reading, a cultural invention that allows us to represent speech in symbolic form, 

involves a coordination of the brain’s language areas with the visual and auditory 

systems. At my center at Georgetown University, we have studied brain activity 

with functional MRI (fMRI) while participants process words.1 We use this approach 

to characterize the developmental trajectory of reading acquisition 2 and to study 

reading in different writing systems 3 and in different languages.4 In the cognitive 

neuroscientific community, there has been an explosion in the use of brain imaging 

for the purpose of visualizing the reading brain. Unlike other areas of cognition, 

reading is a uniquely human skill and cannot be ecologically simulated using animal 

models. The non-invasive nature of fMRI allows scientists to study children (around 

or even prior to the time that they begin to read) and to study them repeatedly so 

that brain changes over time can be captured. 

What researchers have learned is that the process of learning to read changes the 

brain’s structure and function. People who never had the opportunity to learn to 

read manifest a different pattern of brain activity and have differences in brain 

anatomy compared to those who do learn to read.5 6 It seems that learning to read 

involves co-opting of brain regions involved in language and visual object recognition, and these become ‘‘recycled’’ into a ‘‘reading network.’’ In other words, as teachers are bringing about critical literacy skills in children through formal education, 

the children’s brains change above and beyond the changes that occur based on maturation. 

Research also indicates that the brain needs to make some adjustments when becoming a reader, not only re-allocating brain functions from processing common objects to processing letters and words, but also adapting new rules. So while it is OK 

for objects, such as a chair, to be recognizable as the same object when it is viewed 

from the right or from the left, this is not OK for mirror letters such as p and q, 

and b and d. While these may look like the same object with mirror-reversal to a 

beginning reader (who will confuse them), successful reading acquisition requires 

that they become recognized as representing distinctly different letters.7

Brain imaging technology has also heightened our understanding of dyslexia. 

Since our first implementation of functional MRI to study dyslexia in 1996,8 the 

field has grown rapidly and made significant contributions to the science of dyslexia. 

While researchers had already been using MRI to scrutinize brain structural differences in dyslexia, functional MRI has allowed researchers to visualize brain activity in groups of people with and without dyslexia. 

For example, functional MRI has been used to look at word processing and reading in children 9 and adults 10 with dyslexia . It has also been used to examine other 

functions that are not involved in reading, but may be affected in dyslexia (either 

as a part of having dyslexia, or as a consequence from having dyslexia).11

Using brain imaging, researchers have also examined the impact of intensive 

reading intervention. We have learned that adults with dyslexia not only make 

gains in reading, but also show brain plasticity, as demonstrated by increases in 

brain activity.10 Brain anatomy is also malleable; in another study we found that 

reading intervention resulted in growth of brain tissue in children 12 Together, these 

studies illustrate how reading gains in people with dyslexia are brought about by 

complex physiological and anatomical brain changes. 

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Researchers are also evaluating to what degree brain imaging data can foreshadow the amount of reading gains that are made in children down the road,13

similar to prior work in which researchers identified behavioral measures such as 

rapid naming and phonemic awareness to be predictive of later reading outcome.14

Some of the same brain areas that are compromised for reading are also underactive when children with dyslexia solve arithmetic tasks,15 highlighting the farreaching consequences of dyslexia and their complex connection to other forms of 

learning disabilities. 

Interestingly, through brain imaging research we sometimes encounter brainbased observations for which there were no obvious indications from behavioral 

studies. For example, we found that the brains of females with dyslexia do not conform to the neurobiological model of dyslexia that was largely derived from studies 

of males.16 This might have important implications for diagnosing and treating females with dyslexia. 

Together, brain imaging research has become an important tool for understanding 

reading and is a leading contributor in addressing the multitude of theories that 

have been proposed to explain dyslexia. 

THE INTERSECTION OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH & EDUCATION

While researchers are careful to assess what is directly causing the reading problems and to distinguish these brain differences from those that are a consequence 

or a byproduct of whatever is causing the dyslexia,17 it has become clear that children who eventually have dyslexia are likely to exhibit early signs of brain differences,18 much like specific behavioral measures in young children are lower for 

those who eventually go on to have dyslexia. This is not surprising given the brainbehavioral relationships and the fact that dyslexia is heritable. Scientific evidence 

supports genetic involvement, and a connection between dyslexia-associated genes 

and differences in brain activity.12 13

Despite the fact that dyslexia often runs in families and there is research to explain genetic involvement, this knowledge is greatly underutilized when it comes to 

early identification. When a parent has dyslexia, the chances that their child has 

dyslexia are significantly higher, approximately 40 percent. Having this information 

provides a critical piece of information for educators and health care providers to 

consider when confronted with a child who is experiencing difficulties in learning 

to read, or even better, prior to that point. As such, a family history of reading disability should be noted on questionnaires for entering kindergartners along with 

health conditions (allergies, asthma) and home language environment. A family history of dyslexia can be very predictive of children at risk for reading difficulties 20

and, together with early behavioral measures of skills known to predict later reading outcome (such as phonemic awareness and letter naming 21), can be used to signal that a child is at risk for difficulties in learning to read. 

How else can we harness this knowledge to help children with dyslexia? Brain imaging research has helped people understand that the brains of children and adults 

with dyslexia are different. Their struggles with reading are not because they are 

stupid or because they are not trying hard enough. This helps children, parents, and 

teachers understand that there is an explanation for their reading difficulties. There 

should be no stigma. 

Brain imaging has helped scientists characterize dyslexia, and investigations are 

ongoing to refine theoretical brain-based models. However, these studies are conducted in a research setting and involve groups of participants. They are generally 

not conducted in a single person, and brain imaging is not used to make a determination of whether a specific child has dyslexia. Parents and teachers, however, 

often think that it does. Parents wish for a brain scan in their child because they 

see their child’s difficulties with learning to read and often feel that the school is 

not recognizing the problem. They wish that they could get a picture of the child’s 

brain to put in front of the teacher to ‘‘prove’’ they have dyslexia as a way to get 

more help for their child. However, brain imaging data cannot be used in this way. 

Parents have difficulties in gauging whether there is a problem with their child’s 

reading abilities and, if so, what to do about it. I have personally been in this situation recently when my daughter in 1st grade seemed to have trouble sounding out 

words and reading fluently. This became especially worrying when she exhibited 

anxiety and avoidance around reading, showing clear frustration and describing it 

as stupid activity. I quickly realized the difference between my understanding of 

how reading is evaluated (using standardized tests that tap into a range of reading 

skills, such as decoding, fluency, and comprehension, and skills that support reading, such as phonemic awareness, rapid naming and working memory) and how it 

is measured in the school (text-reading accuracy using a story with a picture proHELPN-003 with DISTILLER

23 

viding content clues). And I learned that as long as she reads at grade level, even 

if her performance continues to drop throughout the school year, and even though 

her level of reading is not aligned with her potential, she will be described as a normal reader. As such, the perspective on a child’s performance when it comes to reading is very different in terms of the setting (home or school) and depending on the 

observer, because different observers use different contexts and have different goals. 

Recognizing the importance of early intervention, I arranged for my daughter to receive explicit instruction that bolstered both her phonemic (sound) and orthographic 

(visual word form) awareness over the summer. As a result of this, she moved from 

scoring at the 16th percentile as a 1st grader to the 75th percentile as a 2d grader 

on a standardized measure of reading accuracy, and she is thriving. 

Not all parents have the resources or knowledge to intervene early. Learning to 

read is complicated, and for parents of a struggling reader, it is very challenging 

to determine if there is a problem and what to do about it. Fortunately, there are 

resources that are helpful to parents, teachers, and students. For example, the Web 

site Understood.org, a free, comprehensive online resource to support families of 

children with learning and attention issues (for which I serve as an expert contributor), can be a lifeline. Here, parents can access the information on early warning 

signs and learn what to do and how to take action. The information is provided in 

clear terms, while remaining tied to current scientific knowledge. 

Overall, the science of dyslexia has made significant advances. However, academic 

researchers, even those working in classrooms, are bound by academic practices to 

publish in specialty journals, which in turn can be inaccessible, physically and conceptually, to those who directly operate as educators in the field. Consequently, 

teachers may not be implementing approaches that have been proven to be successful by rigorous research studies. Conversely, researchers may be pursuing theories 

that are not relevant to real classroom settings. As such, there remains a physical 

and cultural distance between academic research and educational practices. 

Some agencies have addressed this problem. The National Science Foundation’s 

Science of Learning Centers are a notable example of creating an environment to 

integrate knowledge across multiple disciplines, establishing common ground for 

conceptualization and connecting research with educational challenges. However, 

the dialog between science and the classroom is still far too limited. Academic and 

educational institutions will need to embrace a cultural change that facilitates jointly tackling the collective complexity of dyslexia, and engaging a common language 

and a common understanding of how to harness the knowledge of teaching and 

learning to the benefit of children with dyslexia. 

REFERENCES

1. O.A. Olulade, D.L. Flowers, E.M. Napoliello, and G.F. Eden, ‘‘Developmental 

differences for word processing in the ventral stream,’’ Brain Lang., vol. 125, no. 2, 

PP. 134–45, May 2013. 

2. P.E. Turkeltaub, L. Gareau, D.L. Flowers, T.A. Zeffiro, and G.F. Eden, ‘‘Development of neural mechanisms for reading,’’ Nat. Neurosci., vol. 6, no. 7, PP. 767– 

73, Jul. 2003. 

3. A.J. Krafnick, L.-H. Tan, D.L. Flowers, M.M. Luetje, E.M. Napoliello, W.-T. 

Siok, C. Perfetti, and G.F. Eden, ‘‘Chinese Character and English Word processing 

in children’s ventral occipitotemporal cortex: fMRI evidence for script invariance,’’ 

NeuroImage, vol. 133, PP. 302–12, Mar. 2016. 

4. N.I. Jamal, A.W. Piche, E.M. Napoliello, C.A. Perfetti, and G.F. Eden, ‘‘Neural 

basis of single-word reading in Spanish-English bilinguals,’’ Hum. Brain Mapp., vol. 

33, no. 1, PP. 235–45, Jan. 2012. 

5. S. Dehaene, F. Pegado, L.W. Braga, P. Ventura, G.N. Filho, A. Jobert, G. 

Dehaene-Lambertz, R. Kolinsky, J. Morais, and L. Cohen, ‘‘How Learning to Read 

Changes the Cortical Networks for Vision and Language,’’ Science, vol. 330, no. 

6009, PP. 1359–64, Nov. 2010. 

6. M. Carreiras, M.L. Seghier, S. Baquero, A. Este ́vez, A. Lozano, J.T. Devlin, and 

C.J. Price, ‘‘An anatomical signature for literacy,’’ Nature, vol. 461, no. 7266, PP. 

983–86, Oct. 2009. 

7. S. Dehaene, L. Cohen, J. Morais, and R. Kolinsky, ‘‘Illiterate to literate: 

behavioural and cerebral changes induced by reading acquisition,’’ Nat. Rev. 

Neurosci., vol. 16, no. 4, PP. 234–44, Apr. 2015. 

8. G.F. Eden, J.W. VanMeter, J.M. Rumsey, J.M. Maisog, R.P. Woods, and T.A. 

Zeffiro, ‘‘Abnormal processing of visual motion in dyslexia revealed by functional 

brain imaging,’’ Nature, vol. 382, no. 6586, PP. 66–69, Jul. 1996. 

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9. O.A. Olulade, D.L. Flowers, E.M. Napoliello, and G.F. Eden, ‘‘’Dyslexic children 

lack word selectivity gradients in occipito-temporal and inferior frontal cortex,’’ 

NeuroImage Clin., vol. 7, PP. 742–54, 2015. 

10. G.F. Eden, K.M. Jones, K. Cappell, L. Gareau, F.B. Wood, T.A. Zeffiro, N.A.E. 

Dietz, J.A. Agnew, and D.L. Flowers, ‘‘Neural changes following remediation in 

adult developmental dyslexia,’’ Neuron, vol. 44, no. 3, PP. 411–22, Oct. 2004. 

11. O.A. Olulade, E.M. Napoliello, and G.F. Eden, ‘‘Abnormal visual motion processing is not a cause of dyslexia,’’ Neuron, vol. 79, no. 1, PP. 180–90, Jun. 2013. 

12. A.J. Krafnick, D.L. Flowers, E.M. Napoliello, and G.F. Eden, ‘‘Gray matter volume changes following reading intervention in dyslexic children,’’ NeuroImage, vol. 

57, no. 3, PP. 733–41, Aug. 2011. 

13. F. Hoeft, B.D. McCandliss, J.M. Black, A. Gantman, N. Zakerani, C. Hulme, 

H. Lyytinen, S. Whitfield-Gabrieli, G.H. Glover, A.L. Reiss, and J.D.E. Gabrieli, 

‘‘Neural systems predicting long-term outcome in dyslexia.,’’ PNAS, vol. 108, no. 1, 

PP. 361–6, Jan. 2011. 

14. R.K. Wagner and J.K. Torgesen, ‘‘The nature of phonological processing and 

its causal role in the acquisition of reading skills.,’’ Psychol. Bull., vol. 101, no. 2, 

PP. 192–212, 1987. 

15. T.M. Evans, D.L. Flowers, E.M. Napoliello, O.A. Olulade, and G.F. Eden, ‘‘The 

functional anatomy of single-digit arithmetic in children with developmental dyslexia,’’ NeuroImage, vol. 101, PP. 644–52, Nov. 2014. 

16. T.M. Evans, D.L. Flowers, E.M. Napoliello, and G.F. Eden, ‘‘Sex-specific gray 

matter volume differences in females with developmental dyslexia,’’ Brain Struct. 

Funct., vol. 219, no. 3, PP. 1041–54, May 2014. 

17. A.J. Krafnick, D.L. Flowers, M.M. Luetje, E.M. Napoliello, and G.F. Eden, ‘‘An 

investigation into the origin of anatomical differences in dyslexia,’’ J. Neurosci., vol. 

34, no. 3, PP. 901–8, Jan. 2014. 

18. N.M. Raschle, P.L. Stering, S.N. Meissner, and N. Gaab, ‘‘Altered neuronal response during rapid auditory processing and its relation to phonological processing 

in prereading children at familial risk for dyslexia,’’ Cereb. Cortex N. Y. N 1991, vol. 

24, no. 9, PP. 2489–2501, Sep. 2014. 

19. N. Cope, J.D. Eicher, H. Meng, C.J. Gibson, K. Hager, C. Lacadie, R.K. Fulbright, R.T. Constable, G.P. Page, and J.R. Gruen, ‘‘Variants in the DYX2 locus are 

associated with altered brain activation in reading-related brain regions in subjects 

with reading disability,’’ NeuroImage, vol. 63, no. 1, PP. 148–56, Oct. 2012. 

20. D.L. Lefly and B.F. Pennington, ‘‘Reliability and validity of the adult reading 

history questionnaire,’’ J. Learn. Disabil., vol. 33, no. 3, PP. 286–96, Jun. 2000. 

21. H.W. Catts, D.C. Nielsen, M.S. Bridges, Y.S. Liu, and D.E. Bontempo, ‘‘Early 

Identification of Reading Disabilities Within an RTI Framework,’’ J. Learn. Disabil., 

Aug. 2013. 

Senator CASSIDY. Mr. Boies. 

STATEMENT OF DAVID BOIES, CHAIRMAN, BOIES, SCHILLER, 

AND FLEXNER, LLP, ARMONK, NY 

Mr. BOIES. Thank you, Senators Cassidy and Mikulski, members 

of the committee. 

I am dyslexic. I’m a father of two dyslexic sons. I know from personal experience the obstacles that dyslexia can cause in terms of 

early education. I also know from personal experience, both my 

own and my sons, that while dyslexia is a permanent condition, it 

does not have to be a permanent disability. It does not have to 

interfere with the ability of a child to realize their full potential to 

become a functioning, productive member of society. 

What’s critical is that dyslexia be identified and the children 

with dyslexia get the help that they need at the time they need 

that help. That help can be in several forms. It can be help in 

learning how to read around the disability of dyslexia. There is tutoring, there is training that can help people improve their reading. 

In addition, if they understand that they have dyslexia and they 

understand that there is this problem with reading, they can focus 

on alternative ways of getting information. Dyslexia is an input 

problem. It makes it difficult to get information in a particular 

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way. There are alternative ways to get information, and, most important of all, dyslexia is not a processing problem. It doesn’t have 

anything to do with how well you think, how good your judgment 

is. 

The third thing that early identification can do is it can help children understand that they’re not dumb, that they’re not stupid, 

that they can achieve. That can be sometimes the most important 

thing that a child can understand, that they are not consigned to 

being slow for the rest of their lives. 

There comes a time when nobody cares how fast you read. Nobody comes to me as a lawyer and wants to know how fast do I 

read. They want to know: can I analyze the law, can I present a 

case, can I cross-examine a witness, can I exercise judgment, can 

I help them solve legal problems, how well do I think, what’s my 

integrity, what’s my character, how hard do I work? 

Dyslexia doesn’t have anything to do with those qualities. Those 

are the qualities that make a person successful. Those are the 

qualities that help somebody achieve and contribute to society. 

What children with dyslexia and what parents who have children 

with dyslexia need to understand is that this can be a temporary 

problem. It’s not easy. There’s an enormous amount of work that 

has to be done. No matter how much help we give children, they’re 

going to have to really work harder than their peers. That training 

and working hard can serve them very well later in life. My son, 

Christopher, was tutored 4 days a week, every week, for 10 years. 

He had to learn to manage his time. He had to learn to adapt to 

that additional burden. That time management skill serves him extremely well as a lawyer today. 

He always did well in school, if he could get in, which was hard 

because he did very poorly on standardized tests. Standardized 

tests test what people with—who don’t have dyslexia. It tests them 

pretty well. It doesn’t test people with dyslexia at all, because what 

it’s doing is it’s testing skills that they don’t have, and not the 

skills that are important. 

Reading and how much information and how many facts you’ve 

accumulated may be a proxy for your intelligence and how you will 

succeed in life if you don’t have a disability in reading. If you have 

difficulty in reading, those standardized tests don’t test your potential at all. We know we’re testing the wrong things. We know that 

when we test reading, when we test how much vocabulary you 

have, we know that those aren’t really life skills. We use those as 

a proxy, and they’re not a bad proxy for people who don’t have dyslexia. But for people who have dyslexia, they are a terrible proxy. 

What we have to do is we have to educate the educators, and we 

have to have the patience, and we have to give people the help that 

they need so that they can achieve their potential, and that can be 

done. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Boies follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF DAVID BOIES

Millions of children and their family members suffer from the consequences of 

dyslexia. Most of those consequences are unnecessary; they are the result of a failure to timely recognize and properly treat those children. 

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Recognizing the presence of dyslexia, and understanding what it is (and is not) 

is critical to enabling children with dyslexia to realize their potential and enjoy the 

happy, productive lives of which they are capable. 

Dyslexia’s primary effect is to make it difficult for someone who is dyslexic to read 

as easily, and as fast, as they otherwise would. That effect is challenging enough. 

Reading is one of the most important ways by which we ordinarily acquire information—and it is the primary way most students, particularly in grade school, learn 

what they are tested on. Moreover, reading (particularly, again, in grade school) is 

valued, and tested, in its own right. 

Consequently, the ability to read becomes both the gateway to how students do 

on the tests by which they are judged by their parents, peers, teachers, and themselves and itself a marker for their success. 

Recognizing dyslexia early can enable students to receive both training that can 

improve their reading skills and help in using other ways of acquiring information. 

My dyslexia was not diagnosed until I was in my 30s and my reading skills in 

school were poor. I did not read essentially at all until late in third grade. However, 

my father was a high school history teacher and, including by attending his classes, 

I was fortunate to learn early the value of listening as a way of acquiring information. 

Recognizing dyslexia early has another, perhaps even more important, benefit. 

One of the most corrosive consequences of dyslexia is that its effects (difficulty in 

reading, poor scores on standardized tests) are often misinterpreted as low intelligence. 

Dyslexia is an input issue; it makes it difficult for people to read conventionally, 

and hence acquire information that way. It does not limit judgment or intelligence, 

or the ability to process information. In fact, there is some data that suggests dyslexia may be positively correlated with creativity. 

In school, particularly early grades, the ability to acquire information, and particularly the ability to read, is often treated as the equivalent of intelligence. Students who are slow in reading, and who accordingly fail to quickly acquire the information that conventional exams test, are too often classified by their teachers, their 

parents, and themselves as ‘‘dumb’’, ‘‘stupid’’, or simply inadequate. 

Difficulty in reading, and poor results on exams, can of course be due to lower 

than average intelligence, but the difficulty in reading that is caused by dyslexia 

has nothing to do with, and is not at all correlated with, intelligence. 

Difficulty in reading caused by dyslexia will inevitably affect a student’s performance on examinations testing what a student has learned from reading assignments. 

But again this is not a reflection either of intelligence or the ability to learn—it is 

merely a reflection of the difficulty in learning in a particular way at a particular 

speed. 

Confusing an input problem (difficulty in reading) with a processing problem (low 

intelligence) not only prevents steps to solve the problem but also further erodes the 

student’s confidence, and even their sense of self-worth; it can discourage a student 

from continuing to try, and discourage a student’s teachers, and even parents, from 

continuing to try to encourage and help. 

Failing to timely recognize and properly understand and treat dyslexia has three 

consequences. First, children fail to get the help and training that can improve their 

ability to acquire information. Second, the lack of such help and training causes the 

child to fall further and further behind. Third, as the child falls further and further 

behind, and because the problem is perceived as a lack of intelligence that will follow the child throughout life, the child (and the child’s teachers and families) become discouraged, and too often give up. 

Recognizing the real issue can enable the child to receive the help needed to improve reading skills and to learn to use alternative means for acquiring information. 

Even more important, it enables everyone to understand that the problem is largely 

temporary; success in life depends on judgment, intelligence, integrity, and commitment—not on how fast a person reads. 

Even though my dyslexia was not diagnosed early, I was fortunate. Growing up 

in a small Midwest farming town in the 1940s reading was not a metric by which 

young boys measured their self-worth. My parents, both public school teachers, were 

supportive and my father in particular helped me learn by a combination of what 

I would now call lectures and what I have since come to recognize as Socratic dialogs. 

It is much harder for today’s young people who grow up in a time where there 

is academic competition to get into ‘‘junior pre-kindergarten’’ (which, of course, is 

the year the student spends in school before ‘‘senior pre-kindergarten’’, which in 

turn is the year the student spends in school before kindergarten). 

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There is so much emphasis on early learning and testing that students can be forgiven for concluding by the time they are teenagers that they will either be masters 

of the universe or abject failures based on how their academic progress to that point 

has been evaluated. Both, of course, are likely wrong. But the perception can derail 

both from reaching their potential. 

The debilitating effect that dyslexia can have on a child’s confidence and sense 

of self-worth is aggravated by the fact that the very time reading and input most 

dominate reasoning and judgment in conventional test results, is the very time children are at their most vulnerable. 

Recognizing that the difficulty in reading dyslexia causes can be mitigated by 

training, that alternative ways of acquiring information can be emphasized, and 

that dyslexia does not imply anything about a person’s ability to reason, analyze, 

or communicate can give students the patience to continue to work and achieve, and 

give their teachers and parents the patience to help and support them. 

Today some students whose families (and schools) can afford the best in testing 

are fortunate in having their dyslexia identified, understood, and treated early. 

However, the vast majority of students with dyslexia are not so fortunate. Their future, and the future contributions they can make to our society, is at severe risk. 

That risk is preventable. 

Dyslexia is not an indication of, and need not affect, the ability of a person to succeed in life. There are many well-known examples, and many, many more unknown 

examples, of people with dyslexia who are highly effective, productive, successful, 

members of society. Success in life is not a function of how fast a person can read. 

Life is rarely a timed test; even when it is, it is rarely if ever based on reading 

speed. 

We need to recognize this reality. We need to enable children, teachers, parents, 

and test administrators to recognize this reality. And we need to provide the resources and guidance that will help, not impede, children from reaching their potential. They deserve it. And our country needs it. 

Senator CASSIDY. Dr. Mahone. 

STATEMENT OF MARK MAHONE, Ph.D., ABPP, DIRECTOR, DEPARTMENT OF NEUROPSYCHOLOGY, KENNEDY KRIEGER INSTITUTE, BALTIMORE, MD 

Mr. MAHONE. Good morning, Senator Cassidy, Senator Mikulski, 

fellow members of the panel. Thank you for the opportunity to 

speak with you this morning. 

Dyslexia is currently the most prevalent educationally handicapping condition in the United States. It’s twice as common as 

ADHD, 10 to 15 times as prevalent as autism. It affects an estimated one in five individuals nationwide. Even more importantly, 

many students show symptoms of dyslexia, including slow and inaccurate reading, weak spelling, or poor writing. Whether or not 

they meet full criteria for special education, most students benefit 

from systematic, explicit instruction in reading, writing, and language methods. 

The problem is that many students are not getting access to this 

structured literacy instruction. As a result, there’s an alarming 

achievement gap. As was mentioned earlier, the NAEP data—I 

have results from 1998 through 2013—fourth grade data from the 

NAEP showed that 9 percent of students with disabilities scored 

proficient in reading, compared to 26 percent of nondisabled peers. 

Both of those statistics are unacceptably low. 

But is the prevalence of dyslexia so high that it can explain these 

high rates of school failure? I would assert that it’s no, but there 

are other reasons. First, it is that pre-service teacher training programs routinely fail to provide teachers with the information based 

on the scientific literature about how learning occurs and also what 

gets in the way of learning, based on what we know from the neuHELPN-003 with DISTILLER

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rosciences, from the behavioral sciences, and from the educational 

sciences. This leads to a translational gap. 

When teachers enter the field without prerequisite training, they 

must get the training on the job. They get it through supervision, 

mentoring, and from professional development. Getting training 

that way is expensive, inefficient, and burdensome to the schools 

and to the teachers themselves. It also places the responsibility for 

training teachers on the local school systems rather than on the institutes of higher education. 

Second, a complicating factor in working with students with dyslexia is that pure dyslexia is often the exception rather than the 

rule. Students with dyslexia often have associated behavioral, motivational, and social-emotional problems and other conditions that 

interfere with the implementation of otherwise routine, evidencebased practices. Addressing the reading problem alone instead of 

the needs of the whole child leads to incomplete and ineffective 

care. 

Third, individuals at the local education level in leadership positions often don’t have the training, knowledge, and background to 

effectively and appropriately advocate for policy changes that will 

help translate what we know from the science into educational 

practice at the local school level, and especially as it relates to students with dyslexia. 

There are other additional concerns, and I want to highlight 

some of those. Despite the best efforts of our scientific community, 

there is still heterogeneity in terminology that has become an impediment to achieving consensus in identification, treatment, and 

epidemiology. We know that dyslexia is a neurobiologically based 

developmental disorder. It occurs along a continuum rather than as 

a discreet entity. 

We define it most often by low reading achievement. In the scientific literature, however, there are differences in where the cut 

point comes or how low someone has to perform in reading before 

it becomes dyslexia, with differences ranging from the 5th percentile up to the 25th percentile. Not surprisingly, when there are 

differences in the literature, the behavior, the learning, the 

neurobiological correlates, and genetics of dyslexia all look different 

depending on how it’s defined. 

As we move forward with implementation of ESSA, it’s critical 

for the scientific and educational communities to work toward a 

common language for identification in studying dyslexia with efforts toward a more specific terminology. This consistency extends 

to implementation of response and intervention. 

Finally, early detection of dyslexia is critical. But I must say we 

need to proceed with caution. The mission of early detection presents us with a conflict that requires awareness of the developmental appropriateness of reading expectations and reading instruction for a significant proportion of kindergarten children. 

We know how to identify early risk factors for dyslexia. As scientists, educators, and policymakers, we must distinguish between 

unexpected and unwarranted failures in reading achievement. In 

other words, considering early detection, we must determine 

whether a problem represents true dyslexia or the risk for it, or a 

brain that is just simply too young and not yet ready to read. 

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This is particularly important because in the last 20 years, even 

before Common Core standards, we have gone to a system in which 

kindergarten is the new first grade. There are emotional and motivational consequences associated with developmentally premature 

educational expectations for children who experience failure this 

early, and the risk is exacerbated in boys, who develop later than 

girls upwards of a year, on average, by kindergarten. 

Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Mahone follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MARK MAHONE, PH.D., ABPP 

THE PROBLEM(S)

An Achievement Gap 

Approximately 13–14 percent of students in the United States (more than 6 million children) are identified as having a handicapping condition and receive special 

education services in school. Half of those identified for special education are classified as having a Specific Learning Disability, and approximately 85 percent of those 

having a primary learning disability have a learning disability in reading and language processing (i.e., dyslexia). As many as one-third of all students may have 

symptoms of dyslexia, including, but not limited to, slow or inaccurate reading, 

weak spelling, or poor writing. Not all meet full criteria for a ‘‘disability,’’ or will 

qualify for special education, but most benefit from systematic, explicit instructions 

in reading, writing, and language (also known as structured literacy instruction). 

In my home State of Maryland, the 2015 standardized assessments revealed that 

those students enrolled in special education performed dismally low. On the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC) assessment 

for grade level 10, only 7.1 percent of students in special education met or exceeded 

expected performance level (i.e., Level 4 or 5) for literacy, compared to 39.7 percent 

of all students (which is still unacceptably low). These results are similar to national 

statistics for children with disabilities. Recent data from the National Assessment 

for Educational Progress (NAEP) for fourth grade achievement show a significant, 

long-standing difference between all students and those with disabilities. From 1998 

to 2013, 8.6 percent of students with disabilities scored proficient in reading versus 

26 percent of non-disabled peers (also unacceptably low). The achievement gap for 

students with disabilities is especially prominent in schools with limited resources 

such as those in the Baltimore City Public School (BCPS) system, where the majority of the students come from low-income families and the need for services far surpasses available resources (BNIA, 2012). Moreover, according to the 2014 Department of Education Report to Congress on the Implementation of the Individuals 

with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), only 10–15 percent of students with individualized education programs (IEPs) exit the special education system by returning 

to regular education. 

Why Students Fail 

Why is it that so many students (with otherwise adequate intelligence) struggle 

or fail academically in today’s schools? In particular, why are so many children failing when it comes to learning to read? Is the prevalence of dyslexia so high it can 

explain such high rates of school failure? I assert that the answer is no. 

There are a variety of (often inter-related) reasons, for academic failure, including: 

(1) poverty/disadvantage, (2) poor instructions, (3) childhood trauma (including neglect and abuse), (4) psychopathology, (5) chronic psychosocial stress, (6) illness or 

injury, and, the focus of my testimony, (7) highly prevalent neurodevelopmental disorders (i.e., dyslexia and Attention-deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder—ADHD). The 

wait-to-fail model typically associated with current educational practices, where students first have to underperform in order to receive the necessary educational interventions, suggests students with disabilities may be at risk from early on in their 

educational lives. 

Opportunity-to-Learn 

One potential explanation for this persistent achievement gap is the differential 

in the opportunity-to-learn (OTL), or the quantity and quality of instruction for students with disabilities compared to their non-disabled peers. Reduced OTL exists for 

students with disabilities despite increased access to the general education setting 

and curriculum (Eckes & Swando, 2009). Moreover, there is a demonstrated OTL 

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differential for students with disabilities and their non-disabled peers, even within 

the same classroom (Kurz, et al., 2014). 

Prevalence of Dyslexia 

Dyslexia is highly prevalent. It is not just the most common learning disability, 

but the most common developmental disorder—twice as prevalent as ADHD, and 10– 

15 times as prevalent as autism. The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) reports that dyslexia affects an estimated 8.5 million school children and one in six 

individuals nationwide. 

Societal Risks Associated with Academic Failure 

Up to 76 percent of students with learning disabilities will be suspended at least 

once (Fabelo, et al., 2011). The presence of a learning disability also confers a greater risk for school dropout (Cramer, et al., 2014), especially among low-income students, and a well-documented connection exists between school dropout and incarceration (National Center on Secondary Education and Transition, 2012). According 

to the National Disability Rights Network (2012), it is estimated that as many as 

50 percent of inmates have some type of disability. In the juvenile justice system, 

this number is estimated to be up to 75 percent. Moreover, approximately 75 percent of youth under age 18 who have been sentenced to adult prisons have not completed 10th grade. Within the juvenile justice population, 70 percent suffer from 

learning disabilities and 33 percent are reading below the 4th grade level (Coalition 

for Juvenile Justice, 2001). Given these observations, appropriate (and thorough) 

early identification and provision of evidence-based intervention for children with 

learning disabilities, especially dyslexia, represents a public health priority. 

Problems with Current Educational Practices 

While there are undoubtedly a variety of reasons behind the persistent achievement gap among children with disabilities (and dyslexia specifically), I assert that 

there are three critical problems with current educational practices that contribute 

most prominently to the chronically (and unacceptably) low performance and underlie this public health crisis. 

First, pre-service teacher preparation programs fail to routinely train educators 

to fully understand how learning occurs in children (and conversely, what processes 

get in the way of learning) using current knowledge from the developmental, behavioral, and neuroscience literature. As a result, the strategies and techniques being 

implemented by teachers of children with disabilities are often not based on available scientific evidence (i.e., a ‘‘translation gap’’). 

Second, despite (often intensive) intervention, students with dyslexia often continue to have significant associated problems (e.g., behavioral, motivational, psychiatric) that interfere with learning and with routine educational interventions. 

Addressing only the reading problem instead of all of the needs of the child leads 

to incomplete and ineffective care. 

Third, individuals in local educational leadership positions (i.e., those who make 

decisions regarding policy, training, and curricula) often do not have the training 

and knowledge to appropriately advocate for policy changes that ultimately benefit 

the behavior and learning of students with dyslexia. 

ISSUES COMPLICATING THE CARE OF INDIVIDUALS WITH DYSLEXIA

The Trouble with Terminology 

Despite best efforts by the scientific community, heterogeneity in terminology and 

definitions remains an impediment to achieving consensus in identification, treatment, and epidemiology. For the purposes of my testimony, I consider dyslexia to 

be equivalent to (or interchangeable with) a developmental learning disorder (or 

specific learning disability) in reading (i.e., reading disability or disorder). In other 

words, dyslexia is one type of (specific) learning disability. 

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 uses the 

term Specific Learning Disability, defined as: 

‘‘A disorder in one or more of the basic psychological processes involved in understanding or in using language, spoken or written, that may manifest itself 

in an imperfect ability to listen, think, speak, read, write, spell, or do mathematical calculations. The term includes such conditions as perceptual handicaps, brain injury, minimal brain dysfunction, dyslexia, and developmental 

aphasia, while it excludes children who have learning problems that are primarily the result of visual, hearing, or motor handicaps; of mental retardation 

(now known as intellectual disability); of emotional disturbance; or of environmental, cultural, or economic disadvantage.’’ 

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The 2013 guidelines outlined in the American Psychological Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5) use a slightly different 

term: Specific Learning Disorder. According to the DSM–5, diagnosis is made using 

a synthesis of the individual’s history (development, medical, family, education), 

psychoeducational reports of test scores and observations, and response to intervention. Thus, the DSM–5 criteria reflect a hybrid model of identification. Importantly, 

the guidelines also reflect recognition that individuals may ‘‘grow into’’ their learning deficits; thus, functional problems may not be fully manifested until a later age. 

The definition of dyslexia used by the International Dyslexia Association—IDA 

(and also adopted by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health 

and Human Development—NICHD), is as follows: 

‘‘Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It 

is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and 

by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from 

a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in 

relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and 

background knowledge.’’ 

The DSM–5 provides more specific guidelines in its criteria than the IDA. DSM– 

5 criteria for a Specific Learning Disorder in reading includes difficulties with learning and using academic skills, as indicated by the presence of at least one of the 

following symptoms that have persisted for at least 6 months, despite the provision 

of interventions that target those difficulties: 

(1) inaccurate or slow and effortful word reading (e.g., reads single words aloud 

incorrectly or slowly and hesitantly, frequently guesses words, has difficulty sounding out words); or, 

(2) difficulty understanding the meaning of what is read (e.g., may read text accurately but not understand the sequence, relationships, inferences, or deeper meanings of what is read). 

Dyslexia is Defined by Low Achievement in Reading—But How Low? 

Implied (or stated specifically) in the aforementioned definitions is the notion that 

dyslexia is a neurobiologically based developmental disorder that affects the brain’s 

ability to receive, process, store, and respond to information. Although not specifically stated, dyslexia is considered to occur along a continuum, with variability in 

severity and characteristic features, rather than as a discrete, dichotomous entity. 

Put simply, in most cases, dyslexia refers to instances in which an individual’s reading achievement unexpectedly falls at the low end of the normal distribution of all 

readers. Except in cases of very low overall intellectual level, this ‘‘low achievement’’ 

model of dyslexia is not tied to the child’s overall IQ, and does not require a ‘‘significant discrepancy’’ between the individual’s IQ and reading achievement. Conversely, 

the model also does not imply that individuals with dyslexia have exceptionally high 

IQ, or compensatory ‘‘strengths’’ in other cognitive or academic skill areas. 

Unfortunately, while the low achievement model of dyslexia is fairly well-accepted 

in the scientific community, there is less consensus as to the threshold for defining 

low reading achievement as dyslexia, with distributional ‘‘cutoff ’’ scores ranging 

from as low as the 5th percentile to the 25th percentile. Not surprisingly, the scientific literature yields different findings with regard to the cognitive and behavioral phenotypes, neurobiological correlates (e.g., neuroimaging, electrophysiology), 

and genetics of dyslexia depending on how it is defined. 

Additionally, given that the Federal definition of a Specific Learning Disability in 

reading used in determining eligibility for special education services leaves considerable room for local interpretation (e.g., relative to the criteria for Intellectual Disability), school districts across the U.S. demonstrate considerable inconsistency in 

diagnostic practices. Although clearly not the intent of the Federal law, in practice, it is not uncommon for a child receiving special education services for dyslexia in 

one school district to move to another district and be declared suddenly ‘‘ineligible’’ 

based on the new district’s interpretation of the criteria. 

Developmental Course of Dyslexia 

Dyslexia is acknowledged as a developmental disability. That means those with 

‘‘symptoms’’ of reading problems do not necessarily have a disability. Specifically, a 

disability is considered to occur when one’s personal limitations (often biological in 

nature) produce a significant disadvantage when attempting to function in one’s society. Thus, a learning disability is necessarily considered within the context of the 

environment, personal factors, and individualized supports. It implies that there is 

a ‘‘mismatch’’ or discrepancy between one’s own biology and demands of the environHELPN-003 with DISTILLER

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ment (considering all available supports). As a developmental disability, it is acknowledged that this discrepancy (and the functional impact) associated with dyslexia can change over time. 

For most individuals with dyslexia, the functional deficits first have an impact in 

childhood, usually in the preschool or early elementary school years. For some, however, the manifestations and impact may not become evident until later in childhood, in the teenage years, or even in the adult years, even though the 

neurobiological basis of the condition is present earlier—a concept referred to as the 

‘‘time referenced symptom’’ (Rudel, 1981). Nevertheless, in most individuals with 

dyslexia, the disorder manifests in a persistent functional deficit, rather than a developmental lag. The functional disability often persists over time, despite intervention efforts, and typically does not spontaneously remit with time or age. Among individuals with early-onset learning disabilities who have received consistent, highquality intervention by early elementary school, deficits in word reading accuracy 

can improve; however, deficits in phonological processing, automaticity of word recognition, expressive language, and reading fluency tend to persist. 

It’s Not Just Decoding: Reading Fluency and Processing Speed 

Reading fluency, or the ability to read words quickly either in isolation or text, 

is especially critical for older children who are required to learn from what they are 

reading. The lack of fluency increases demands on other processes, such as working 

memory, and results in difficulty with comprehension because higher-level processes 

have to compete with word decoding for the same time-limited resources, creating 

a bottleneck. Therefore, especially for older children, it is critical that they are not 

only accurate at word reading, but also efficient, automatic, and fluent readers. It 

is well-established that rapid automatized naming deficits (reflective of poor automaticity) are present in individuals with dyslexia; however, automaticity deficits are 

also observed in children referred for learning problems, whether or not they have 

dyslexia specifically (Waber, et al., 2000). 

Dyslexia and ADHD represent the two most common childhood 

neurodevelopmental disorders. Approximately 35–40 percent of children with dyslexia have ADHD; while 35–40 percent of children with ADHD have dyslexia. As 

such, the two disorders co-occur more often than expected by chance (Couto, et al., 

2009). The most parsimonious explanation for the co-occurrence is that they partially share genetic risk factors (Greven, et al., 2011). 

To this end, scientists have identified a ‘‘multiple-deficit’’ model to explain the comorbidity between ADHD and dyslexia in which each disorder manifests multiple 

deficits—some specific and some shared (Pennington, et al., 2010). The ADHD model 

includes one unique predictor (response inhibition) and one shared predictor (processing speed), while the dyslexia model includes two unique predictors (phonological 

awareness, naming speed), and one shared predictor (processing speed). Here, processing speed represents the speed with which a task is completed with reasonable 

accuracy. 

Children with ADHD (nearly 10 percent of students ages 4–17 years; Pastor, et 

al., 2015) commonly display slow processing speed (Jacobson, et al., 2011); however, 

slow processing speed is also observed in children with dyslexia (Willcutt, et al., 

2005). Becoming a skilled reader involves adequate reading fluency, which is linked 

to efficient processing speed. Thus, while processing speed is separable from the core 

phonological deficit in dyslexia, it can influence reading fluency, even among individuals who can read single words accurately (i.e., those without ‘‘classic’’ phonological dyslexia), and can affect the development of more complex academic skills 

such as reading comprehension (Sesma, et al., 2009). 

To this end, processing speed (a core skill underlying reading fluency) may represent a promising candidate for a behavioral ‘‘polyphenotype’’ (i.e., a phenotype constituting core deficits of more than one disorder), whose psychological makeup can 

account for comorbidity between common neurodevelopmental conditions and whose 

genetic architecture can account for the phenotypic correlations between these highly prevalent disorders (Gregorinko, 2012). 

Late Emerging Reading Disabilities and Reading Comprehension 

Approximately 41 percent of all students with dyslexia have late-emerging reading 

disabilities; that is, deficits are not evident until at least third grade. This pattern, 

sometimes known as the ‘‘fourth-grade slump,’’ can be associated with the transition 

from ‘‘learning to read’’ to ‘‘reading to learn,’’ and may also be related to reduced 

vocabulary development in students of low socioeconomic status backgrounds. From 

this point forward, curricula emphasize fluency and comprehension rather than 

more basic word recognition skills. Beyond third grade, students are also expected 

to be able to incorporate cause/effect sequences, goals/plans for characters, and conHELPN-003 with DISTILLER

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clusions that relate to final events to those at the beginning of the story (all higherorder cognitive skills). Children who received early intervention and showed improvement may start to struggle again with the increased demands and volume of 

middle and high school reading and when they are expected to work more independently. 

Late-emerging reading disabilities are often associated with coexisting conditions, 

especially ADHD, the second most common developmental disability. It is clear that 

children who have early problems involving basic word recognition will most likely 

also have difficulty with reading comprehension; however, more recently, researchers have identified groups of children without reading basic word reading deficits 

who go on to have difficulties in reading comprehension, perhaps as a result of their 

associated executive function deficits (Sesma, et al., 2009). These children are considered to have ‘‘specific’’ reading comprehension disorders (Cutting, et al., 2009; 

Locascio, et al., 2010), and many also have associated ADHD. Working memory deficits (i.e., problems ‘‘holding’’ and manipulating information mentally) associated 

with ADHD can prevent students from monitoring what they read, as they are more 

susceptible to being distracted by detail when reading longer text—failing to ‘‘remember’’ main ideas. These findings challenge the long held ‘‘simple view’’ of reading (Hoover & Gough, 1990), which argued that reading comprehension was primarily the product of word reading and listening comprehension, and acknowledge 

the important contribution of higher-order ‘‘executive function’’ skills to the development of competent reading. 

Early Detection of Dyslexia—Proceed with Caution 

The 2016 Research Excellence and Advancements for Dyslexia Act (READ Act) 

(H.R. 3033) supports important research to further our understanding of dyslexia, 

including emphasis on better methods for early detection and teacher training. The 

Act specifies early identification of children and students with dyslexia, professional 

development about dyslexia for teachers and administrators, curricula development 

and evidence-based educational tools for children with dyslexia. As an educator, clinician and scientist, I applaud these efforts. 

Nevertheless, when considering early detection of dyslexia (i.e., a developmental 

disability, as defined above), it is critical to distinguish between ‘‘unexpected’’ and 

‘‘unwarranted’’ failures in reading achievement. In other words, when considering 

early detection, one must determine whether a problem represents true dyslexia or 

a brain that is not (yet) ready to read. To be clear, with informed assessment, risk 

for dyslexia can be identified early (often in the preschool years); however, we need 

to be very careful that we are not simply identifying children who are not yet biologically ready to read, but who have been pushed (too early) into academic demands. The scientific literature suggests that early (and accurate) identification of 

dyslexia and appropriate teaching of reading can prevent the experience of failure 

in children who are at risk. With appropriate interventions, the life history of students with dyslexia can be substantially ‘‘normalized’’ and secondary mental health 

issues averted. 

In the last 20 years, however, even before NCLB, ESSA, Common Core Standards, 

or PARCC, there has been an alarming trend toward increasing early academic demands, such that Kindergarten is the ‘‘new first grade.’’ These practices ignore the 

child (and brain) development scientific literature as it relates to developmental 

readiness for academic demands. There are risks associated with developmentally 

premature educational expectations for the children who experience failure, and the 

emotional/motivational consequences of encountering premature reading and writing 

expectations may be long lasting. Moreover, the over-burdening of the already 

under-supported special education services with the ‘‘unready’’ now becoming indistinguishable from the truly dyslexic is yet another serious consequence. At the level 

of brain development, children forced prematurely to perform academic tasks may 

do so and appear to make progress, however, at the expense of using suboptimal 

circuitous pathways in the brain that ultimately may fail to support efficient and 

comfortable skill utilization in later years. This risk is exacerbated in young boys, 

whose physical maturation and brain development are at least a year behind that 

of same-age girls by Kindergarten entry (Eme, 1992; Lenroot, et al., 2007). 

Thus, the (very appropriate) mission of early detection of dyslexia presents us 

with a conflict that requires awareness of the developmental appropriateness of 

reading instructions and reading expectations for a significant proportion of students in Kindergarten (or younger). 

‘‘Pure’’ Dyslexia is the Exception, Not the Rule 

Most definitions of dyslexia specify that the observed difficulties in reading are 

not due to other physical, cognitive, or emotional exclusionary factors. The assessHELPN-003 with DISTILLER

34 

ments of these exclusionary factors are often complicated, because dyslexia commonly co-occurs with ADHD, language and other communication disorders, developmental motor coordination disorder, and other psychiatric disorders, including anxiety disorders and depression. 

A sizable proportion of students with dyslexia have associated social-emotional 

problems, with estimates ranging from 38 percent to 75 percent (Bryan, et al., 

2004). A recent meta-analysis revealed that approximately 70 percent of students 

with learning disabilities experience higher levels of anxious symptomatology than 

their peers without learning disabilities (Nelson & Harwood, 2011), raising the concern that many (if not most) students with dyslexia are at high risk for anxiety disorders that cause additional distress, reduce motivation, and complicate interventions (given the negative impact of anxiety on cognitive performance of all kinds). 

Students with learning disabilities are also at greater risk for developing depression, as they tend to struggle with self-esteem and are less socially accepted than 

students without learning disabilities (Maag & Reid, 2006), and some studies have 

shown a link between learning disabilities and increased rates of suicide (Bender, 

et al., 1999). 

Given these associations, ‘‘pure’’ dyslexia is more the exception than the rule, and 

attention to the associated conditions and risks is of paramount importance. 

WHAT NEEDS TO BE DONE

The prevalence, morbidity, and societal costs associated with dyslexia represent 

a major public health concern. In light of the problems cited above, I offer the following recommendations to support individuals with dyslexia and their families. 

1. Support Translational Educational Practices. The wealth of scientific knowledge is often not accessible to front line teachers. Pre-service (undergraduate and 

graduate) and professional development training programs for teachers provide inadequate training in evidence-based practices for identification of dyslexia and intervention. If teachers are trained in evidence-based practices, they will use them. If 

they enter the field without this training, they will need access to professional development programs, along with supervision and mentoring, in order to use these 

programs with accuracy and fidelity. 

2. Strive for Consistency in Diagnostic Practices. It is critical for the scientific and 

educational communities to work toward a common language and a common set of 

procedures for identifying dyslexia, with efforts aimed toward more specific terminology. 

3. Increase opportunity-to-learn (OTL) for students with dyslexia. OTL is dependent on three interrelated classroom practices: (1) the amount of instructional time 

committed to the curriculum; (2) the use of evidence-based practices for teaching 

students with dyslexia; and, (3) classroom emphasis on best practices for supporting 

and developing high-order cognitive skills, such as problem solving, planning, and 

organizing thoughts and information (which are especially important, considering 

the comorbid conditions associated with dyslexia). Given the increased emphasis 

within classroom assignments and in standardized testing (such as PARCC) on integration of information, self-monitoring, and problem solving, competence in higherorder cognitive skills (executive functions) is critical to student success and to narrowing the achievement gap. 

4. Recognize the many forms of dyslexia. Dyslexia should be considered to include 

not only difficulties in phonology, decoding, automaticity and word recognition, but 

also the (often later emerging) problems in reading fluency and comprehension. 

5. Support training of general educators. Recognize that most children with dyslexia are taught primarily by general education teachers. It is critical to support inclusive practices in which special educators and reading specialists collaborate with 

general educators. 

6. Treat the whole child—not just reading. Support efforts that allow acknowledge 

that students with dyslexia are at risk for psychosocial, language, motivational, academic, neuromotor, and psychiatric co-morbidities. By treating only reading problem, we reduce the chances for positive outcomes. 

7. Support use of developmentally appropriate methods for early identification. It 

is critical that those involved in early identification of dyslexia understand the potential for misidentification of children who are prematurely placed into academically accelerated programs before their brains are developmentally ready. 

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Senator CASSIDY. Ms. Hanrath. 

STATEMENT OF APRIL HANRATH, PARENT, SALT LAKE CITY, 

UT 

Ms. HANRATH. Good morning, Senator Cassidy, Senator Mikulski, members of the HELP Committee, fellow witnesses, and 

attendees. Thank you for giving me an opportunity to share my 

family’s story of living with dyslexia. My name is April Hanrath, 

and I am the proud mother of Jocelyn, who is a senior in high 

school in our hometown of Salt Lake City, UT. I am also a parent 

advocate with Understood, a free comprehensive online resource for 

parents of children with learning and attention issues. 

I am honored to share our journey with dyslexia as we have 

navigated through the educational system in Utah. I also recognize 

that we are not alone in this journey. Over 2 million children have 

learning disabilities, most of whom struggle with reading, and the 

National Center for Learning Disabilities estimates that another 15 

percent of students struggle in school due to an unidentified learning or attention issue. I sit before you eager to tell our story, but 

hopeful that you will have an opportunity to meet parents from 

your States who face similar challenges and successes. 

Through my testimony, I hope you will hear three messages come 

through loud and clear. First, it is critically important to identify 

learning disabilities like dyslexia in early elementary school. Second, we must support general and special educators by giving them 

training about dyslexia and learning disabilities, co-occurring 

issues, and necessary accommodations. Third, and most importantly, all of us must have high expectations for students with dyslexia. 

Policymakers, educators, and families alike must recognize that 

students like Jocelyn are fully capable of excelling in school and 

college. My daughter, Jocelyn, is proof that when you hold students 

with dyslexia to high standards and provide them with the tools 

they need to succeed, they are able to fulfill their goals and 

dreams. Let me tell you a little about Jocelyn, who is sitting right 

behind me. Jocelyn is a driven, bright young woman who has excelled in school and soccer. In everything she does, she holds herself to a high standard, and failure has never been an option for 

HELPN-003 with DISTILLER

37 

her. Yes, Jocelyn has learning disabilities, as she is dyslexic, but 

she has never used her challenges as an excuse to not achieve. In 

fact, it has only motivated her to work harder. 

Next month, Jocelyn will graduate high school with a GPA of 

over 3.7. Next year, she will enroll in Highline Community College 

in Washington State with a soccer scholarship and an internship 

with the Seattle Reign, the professional women’s soccer team. After 

that, she plans to finish college at a 4-year school to earn her degree in sports management with a sports psychology minor. To support her goals, I am proud to say that Jocelyn received the 2016 

Allegra Ford Thomas Scholarship from the National Center for 

Learning Disabilities. 

That’s Jocelyn now, but over the past 13 years, we’ve had our 

ups and downs. When Jocelyn was in fourth grade, she was struggling with reading and started becoming withdrawn from school. At 

the end of fourth grade, Jocelyn was evaluated for special education and found to have an above average IQ with significant dyslexia, poor fine motor skills, and severe test anxiety. She has also 

had challenges with writing, known as dysgraphia; keeping herself 

focused and managing time, known as executive functioning; and 

difficulty with focusing, like ADHD. Looking back, I wish Jocelyn’s 

needs were addressed earlier than fourth grade, a time when reading is an integral part of nearly every class in school. Starting in 

fifth grade and largely continuing to today, Jocelyn has received accommodations like extra time, oral testing, and using a computer 

rather than having to hand write assignments. These accommodations have made a huge difference for Jocelyn because they allow 

her teachers to teach her in a way that works for her. They allow 

her to show what she knows in a more accurate way. 

For me, as her mother, what is of paramount importance is that 

Jocelyn has always been taught to the grade level she is enrolled 

in alongside her peers. Accommodations have allowed Jocelyn to access the grade level content, and even above grade level content. 

In fact, starting as a freshman and continuing throughout her 4 

years at East High School, Jocelyn took honors and AP classes in 

addition to her regular classes. 

It was an amazing special education teacher, Carrie Szumnarski, 

who helped Jocelyn navigate some challenging situations along the 

way. For example, when some of Jocelyn’s teachers were unfamiliar 

with dyslexia, Jocelyn, Carrie, and I helped educate them to dispel 

the myth that dyslexia is a sign of a low IQ. 

Or when some of Jocelyn’s teachers were reluctant to give her accommodations, Jocelyn used the self-advocacy skills Carrie helped 

her develop to explain what accommodations are and why she 

needed them. 

When some of Jocelyn’s friends joked around about being dyslexic 

when they made mistakes reading aloud in class, Jocelyn used that 

opportunity to share that she was dyslexic and explain to them 

what it was like to be dyslexic. 

Throughout our journey we have used all of these experiences to 

help others understand what dyslexia is and, more importantly, 

what dyslexia is not. Resources like the Understood.org and the 

National Center for Learning Disabilities have helped us along the 

way. These last 13 years have taught me that while the eduHELPN-003 with DISTILLER

38 

cational system is not created with dyslexics in mind, with the 

right information, training, and support, students with dyslexia 

can thrive. 

I can say that I am a better mother and person because of our 

journey and that Jocelyn’s future is limitless because she is an 

amazing young woman with much to give the world. 

[The prepared statement of Ms. Hanrath follows:] 

PREPARED STATEMENT OF APRIL HANRATH

Good Morning Chairman Alexander, Ranking Member Murray, Senator Cassidy, 

Senator Mikulski, members of the HELP Committee, fellow witnesses, and 

attendees. 

Thank you for giving me an opportunity to share my family’s story of living with 

dyslexia. 

My name is April Hanrath. I am the proud mother of Jocelyn, who is a senior 

in high school in our hometown of Salt Lake City, UT. I am also a Parent Advocate 

with Understood, a free comprehensive online resource for parents of children with 

learning and attention issues. 

I am honored to share our journey with dyslexia as we navigated through the educational system in Utah. 

But I also recognize that we are not alone in this journey. 

Over 2 million children have learning disabilities, most of whom struggle with 

reading. And the National Center for Learning Disabilities estimates that another 

15 percent of students struggle in school due to an unidentified learning or attention 

issue. 

I sit before you eager to tell our story but hopeful you will have an opportunity 

to meet parents from your States who face similar challenges and successes. 

Through my testimony, I hope you will hear 3 messages come through loud and 

clear: 

• First, it is critically important to identify learning disabilities like dyslexia in 

early elementary school. • Second, we must support general and special educators by giving them training 

about dyslexia and learning disabilities, co-occurring issues, and necessary accommodations. 

• Third, and most importantly, all of us must have high expectations for students 

with dyslexia. Policymakers, educators and families alike must recognize that students like Jocelyn are fully capable of excelling in school and college. 

My daughter, Jocelyn is proof that when you hold students with dyslexia to high 

standards and provide them with the tools they need to succeed, they are able to 

fulfill their goals and dreams. 

Let me tell you a little about Jocelyn, who is sitting right behind me. 

Jocelyn is a driven, bright young woman who has excelled in school and soccer. 

In everything she does, she holds herself to a high standard; and failure has never 

been an option for her. 

Yes, Jocelyn has learning disabilities, as she is dyslexic, but she has never used 

her challenges as an excuse to not achieve. In fact, it has only motivated her to 

work harder. 

Next month, Jocelyn will graduate high school with a GPA of over 3.7. Next year 

she will enroll in Highline Community College in Washington State with a soccer 

scholarship and an internship with the Seattle Reign, the professional women’s soccer team. 

After that, she plans to finish college at a 4-year school to earn her degree in 

sports management with a sports psychology minor. 

To support her goals, I am proud to say that Jocelyn received the 2016 Allegra 

Ford Thomas Scholarship from the National Center for Learning Disabilities. 

That’s Jocelyn now—but over the last 13 years, we’ve had our ups and downs. 

When Jocelyn was in fourth grade, she was struggling with reading and started 

becoming withdrawn from school. 

At the end of fourth grade, Jocelyn was evaluated for special education and found 

to have an above average IQ with significant dyslexia, poor fine motor skills, and 

severe test anxiety. She has also had challenges with writing, known as dysgraphia; 

keeping herself organized and managing time, known as executive functioning; and 

difficulty with focusing, like ADHD. 

Looking back, I wish Jocelyn’s needs were addressed earlier than 4th grade, a 

time when reading is an integral part of nearly every class in school. 

HELPN-003 with DISTILLER

39 

Starting in 5th grade and largely continuing to today, Jocelyn has received accommodations like extra time, oral testing and using a computer rather than having to 

hand write assignments. 

These accommodations have made a huge difference for Jocelyn because they 

allow her teachers to teach her in a way that works for her. And they allow her 

to show what she knows in a more accurate way. 

But for me, as her mother, what is of paramount importance is that Jocelyn has 

always been taught to the grade level she is enrolled in alongside her peers. And, 

accommodations have allowed Jocelyn to access the grade level content, and even 

above grade level content. 

In fact, starting as a freshman and continuing throughout her 4 years at East 

High School, Jocelyn took honors and AP classes in addition to her regular classes. 

It was an amazing special education teacher, Carrie Szumnarski, who helped 

Jocelyn navigate some challenging situations along the way. 

For example: 

• When some of Jocelyn’s teachers were unfamiliar with dyslexia, Jocelyn, Carrie 

and I helped educate them to dispel the myth that dyslexia is a sign of a low IQ. 

Or: 

• When some of Jocelyn’s teachers were reluctant to give her accommodations, 

Jocelyn used the self-advocacy skills Carrie helped her develop to explain what accommodations are and why she needed them. 

And: 

• When some of Jocelyn’s friends joked around about being dyslexic when they 

made mistakes reading aloud in class, Jocelyn used that opportunity to share that 

she was dyslexic and explain what it’s like to be dyslexic. 

Throughout our journey we have used all of these experiences to help others understand what dyslexia is—and importantly what it isn’t. Resources like the Understood.org and the National Center for Learning Disabilities have helped us along 

the way. 

These last 13 years taught me that while the educational system is not created 

with dyslexics in mind, with the right information, training and support for students with dyslexia can thrive. 

I can say that I am a better mother and person because of our journey and that 

Jocelyn’s future is limitless because she is an amazing young woman with much to 

give the world. 

Senator CASSIDY. Thank you. 

I get to ask questions first. We each have 5 minutes. 

Dr. Eden, in your written testimony, you talk about how your 

daughter didn’t want to take that ‘‘stupid test.’’ She didn’t want to 

do it. There’s kind of a theme here that all these children who are 

dyslexic will say that they are—there’s this anxiety, et cetera. She 

actually read adequately so that she was not identified as needing 

intervention. Once you had the intervention, she went from 16th 

percentile to 75th percentile. I’m struck that she could have kind 

of moved around in the middle, never being recognized. It was only 

the concerned parent that was able to do so. Would you elaborate 

on that? 

Ms. EDEN. Senator Cassidy, once you have children, you learn all 

sorts of things that you thought you knew as a researcher. One of 

the things that I learned is that the kind of testing that we do in 

the laboratory is very different from the kind of testing that goes 

on in the schools. 

A child who has strong vocabulary skills can do very well in our 

school systems, and a child who is high-achieving otherwise can 

look OK when they’re reading text with pictures next to it. When 

you put them on standardized tests the way we use in our research 

to really understand fully all the different facets of reading, the different aspects of reading, you can see where there are weaknesses, 

and you can see that those are the weaknesses that are interfering 

HELPN-003 with DISTILLER

40 

with her ability to learn and read the material that she is being 

given. 

One of the things I certainly learned is it’s such a complicated 

field, and for a parent, even a parent like me, who has served as 

the president of the International Dyslexia Organization, who runs 

a brain imaging center, I was stunned at how confused I was between the difference of what I saw in my child at home and in the 

school in using the kinds of testing that I was familiar with. People 

need to understand what those different things are and how we use 

all those different sources of information to identify and help our 

children. 

Senator CASSIDY. Dr. Shaywitz, if the woman who does the research and is the president of the organization is confused regarding her daughter—I have a daughter, too, so maybe that’s just an 

issue with daughters. That said, it kind of begs the question whether we should allow this to be discovered by a teacher observing, or 

whether it should be something we should screen for. How difficult 

would it be to screen children at first grade for the presence of dyslexia? 

Dr. SHAYWITZ. I don’t think it would be difficult. It should be 

mandatory. Too many children are being missed. As I showed in 

the slide, we reported in October on the basis of a longitudinal 

study that the achievement gap is not only present in first grade, 

but it’s very large and it doesn’t go away. There are many different—— 

Senator CASSIDY. That’s not a reading gap. That is an achievement gap. 

Dr. SHAYWITZ. That’s correct, and it can be done—we at the Yale 

Center are just in the process of publishing a screening instrument 

that teachers can use and that takes a few minutes. There are 

other methods. The important thing is to think of it—it’s not a developmental lag. It’s not going to be outgrown. It’s not because he’s 

a boy or because he has a December birthday. 

Too many children are missed, and that’s really a tragedy, because, as we heard Ameer so eloquently talk about, what it feels 

like when you’re in school and you have to read aloud and the reactions of the other children. Teachers have to recognize that and 

also listen to parents, because parents see the child and see the 

struggle when they get home. I don’t think it would be difficult at 

all. The important thing is awareness, to be aware that it’s already 

there, and then to take action. 

Senator CASSIDY. Ameer, you were in public school—and Ms. 

Hanrath. Teachers—your child, you, were having difficulty reading. 

How did your teacher intervene, or did she or he intervene? 

Mr. BARAKA. I never had a teacher to intervene. I was just sort 

of passed on from grade to grade to grade, and looking back, how 

awful that was, because someone should have taken notice that I 

could not read. I see those same patterns right now today. I deal 

with kids where I talk to the principal about kids who have dyslexia, and they can’t do anything about it because there’s no resources for those kids. Those kids are either kept back or just 

passed along, just like I was. 

If we don’t address this problem, I think we’ll see a tremendous 

surge in violence, a tremendous surge in incarceration. If we do adHELPN-003 with DISTILLER

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dress this problem, we can curtail the prison population and violence as well. 

Senator CASSIDY. Ms. Hanrath, were your child’s teachers prepared? How did they respond? 

Ms. HANRATH. My child’s teachers did not even recognize she 

was dyslexic. Her first three teachers were first year teachers, and 

so they viewed her, the way that she read, as just the fact that she 

was young in her classroom. Her fourth grade teacher viewed 

Jocelyn as a behavior problem and said nothing about her dyslexia. 

She felt that Jocelyn perhaps was not as bright as the other children, and I knew that couldn’t possibly be true. I actually took it 

upon myself to have her tested, and that’s when I found out she 

was dyslexic. 

Senator CASSIDY. I got you. 

Senator Mikulski. 

Senator MIKULSKI. Each and every one of these testimonies were 

so compelling, and we could spend all morning just talking to one 

of the people at the table. I want to thank you, really, for your contribution already. 

I’d like to turn to Mr. Baraka. Sir, your testimony is so much like 

what we see in Baltimore. Dr. Mahone works at Kennedy Krieger, 

and if you look out the window at Kennedy Krieger over in east 

Baltimore, on one side, 12 blocks down, you look toward the harbor, 

and people are doing very well and very prosperous. If you look on 

the other side, it’s usually in our poor neighborhood where drug 

dealing is going on. 

We have real issues in Baltimore, and we’re always accusing our 

schools as failing and our kids as failing. What you lived through 

is kind of what we hear every day. 

Right, Dr. Mahone? 

My question to you is here you are. You were a rough and tumble guy in the streets and neighborhoods, and they were—the 

streets became your friend, and the streets became your teacher. 

What would have helped you, and when, to make a difference? 

Mr. BARAKA. In my opinion, early detection would have definitely 

deterred the road that I chose. Like I said, my brother and my sister were excellent students. They both went off to college. 

If I had someone to put me in a program, such as the school that 

Senator Bill Cassidy and his wife has, I would have definitely—as 

I was walking from the hotel—I was telling a gentleman earlier— 

and I’m walking to the Capitol, and I’m looking at this vast amount 

of property and these big buildings, and I said, ‘‘Oh, my God. I 

could have been here.’’ I could have been sitting where you are had 

someone caught me early on. I always knew—— 

Senator MIKULSKI. You’re a Louisiana guy. You would have been 

him. 

Mr. BARAKA. Yes, yes. 

[Laughter.] 

I don’t want to take his job. I always felt as though I was someone, but it stayed dormant. When I got to prison, I guy told me how 

brilliant I was, because I was telling him about how—— 

Senator MIKULSKI. Who was this guy? 

Mr. BARAKA. His name was Norman Spooner. He was an incarcerated person. I was telling him how I would get drugs from CaliHELPN-003 with DISTILLER

42 

fornia and bring them down, et cetera, and he said, ‘‘Man, you 

know what? You’re brilliant. You are somebody.’’ 

Senator MIKULSKI. You are brilliant. 

Mr. BARAKA. I never heard someone tell me that I was brilliant 

and that I was somebody. 

Senator MIKULSKI. In prison, you read Malcolm X. 

Mr. BARAKA. Yes. 

Senator MIKULSKI. How did you get started in prison? Was there 

an evaluation of you in prison? 

Mr. BARAKA. Yes. 

Senator MIKULSKI. You read Malcolm X? 

Mr. BARAKA. Yes. When you enter into a prison, you have to be 

tested. Everybody has to be tested, and I was found to be on a third 

grade level. I read Malcolm X’s book. I floundered through that 

book, but I understood what Malcolm stood for, and I understood 

what Malcolm did. I was facing a 60-year prison sentence, and I 

said to myself—I said, ‘‘God, if I get 60 years’’—which I was 

guilty—I said, ‘‘I’m going to educate myself some way, somehow, 

because I want to emulate Malcolm X. I want to do something for 

my people, because he did it.’’ I saw that many people behind me 

were taking the same pathways, and it was a burden on me to get 

out of prison and tell young people, ‘‘This is not the way. This is 

not the way.’’ 

Senator MIKULSKI. Did prison teach you to read? 

Mr. BARAKA. That’s where I began—— 

Senator MIKULSKI. Were you self-taught in prison? 

Mr. BARAKA. I was self-taught in prison, yes. 

Senator MIKULSKI. There wasn’t a program that said, ‘‘Well, this 

guy Baraka is pretty smart. He’s reading at a third grade level.’’ 

Was it, again, the sort of bigotry of low expectations—African 

American male, drug dealer, manslaughter—oh, we know that profile? You know how that narrative goes. 

Mr. BARAKA. Yes. Absolutely. Absolutely. 

Senator MIKULSKI. That stereotypical narrative. 

Mr. BARAKA. Absolutely. 

Senator MIKULSKI. Did anybody say, ‘‘OK. We’ve got that. Let’s 

find out why.’’ 

Mr. BARAKA. No. There was no hope for me there. 

Senator MIKULSKI. Was this a State prison? 

Mr. BARAKA. Yes, a State prison. 

Senator MIKULSKI. Do you feel—and this isn’t meant to be 

peppering you. Just in my short time here left in the questioning, 

do you feel—because, unfortunately, prison is at the end of the 

pipeline. We would want this early screening so much sooner. Do 

you feel that for many of our men and women in prison, this is one 

of the areas that—if we want to prevent recidivism and do second 

chance, along with criminal justice reform—that, really, different 

kinds of evaluation when you come into prison would be helpful? 

Mr. BARAKA. Absolutely. 

Senator MIKULSKI. A real intervention. 

Mr. BARAKA. Absolutely. This is a Titanic area, because, as I 

said, many guys in prison cannot read. You can make a lot of 

money when you can write letters. A lot of guys—there are some 

guys who can read and write, and they make a lot of money writing 

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letters for other guys. A lot of guys in prison are—I don’t know if 

they’re dyslexic, but they cannot read. 

What I did was I wrote down words. I recall my lawyer telling 

me about the circumstances of my case, and he gave me a pen, and 

he said, ‘‘Write circumstances down.’’ I could not spell that word. 

Every word that I know—I don’t know about phonics. I can’t break 

words down. I know that word because I’ve written that word down 

over—and said that word over and over and over again. I don’t 

know anything about phonics. It’s completely—it’s out of my mind. 

Senator MIKULSKI. It’s not your thing. 

Mr. BARAKA. It’s not my thing. I don’t know it. I know words because I’ve written that word down. I had a pile of words I would 

write down every day, just stacks and stacks of words, and go over 

them day to day. 

Senator MIKULSKI. And then you memorized them. 

Mr. BARAKA. Then I memorized the words. If we could get something like this in a prison institution and help men to build on 

their phonics, we could—again, as I said earlier, we can reduce 

that, because it gives you—when I learned to read, there was this 

joy, there was this hope that I am somebody, that I can do something. 

It gives you encouragement. It gives you motivation to say, ‘‘You 

know what? I can read.’’ That’s one of the most powerful things in 

the world to do, is to read, to read. It is a blessing to read. Now 

that I read, I read all the time. I’m reading Sally’s book. I’m excited 

about reading. 

Senator MIKULSKI. Thank you very much. My time is up. I have 

many other questions for the witnesses. I hope we get a second 

round. 

Senator CASSIDY. Senator Bennet. 

STATEMENT OF SENATOR BENNET

Senator BENNET. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you very 

much for holding this hearing, and thank you to the panel for your 

excellent testimony. 

Mr. Boies and Ms. Hanrath talked about the importance of early 

detection, and Mr. Baraka shared his views about the cost of not 

having early detection. I remember extremely well my parents sitting me down and telling me that I was going to repeat the second 

grade and my deep disappointment that my friends were leaving 

me behind. I remember the year I spent in that second grade classroom tracing letters that were glued to cardboard cards. 

In the end, that hard work—as Mr. Boies talked about and Mr. 

Baraka also talked about, that hard work and the intervention allowed me to compensate for my dyslexia, and I’m sitting here 

today, partly, because of that early detection, and I wonder if the 

panel could talk a little bit about how we do a better job—we’re 

doing a lousy job of detecting this—and how we share best practices across school districts and schools, and whether a far greater 

commitment by this country to early childhood education, a highquality early childhood education, might actually help us wrestle 

with this problem as well. 

I don’t know who would like to go first. I’m happy to—Dr. 

Mahone. 

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Mr. MAHONE. I agree that early identification is really critical, 

and I agree that it should be something that all school districts 

have in place, and the truth is that it isn’t happening in many 

school districts. And when it is, it sometimes isn’t happening effectively. 

I agree that it needs to be at the level of the local school system 

to implement it, but it also needs to be at the level of the leaders 

of those school systems to make sure it’s implemented with fidelity 

appropriately and developmentally appropriately and to be able to 

translate the material that has been generated by the researchers 

here and at other places into the hands of the people who would 

be screening four-and 5-year-olds. 

There’s also the issue that we are moving toward more universal 

pre-K, and the dearth of training that we see in appropriate screening for dyslexia at the level of 5 years old or 6 years old—it’s even 

more challenging when you get younger—and we don’t have in 

place as good of programs for preparing our pre-K teachers to be 

ready to screen and work with children who may be experiencing 

some of the risk factors and some of the early signs of dyslexia that 

emerge sometimes as early as 4 years old and before and can be 

detected. Our pre-K teachers and our kindergarten teachers need 

to be trained in developmentally appropriate methods. 

Senator BENNET. Dr. Shaywitz. 

Dr. SHAYWITZ. Before we do any of that, there has to be greater 

public awareness of what dyslexia is. It’s not just training people 

and administering a measure, but to understand the whole of it. 

You mentioned you don’t know phonics, but you read. 

It becomes very, very important for teachers—as several of us 

here are physicians, we go to medical school, but then we do internships and residencies, where we take care of people under supervision. I think, in a way, that the education of educators needs 

to expand so that they learn in class, but they also learn from experience, so they see people who are dyslexic are not stupid and are 

not ignorant, and to be able to then use screening measures—they 

are available—and not to look at reasons—oh, well, this child is 

this, and this child is that—but to actually use the screening measures themselves. 

Senator BENNET. Thank you. I’m running out of time here. As a 

former school superintendent, I also listened to some testimony 

today, from Dr. Mahone, about the importance of treating the 

whole child. Many children with disabilities talk about how they 

dread going to school, and they experience a level of stress, we 

heard about from Mr. Baraka, as a result of their disability. 

I wonder whether you could talk a little bit about what the emotional and mental effects of learning disabilities are in young children and how we can better support the full range of children’s 

needs. 

Mr. MAHONE. Thank you. It’s complicated because children with 

dyslexia can present with a complicated picture, including associated concerns and conditions ranging from anxiety and lack of motivation, and when you experience failure, it gets in the way of motivation. There are a number of risk factors that we know that go 

along with dyslexia, along with a number of conditions, real other 

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conditions that seem to coexist with dyslexia that complicate the 

picture. 

It isn’t as simple as just looking at the reading and looking at 

the experience of this child and why a child might be failing. A 

child might be failing for reasons that go beyond the dyslexia, including living in poverty, having poor opportunities to have really 

quality instruction, having other kinds of psychopathology that 

may interfere with learning in other ways. That’s not dyslexia. It’s 

something different, but, nevertheless, the result is poor achievement. 

Senator BENNET. I’m out of time, Mr. Chairman, so I will yield 

back. Thank you. 

Senator CASSIDY. Thank you. 

Senator Murphy. 

STATEMENT OF SENATOR MURPHY

Senator MURPHY. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman and Senator Mikulski, for having this hearing. 

Let me just add a story to the mix here. It’s a constituent from 

Newtown, CT. She noticed early on that her son, Brian’s, preschool 

years—during his preschool years, he had a speech delay and that 

Brian struggled to learn letters and early literacy skills in kindergarten, first, and second grade. Despite her concerns, and, frankly, 

her family’s history of dyslexia, her son didn’t receive an evaluation 

for special education services until the end of third grade. 

This is standard, in part, because tests don’t start until third 

grade. At this point, Brian’s teacher told her that he didn’t make 

any progress in reading between second and third grade, and he 

was way behind his peers already. Once he was evaluated, he was 

found to have ADHD, dyslexia, but also a high IQ, and he received 

specialized instruction and accommodation, but learning to read 

was rocky. 

Eventually, Brian was able to decode words and read. He still 

struggles today. He’s 19 years old, and he’s doing well. He’s studying mechanical engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology, and he’s a competitive speed skater. He’s accomplished. He 

had to work and his parents had to work especially hard, because 

it took so long and they had to fight so hard to get him the appropriate programming. 

I’m totally on board with the idea that we need to do better, that 

this is a crisis, as Dr. Shaywitz says, and I hear it every day in 

Connecticut. I guess here’s my only question, and I’ll pose it maybe 

first to Dr. Shaywitz and then ask Dr. Eden and others to remark 

on this. 

What we know—and I’m sure it’s been said—is that 80 percent 

to 90 percent of students with learning disabilities have dyslexia, 

and it’s also, often co-occurring with other disabilities. How do we 

elevate and do better by way of treating dyslexia without minimizing other disabilities that kids walk into school with? How do 

we make sure that we do everything that you want us to do without picking dyslexia out of the pot of disabilities that kids are 

struggling with and have this debate end up in a result that robs 

Peter to pay Paul? 

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I know that that’s a tension here, right? That’s a tension, and so 

let me ask, in particular, Dr. Shaywitz and Dr. Eden to talk about 

that. How do we focus the attention on dyslexia while not misunderstanding the fact that there are a lot of other disabilities still 

that we can’t ignore at the expense of tackling this epidemic? 

Dr. SHAYWITZ. That’s a great question. First of all, let me say 

that every child should get what they need. What’s really important is that this hearing is about science informing education. 

When we have the science, we have to use it. If we have a drug 

for breast cancer and not for pancreatic, we can’t say, ‘‘Well, we 

can’t use it until we can treat all the cancers.’’ We have to use it 

when we have it. 

In the case of dyslexia, we have the knowledge. In my own 

mind—you’re aware, Senator Murphy, that two children committed 

suicide in Connecticut because of their dyslexia. They were bright. 

They were in special ed. They were teased. They saw no future. We 

have to use the knowledge we have. 

On the other hand, there are other disabilities, and they’re important. We have to make sure the science progresses so it teaches 

us what we need to know to give the better—I would say optimal, 

but I know in policy it’s the appropriate education to these children. We shouldn’t hold the dyslexic children back because we don’t 

have the knowledge to treat the others. We have to make sure we 

are maximizing the education of all the children who have disabilities. 

As a mother and as a grandmother, I know how I worry and I 

care about my children and grandchildren, and mothers of all children, and fathers, feel the same way. We have to use the knowledge we possess and have to make sure we do it for all disabilities. 

When the knowledge isn’t there—and for many of the disabilities, 

it’s not there yet—we have to make sure that we work to ensure 

that we acquire that knowledge. 

Senator MURPHY. Dr. Eden, a quick response? 

Ms. EDEN. Thank you, Senator Murphy. The other thing to add 

here is that the focus on dyslexia in research has really opened a 

lot of eyes in terms of understanding about teaching reading in 

general. I would say that many children have benefited by there 

being more information about best practices about teaching reading. 

Also dyslexia really serves as a model of understanding disorders 

more generally. How do you work with the school system? How is 

it that the research that has shown the kinds of measures that you 

can use to identify dyslexia early—why is it that they are in the 

hands of teachers, and when the teachers are given those and are 

using them, they’re not using them the way the researchers intended? There’s a communication—there’s a gap here, that the 

tests are there, but they’re not being implemented. 

On the other hand, there are some individuals who are getting 

the help that they need. They go perhaps for expensive programs, 

but they also go for programs that are expensive and don’t work. 

We have another very interesting problem here, which is that in 

the absence of knowledge, in the absence of research, in the absence of educating people, in the absence of people understanding 

what this is, parents will take it upon themselves to try everything 

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they can on the Internet, often at a high cost and with no benefit 

to the children. 

These are all problems that you have with any kind of situation 

where a child is failing to reach their potential. Dyslexia serves as 

a model to help us understand the full range between education, 

the role of the parents, the role of the teachers, and the role of private enterprise, and how people need to be educated so those 

things can be optimized to actually help the child. 

Senator MURPHY. Thank you. 

Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman. 

Senator CASSIDY. Senator Warren. 

STATEMENT OF SENATOR WARREN

Senator WARREN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman, and thank you, 

Senator Cassidy and Senator Mikulski, for your passion, for bringing this issue up, and for your advocacy on behalf of those who are 

affected by it. 

One area that I know that all of us are very much in agreement 

on is that we need education for biomedical innovations, the need 

for increased investments in research in this area. We’ve already 

learned a lot about dyslexia from research funded by the Department of Education, the National Science Foundation, the National 

Institutes of Health through the National Institute of Child Health 

and Human Development, which was a vision of President Kennedy. 

Investments in research through these agencies mean that we 

now have some evidence-based interventions that are leading to 

improved educational outcomes for our kids with dyslexia across 

the country. There still is a lot that we don’t know. 

Dr. Mahone, I’d like to ask you about this. How would greater 

Federal investments in research like yours into the neurological 

underpinnings of dyslexia help us both intervene earlier and improve outcomes for our kids? 

Mr. MAHONE. Thank you. We are on the verge of treating educational research and the translation between biomedical research 

and education in the same way we are looking at translational research in the field of medicine, meaning that we’ve learned a lot 

about the condition. We’ve learned a lot about the neurobiology of 

the condition, about the genetics of the condition. 

The next question is: How do we translate what we’ve learned 

into practice that really gets at the root of the problem? We are on 

the verge of that right now. We have come a long way with a tremendous amount of support from the Federal Government to get 

to the research that we have right now. Going forward, we need 

continued support in order to continue to translate that into the 

day-to-day practice of our children and improve their lives. 

Senator WARREN. Good. Thank you. I really appreciate you talking about this. Whether we’re talking about Alzheimer’s or ALS or 

cancer or dyslexia, we know that one of the smartest things that 

the Federal Government can do is invest in research. The NICHD 

supports neuroscience and learning intervention research to determine how to identify dyslexia early on and how to support the 

needs of students with learning disabilities. 

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Over the last 10 years, Congress has decimated the budget for 

NICHD, cutting its purchasing power by nearly 20 percent. Researchers are being limited because Congress won’t give them the 

resources that they need. Right now, the Senate faces a critical 

choice, whether to come together in a bipartisan way to provide 

sustained, stable, and targeted increases for medical research at 

the NIH, or just to say, ‘‘It’s too hard. Let’s go on summer vacation.’’ 

Senator Cassidy and I have talked a lot about the importance of 

NIH funding, and I know we both agree on the urgent need to find 

a bipartisan way to get this done. I hope we can get there, because 

today’s hearing is just one more example of why fixing our research 

funding problem is just too important for us to walk away. 

Mr. Chairman, I have a second round of questions, but I’m glad 

to put it off and wait my turn, or I can do it now. Your choice. 

Senator CASSIDY. We’re going to have a second round. 

Senator WARREN. Then I’ll hold off. 

Senator CASSIDY. You have a minute and 15 seconds. 

Senator WARREN. I’ll yield back and go to my next round. Thank 

you. 

Senator CASSIDY. Senator Casey. 

STATEMENT OF SENATOR CASEY

Senator CASEY. Thank you, Senator Cassidy and Senator Mikulski for having this hearing. We’re grateful to have this opportunity. 

We don’t often have the kind of opportunity we have today to focus 

on one issue in a very intensive way and to have a—we have a lot 

of great panels here, but this is, indeed, an all-star panel for a lot 

of different reasons. We’re grateful for the opportunity. 

I won’t get to each of our witnesses, but I did want to start with 

you, Ms. Hanrath, to commend you for taking the time to be here 

today, for your testimony, and to bring your own personal story 

and that of Jocelyn to this committee. We learn a lot when we read 

about public policy and analyze data, and that’s part of the learning process for us. It’s all the more significant when you can bring 

your own personal story. 

Jocelyn, I want to say to you congratulations on both your academic and athletic achievements. I always wanted an athletic 

scholarship in college. It just wasn’t in the cards. 

[Laughter.] 

It’s difficult to do one—to be recognized for one versus the other. 

To have both academic and athletic achievement is significant. 

I want to ask you a more technical question about transition to 

college, transition to higher education. I did want to focus, first of 

all, on your three points, because sometimes we leave here and 

we’ve learned a lot, but then it begins to fade over time. It’s important to remember those three concepts: identify, train, and set high 

expectations, all three critically important. 

If I were adding a fourth, I’d say try to get a good mom, because 

I know that some children never have that opportunity to have a 

mom or a dad or a caregiver who is so engaged as you have been 

and to be that advocate. You’ve turned her into her own self-advocate based upon your testimony. We’re grateful for that. We do 

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want to bear in mind those three core messages of identify, train, 

and set high expectations. 

My question is more technical. My staff and I have heard from 

folks in Pennsylvania about this transition from high school to college and having strong transition services important to students 

with a learning disability. What’s your experience with that? What 

can it tell us about either—not just your own experience, but what 

you would hope we would do to fill in some of the gaps if there are 

some? 

Ms. HANRATH. Thank you, Senator, for the question. First of all, 

our experience is a bit different. Because Jocelyn is an athlete who 

is wanted, the transition has been very simple. We immediately 

started talking to the special education department, who was very 

open to whatever Jocelyn needed. They were willing to accept her 

IEP from high school, which is not common. 

At so many colleges, the students are asked to go back and retest in order to receive accommodations in college, which was 

shocking to me, because I am not a doctor, but when Jocelyn received her diagnosis, one of my first questions to the 

neuropsychologist was: If I get Jocelyn a lot of help, will she stop 

being dyslexic? She said, ‘‘No. She’ll always be dyslexic.’’ I couldn’t 

understand why an IEP in a high school would not be adequate for 

a college to accept that as a learning disability. 

In Utah, for example, Jocelyn’s special educator has a caseload 

of 40 students. Her transition work is basically a checkbox. Once 

a year, someone comes in, talks to Jocelyn for 5 minutes and says, 

‘‘Are you going to college? Are you taking classes? Good job,’’ check 

the box and that’s all. There is not really anything given to us in 

Utah as far as transitioning to college. 

Once again, because of Jocelyn’s athletic accomplishments, when 

we talked to the athletic department, whatever she needed, she 

could have. It was very simple. It is not that simple for most kids, 

and it’s impossible for them to, many times, re-test because the 

testing costs so much money to be able to access special education 

in college. 

Senator CASEY. I appreciate that perspective. What we often try 

to do here by way of legislation but also by way of something much 

more substantial in the case of Every Student Succeeds—it was a 

great effort by this committee to take No Child Left Behind and reform it, shake it up, and change it, and a lot got done. 

I was just looking at a list of things that might be applicable 

here: a center to develop assessment tools to support the identification of students with disabilities, including dyslexia; evidence-based 

instruction materials; professional development. We have the outlines of it, but I also want to make sure that we’re not missing a 

piece when it comes to that transition, but, in particular, having 

that IEP not be adequate and having new evaluations done which 

might be difficult for a lot of families. 

I’m out of time, but maybe what I’ll do is pose a question for the 

record to the other witnesses so we can get at this issue. 

Mr. Chairman, thank you very much. 

Senator CASSIDY. We’ll have a second round, and I’ll begin. 

Mr. Boies, first, I’m struck. In your written testimony, you speak 

about how your dad kind of would verbally teach you just a SoHELPN-003 with DISTILLER

50 

cratic method, and so you didn’t need to read, and you could just 

kind of download everything your dad knew about history. That 

sort of thing. Then you describe how your son for 10 years had 4 

hours of tutoring every day. Now, that takes some courage and determination. 

In your last paragraph, some students with families that can afford the best; they’re fortunate to have their dyslexia identified, understood, and treated early. The vast majority are not so fortunate, 

and their future contributions are at risk. 

Senator Warren and I mentioned briefly this is really an issue 

of middle-class economic opportunity. Your thoughts on this? 

Mr. BOIES. The right to an education is one of the most basic 

civil rights that we have. That right should not be inhibited by the 

economic circumstances of a child’s family. I have been very fortunate, and I could give my children the opportunity to be tested 

early, to get tutoring, to have all of the advantages that modern 

science can give. 

Most children are not that fortunate, and we as a country are 

terribly wasting those resources. It is unfair to the child, and it is 

a disaster for this country in a global world to lose those resources. 

By identifying people early and by giving them the help and the 

hope that they need to succeed, we can give them that basic civil 

right of a decent education, and we’re not doing that now. 

Senator CASSIDY. I’m struck. It’s not just someone like Mr. 

Baraka, who obviously has a tragic story but finished well. It’s also 

Dr. Eden’s daughter, who was a promising girl who was going to 

be allowed to achieve less because they did not know. If we have 

20 percent and Dr. Mahone said there’s not many districts screening. I’m not sure there’s any districts screening. As best we can 

tell, there’s not a single district that screens all incoming students 

for dyslexia. 

If you’ve got a condition affecting 20 percent in one way or another—Mr. Boies, you’re an attorney. You spoke of civil rights. Is 

it excusable that we’re not screening? This is not 1 percent or 2 

percent. The cost-benefit ratio here is pretty substantial. 

Mr. BOIES. Senator, it’s inexcusable, because we have the technique to do that. We can do that in a cost-effective way. It’s a question of education. It’s a question of commitment. We could do this 

for a fraction of what we spend on lots of other things that are 

much less important and much less critical to children and to our 

country. We have the ability to screen. We know how to do it. We 

could implement it in a cost-effective way. We’re just not doing it. 

Senator CASSIDY. I know that it costs about $50,000 a year to incarcerate somebody. If you broke down the siloes and somehow 

said, ‘‘Well, heck, we could redirect some dollars,’’ it would make 

quite a difference. 

Mr. BOIES. It is the definition of penny-wise and pound-foolish. 

Senator CASSIDY. Yes. Your child, if I may ask—was he identified 

early by a teacher, or was it just because of your family history 

that you knew to watch for early signs of dyslexia? 

Mr. BOIES. It wasn’t so much the family history. He was a twin, 

and his brother, Jonathan, was very verbal and in kindergarten 

was reading and very phrasal, and Christopher was struggling terribly. The sharpness of that comparison led us to have Christopher 

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tested, and when Christopher was tested, that was the time I was 

first diagnosed with dyslexia. 

That testing led to the tutoring, led to the help, led to the hope, 

because he knew what it was. He knew it didn’t affect his intelligence. He knew he could conquer this, and he did. As I say, he 

performed well in high school. He performed well in college, although we had a hell of a time getting into it, and he performed 

great in law school, although, again, his standardized tests—because he did not get accommodations—predicted that he would fail. 

He graduated from Yale Law School with honors. His LSAT would 

have predicted that he couldn’t have succeeded. 

Senator CASSIDY. The standardized testing option. I thought 

what you said was very provocative. I’ll defer now to Senator Mikulski. 

Senator MIKULSKI. Thank you very much. I want to associate 

myself with the remarks of Senator Warren in terms of the need 

for more biomedical research. Also I want to go back to my original 

remarks. We need to put that research into action, and then when 

you look at the way we do not fund programs like IDEA, then 

groups with learning challenges are pitted against each other for 

resources, the very things that we just talked about here earlier. 

We need a multifaceted approach here, just like we do with the 

children. 

Dr. Eden, let me go to some of your research findings. I was 

struck by what you said, that there were different neurological aspects to girls compared to boys. Could you elaborate on that? In my 

early days in the Senate when I came here, women were not included in the protocols at NIH. This was 1986, not 1886. Working 

together across the aisle with Dr. Bernadine Healy, Dr. Ruth 

Kirschner, and so on, we were able to change that, which validates 

exactly this. 

Could you tell us, though, what your findings are? Because you’d 

think the brain is the brain, that it’s kind of—the brain is gender 

neutral. 

Ms. EDEN. Thank you, Senator Mikulski. This is an example 

where brain imaging research really has a lot to add and we can 

get some insight, because brain imaging research has shown for 

years that the brains of women and men and boys and girls are different. They’re different in their anatomy. There’s difference in the 

hormones that bathe the tissue, and it also goes hand in hand with 

some of the differences that we observe in boys and girls as they 

develop early on. 

The important part here is to recognize that early research, for 

reasons that aren’t fully clear, often did focus more on boys. The 

deductions that were made from that research were that these 

were findings that were true for all individuals with dyslexia, and 

they were generalized to all people with dyslexia. 

We’re beginning to focus more on sex-specific differences, and the 

NIH now requires that when we submit research grants, that we 

consider biological variables such as sex so that we have very specific questions about—do the kinds of questions we’re asking, the 

hypothesis that we’re posing in our research—are they also addressing the issue that there are sex-specific differences, and is 

that part of our hypothesis. That’s tremendously important. 

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Senator MIKULSKI. How has this manifested itself? 

Ms. EDEN. What the real point here is, is that we don’t fully understand how it’s manifesting. It could be that—we know from cognitive neuroscience that sometimes we observe performance in 

males and females and they appear to be equal. Under the surface 

in the brain, the mechanisms that invoke to do those tasks are very 

different. 

Then you ask the question: What happens if those mechanisms 

then interface with a learning disability? How do the female brains 

respond versus the male brains? We don’t really—we don’t have 

the answer to those yet, because we haven’t done the research. 

Doing more research in that area is really very critical, and we’ll 

see a lot more research because of the new NIH mandate. 

Senator MIKULSKI. Thank you. 

I’m going to turn to—let’s hear it for the mothers with Ms. 

Hanrath. I’m going to call you like a nighthawk, because, obviously, you and other mothers and dads stay up at night, kind of 

cruising the Internet, avoiding scams and schemes, and yet trying 

to come up with approaches. Could you tell us what worked for you 

as a mother, even to know what to do and so on? You mentioned 

the group, Understood. Also, you paid for your own testing for your 

daughter, which was, obviously, extremely expensive. 

What did you run into? How can we help—at least a pathway for 

moms and dads—regardless of social class or whatever, to do this? 

Could you elaborate on your personal exploration here on how to 

help your daughter? What helped? What were the obstacles? What 

was your best friend? Was it the Internet? 

Ms. HANRATH. Certainly. At the very beginning, when my daughter was actually tested by the school district at the end of fourth 

grade. Her grandmother had died the week before they tested her. 

They came back with the results that she had an IQ of about 80. 

Senator MIKULSKI. Eighty? Eight zero? 

Ms. HANRATH. Eight zero, and that she would not ever succeed 

in school because she was not very bright. I said that is absolutely 

not true, and I found a neuropsychologist to redo the testing. Once 

that happened, then I had to go through the phase of—I always 

thought dyslexia meant you mixed up your letters. I had no idea 

that it was—— 

Senator MIKULSKI. Senator Cassidy, if I may—Ms. Hanrath, you 

said, ‘‘I found a neuroscientist.’’ You don’t go to Craigslist for that, 

you know? You don’t say, ‘‘Oh, well, let’s go find a neuroscientist, 

after we get our refrigerator or toaster oven fixed.’’ Tell me, in 

other words, how did you do that? 

Ms. HANRATH. I did that because I have an older son who also 

has learning disabilities, and he had a specialized tutor. I went to 

the tutor, and I said, ‘‘Who is it that I should have my daughter 

tested by?’’ 

Senator MIKULSKI. I see. You were essentially on your own. 

Ms. HANRATH. Yes. It was on my own. 

Senator MIKULSKI. Did you have, where you live, an institution 

like Kennedy Krieger you could have turned to? 

Ms. HANRATH. No, there really isn’t anything in Salt Lake. There 

is a place at the University of Utah with graduate students, but 

I wasn’t comfortable with that. 

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Senator MIKULSKI. Right. Here, we have Georgetown to turn to. 

We have Kennedy Krieger. We would have in New Haven the Yale 

Center and the Shaywitzes. But you were on your own, and you did 

this through a tutor. 

Ms. HANRATH. Yes. 

Senator MIKULSKI. And you got the results. 

Ms. HANRATH. Yes. Then I decided that I had to come up with 

a solution. The neuropsychologist was wonderful. She gave me 23 

pages of accommodations. When I went to my first IEP meeting, I 

took those 23 pages in, and I said, ‘‘I want you to accept all of 

these.’’ No one argued with me. It was immediately attached to 

Jocelyn’s IEP, and I kept those accommodations, and whenever 

Jocelyn needed a specific one, we invoked the IEP. 

I was fortunate enough to have the money to have her tested. 

Unfortunately, I was not wealthy enough to have daily tutoring for 

Jocelyn, so I had to rely upon the school system, but mostly myself, 

my inventiveness. 

Senator MIKULSKI. Could we ask about Understood and what 

that meant? Because, you see, what we have here is a path that— 

look at the struggle here. Could you just tell us about Understood? 

Ms. HANRATH. I would love to tell you about Understood. I’m a 

single mom. At night, I would wake up. I was worried about 

Jocelyn. I didn’t know what to do. 

Senator MIKULSKI. So you were a nighthawk. 

Ms. HANRATH. I was a nighthawk. I had to be, because I wasn’t 

sleeping. I found this incredible website called Understood.com, 

and I could plug in the fact that Jocelyn was dyslexic and what age 

she was, and I could read about it. Then there were parent forums 

and I could talk to somebody at 3 o’clock in the morning, someone 

who understood where I was coming from and that would get back 

to me. 

I could watch videos from experts. I could listen to archived sessions on dyslexia. I started to become educated, and education is 

the source of all power, and that’s where my education came from. 

Senator MIKULSKI. Thank you, Senator Cassidy. You are very 

generous. Thank you. 

Senator CASSIDY. Senator Warren. 

Senator WARREN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Thank you, Senator Mikulski, for your remarks on research and 

the importance of making sure that we have adequate NIH funding. 

Also, thank you, Dr. Eden, for reminding us of yet more reasons 

why this research is important. 

I just want to ask—I want to turn to a slightly different issue 

here and talk a little bit more about what we’re learning from the 

research and to training teachers for the classroom. This is a special topic for me, because I was a special needs teacher a long time 

ago. 

Ms. Hanrath, let me start with you. First, congratulations on 

your daughter’s graduation, impending graduation, from high 

school. I know you are very proud. 

Jocelyn, way to go. It is good to have a success story here. We’re 

delighted to have you here today. 

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In your testimony, you talked about the importance of supporting 

educators by giving them training about dyslexia and other learning disabilities. Can you talk just a little bit more about how important it has been to you and to your daughter to have special 

education teachers with the tools and training they need to support 

your daughter’s learning needs? 

Ms. HANRATH. Thank you, Senator. Without Carrie Szumnarski, 

there was no way we could have navigated through high school. 

She talked to Jocelyn’s teachers. She gave Jocelyn confidence. She 

went to meetings with Jocelyn and I. She stood up for Jocelyn’s 

rights. She knew things I didn’t know. If we did not have Carrie, 

if Carrie was not educated, as I said, I do not believe the success 

would have happened for Jocelyn the way that it did. 

I find it really frightening that so many teachers are not educated about dyslexia, that they assume that dyslexics are stupid 

people, that they shouldn’t expect much of them. They need the 

education. They need to understand that dyslexic kids can do 

amazing things. They think outside the box. They’re leaders by nature. It doesn’t take much for accommodations. They don’t have to 

cost a lot of money. Everything isn’t high tech. 

Please, please, find a way to let all teachers understand what 

dyslexia is and how they can help. It doesn’t take much, but, once 

again, it requires an education. 

Senator WARREN. Thank you. That’s very important, Ms. 

Hanrath. 

Maybe that means I can turn to you, Dr. Eden. How do we equip 

all teachers and all school leaders with the training and the development they need to serve students with dyslexia? 

Ms. EDEN. Thank you, Senator Warren. That is, of course, the 

big question here, and that’s where we will need more resources, 

and we need to make some changes in the way people think about 

their role in all of these things. It’s very frustrating as a scientist 

to see. 

There are tests that are out there that predict to a very high degree which children are at risk for reading. Those same research 

data have made it into benchmark tests that are in schools, in my 

daughter’s school. When you ask the teacher how your child is performing on those tests, it turns out they haven’t looked at those 

test results, probably because somewhere the research fell short in 

trying to apply this and to educate the teachers to use it effectively. 

One of the problems we have in research is that we don’t do 

enough to make sure that the findings that we have are implemented in a way that they are actually useful. Again, you’ve put 

in a lot of money. You have the information, but it’s not going the 

full length to actually then benefit the child who needs those to be 

identified. 

The other risk that we run here is that if we don’t continue doing 

the research—remember, I said we don’t have enough—we still 

don’t quite understand how dyslexia actually comes about. Others 

will fill that void. Parents are online all the time. Doing an evaluation is expensive. You think that’s expensive. Getting the treatment is really expensive. 

Then you find an alternative. Maybe it’s not quite as expensive. 

It’s based on something that you can do at home. It’s quick. You 

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don’t have much time. You’re trying to feed your child. You want 

them to do something for the little time you have in the evening. 

You use a quick fix. It appears to be something that has research 

behind it. You don’t know. You’re not a scientist. You didn’t read 

the paper. Is it truly validated? 

You grab onto another option. You’ve made a huge mistake. 

You’ve made a misinvestment. You’ve used something that actually 

isn’t research-based, and if we don’t do the research to actually investigate these programs, then there’s no knowledge that we can 

put out there to guide parents about which avenue they should 

pursue. 

All of these things have to be moved forward hand in hand. It’s 

sort of interesting to hear how teachers learn from the Understood 

website things you would think they learn in the schools of education, but apparently they don’t. Everybody has to buy in. Everybody has to understand it’s an education, and everybody has to be 

ready to learn together and implement the knowledge that we have 

together. 

Senator WARREN. Thank you very much, Dr. Eden. It’s very important. I know from firsthand experience how much support 

teachers who work with special needs children need, and we owe 

it to them to have their backs in making sure they have the resources they need, and to have the resources in their professional 

development so they can be trained, so they can understand what 

they’re dealing with here. 

We already have a vehicle where we could be doing much more 

of this by investing more in title II of the new education law which 

supports teacher development. Let’s face it, Congress needs to fully 

fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. Senator Mikulski raised this in her opening statement, and she’s exactly right 

about this. 

Congress passed IDEA over 40 years ago to ensure that teachers 

would have the necessary resources to support students with disabilities. Although the program was designed to support 40 percent 

of the additional cost of educating students with disabilities, Congress has repeatedly failed to meet this commitment. That’s why 

I sponsored the IDEA Full Funding Act last Congress. I would increase IDEA funding over 10 years until Congress fully meets this 

commitment. 

I’ve sent letters to the Appropriations Committee about this. I intend to keep fighting for full IDEA funding until Congress lives up 

to our end of the bargain to support our kids with special needs 

and their teachers. Our children have already waited too long. 

What I hear today is about everyone has a job. Our kids work 

hard if they have the opportunity to do it. Our mothers work hard. 

Our teachers work hard. Our researchers work hard. It’s time for 

Congress to work hard and do our part, too, and make sure you 

have the resources you need. 

Thank you for having this hearing. I really appreciate it, Senator 

Mikulski and Senator Cassidy. This is the kind of thing that we 

need to be doing to make Congress work for our children. 

Thank you. 

Senator CASSIDY. Thank you. 

Again, thank you, Senator Mikulski. 

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Thank you, to all of the witnesses. 

Thank you, to those in attendance. 

There will be a reception afterwards if people wish to stay and 

linger and have further conversation. I’d like the witnesses—if they 

have something they wish they’d had a chance to say but didn’t 

have a chance to say, they may submit it in writing and have it 

as part of the record. 

The hearing record will remain open for 10 days for Senators to 

submit additional comments and any questions for the record Senators may have. 

Thank you for being here today. The committee will stand adjourned. 

[Additional material follows.] 

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ADDITIONAL MATERIAL 

RESPONSE TO QUESTION OF SENATOR SANDERS BY DAVID BOIES

Question. Importance of Fully Funding IDEA—Today, our schools are being asked 

to do more with less. This is unfair for students, families and educators, especially 

in an environment of increased economic inequality where over half of all public 

school students come from low-income families. 

States, local districts, and the Federal Government have a responsibility to ensure 

that our schools have the resources they need to provide every child an excellent 

education. Currently, over 30 States are spending less per student than they did before the recession. Further, we have yet to make up even 15 percent of the over 

350,000 jobs cut by school districts due to the Great Recession. Making matters 

more challenging is the fact that schools are serving over 800,000 more students 

than they did in the year 2008. 

We know that students with disabilities often need extra support. Congress 

passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to ensure that students with disabilities had a civil right to education and that schools had the resources needed to meet the ‘‘excess costs’’ of providing special education services. 

Today, the Federal Government is far short of its obligation to fully fund IDEA, contributing less than half of the promised 40 percent contribution necessary to cover 

the ‘‘excess cost’’ of educating students with disabilities. 

Mr. Boies, Ms. Hanrath, and Dr. Mahone, can you speak to the need of fully funding IDEA and how that would help schools better serve children with specific learning disabilities like dyslexia? Additionally, what extra challenges do low-income 

families face in trying to get the appropriate services for a child that has a disability? How can the Federal Government work to support low-income families that 

have a child with a specific learning disability like dyslexia and the public schools 

that serve these students? 

Answer. The good news about dyslexia is that we know how to identify it, and 

once we identify it (particularly when we identify it early) we know how to provide 

children with the help they need to enable them to overcome the debilitating effects 

that untreated dyslexia can have. 

Dyslexia, if properly identified and treated, need not limit a person’s potential. 

Dyslexia makes it difficult for a student to learn to read. Because reading is the 

primary way students, particularly in grade school, acquire information, if dyslexia 

is not identified and treated it can prevent students from acquiring the information 

they need to succeed in school. They, and their teachers and parents, often confuse 

their difficulty in learning with a lack of intelligence. This often leads the student, 

and the student’s teachers and even parents, to become discouraged, and to give up. 

Identifying dyslexia enables us to provide students with training that improves 

their reading skills and their ability to acquire information in alternative ways. This 

in turn encourages students, and their teachers and parents, to stay the course. In 

addition, understanding that the problem is a limited input disability, not any deficiency in processing, and that as students progress in life, processing skills (i.e., 

what a person does with the information the person has), becomes more and more 

important, helps everyone to avoid getting discouraged and giving up. In life, judgment, character, and commitment are far more important to a person’s success that 

how fast a person reads; but without an understanding of what the problem is (and 

is not) too many people get discouraged and give up prematurely. 

Identifying dyslexia will also permit students to get the extra time on standardized tests that is required to prevent those tests from massively understating those 

students’ knowledge and ability. 

An increasingly large percentage of dyslexic students from well-to-do families, or 

who are fortunate to live in a particularly well-financed school district, are today 

identified, treated, and enabled to reach their ultimate potential. 

The tragedy is that few children who come from economically disadvantaged 

homes and live in less well-financed school districts get the diagnosis and treatment 

they deserve. The help they need is practical. It is promised by the IDEA. But it 

is lost because of lack of funding. 

Education is a basic civil right. Indeed it is a right that is essential to making 

other civil rights effective. By depriving dyslexic children of early diagnosis and 

treatment, our educational system (and our society) deprives these children of this 

basic civil right—and of the promise made to them in IDEA. 

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RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS OF SENATOR SANDERS BY MARK MAHONE, PH.D., ABPP 

First of all, I would like to thank the committee for the opportunity to provide 

testimony at the hearing on May 10, 2016, ‘‘Understanding Dyslexia: The Intersection of Scientific Research and Education.’’ 

In response to the followup questions posed by Senator Sanders, I am providing 

my responses below. The original questions are included for convenience. 

Question 1. Dr. Mahone, can you speak to the need of fully funding IDEA and 

how that would help schools better serve children with specific learning disabilities 

like dyslexia? 

Answer 1. The explicit intent of IDEA was to provide a free and appropriate education to all students, regardless of disability status. At the time that the original 

law (now IDEA) was passed, Congress committed to funding 40 percent of the excess 

costs of educating students with disabilities through grants to State education agencies (IDEA Part B). Presently, Federal appropriations only fund approximately 16 

percent of these additional costs. While the proportion has increased slightly over 

the past 5 years, current levels remain far below the 40 percent goal. 

I believe that it is unfair for the Federal Government to require local education 

agencies to provide ‘‘appropriate’’ services to all students with disabilities, but not 

appropriate sufficient support for implementation of these services. To this end, I 

believe it is critical for the Federal Government to increase appropriations to support implementation of IDEA, with the ultimate goal of fully funding the commitment made in 1975. 

Recognizing that the number (and proportion) of all students who now qualify as 

students with disabilities has risen steadily since 1975, the emphasis in Federal 

funding should be toward early (and accurate) identification of students with disabilities and evidence-based intervention, with the goal of reducing the lifetime morbidity of these conditions and reducing their ultimate cost to the American education 

system. In other words, appropriations should target educational practices that have 

a high likelihood of reducing overall costs through better investment in screening 

and early intervention. These interventions will also increase the number of children who (for a variety of factors) are at risk for developing a disability, but because 

of better early intervention, do not go on to manifest the disorder, and are able to 

be fully educated in general education settings. This goal is especially true for children with specific learning disabilities such as dyslexia, as the methods for early 

screening and intervention, while well established in scientific literature, are not 

routinely translated into practice at the level of the local education agencies. This 

lack of translation leads to billions in extra educational and societal costs. 

Question 2. Additionally, what extra challenges do low-income families face in trying to get the appropriate services for a child that has a disability? 

Answer 2. Low-income families face a variety of additional challenges when attempting to secure appropriate services for a child with a disability. I will outline 

several of the key challenges below. 

• Children from low-income families are more likely to live in poverty, which carries an increased risk for reduced access to healthcare, poorer nutrition, increased 

exposure to violence, and chronic traumatic stress—all of which have a direct, negative impact of brain development and ultimate learning potential. 

• Many health insurance providers (including most of those contracted to provide 

medical insurance to low-income families) specifically preclude coverage for diagnostic assessments for autism spectrum disorders, specific learning disabilities, and 

intellectual disabilities, citing that these conditions are ‘‘the responsibility of the 

educational system and not healthcare.’’ This barrier effectively prevents effective 

access to early diagnostic assessment for these conditions, as schools do not routinely provide assessments until after a child has already demonstrated educational 

failure. Children from families with higher income are able to obtain these assessments privately on a fee-for-service basis—an option not available to low-income 

families. 

• An alarming trend is that parents of students with disabilities who are not 

making progress now hire educational advocates to work with the local school system to obtain appropriate implementation of services. With few exceptions, this type 

of service is available only to families who can afford to hire these advocates. Lowincome families are often not able to obtain such representation, and are left to advocate for themselves. 

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Question 3. How can the Federal Government work to support low-income families 

that have a child with a specific learning disability like dyslexia and the public 

schools that serve these students? 

Answer 3. The Federal Government has begun to take steps toward supporting 

children with learning disabilities. For example, the Every Student Succeeds Act 

(ESSA) authorized a first-of-its-kind Comprehensive Literacy Center for parents and 

educators to better support children who are at-risk for challenges with reading, 

writing and language processing due to dyslexia or other disabilities. The goal of 

the Center is identify, develop, and deliver information to educators and parents to 

better meet the needs of students who may struggle with reading, writing, language 

processing, comprehension or executive functioning due to a learning disability like 

dyslexia. In December 2015, Congress passed a budget allocating $1.5 million to the 

Comprehensive Literacy Center, which is expected that the Center will begin operating in 2017. While this is a start, it is unlikely to be sufficient to support the 

needs of low-income families. The achievement gap for students with disabilities is 

especially prominent in schools with limited resources, where the majority of the 

students come from low-income families and the need for services far surpasses 

available resources. 

In addition to the goal of fully funding IDEA, it is also imperative that all cer- tified/licensed teachers (including both general education and special education 

teachers) have appropriate pre-service training in evidence-based methods for identification and intervention of learning disabilities. Management of this requirement 

at the State and local level has proved insufficient. At present, most teachers entering practice do not have the requisite expertise or experience to provide evidencebased intervention to students with dyslexia. The result is that identification and 

treatment are delayed (or absent), and the biological ‘‘window’’ for optimal intervention begins to close before care is received. This is the framework for the ‘‘wait to 

fail’’ model. 

The lack of training is not the fault of the teachers. It is typically not provided 

in pre-service/undergraduate training. Having a well-defined, Federal requirement 

for all licensed or certified teachers to have specific training and competence in identification and intervention with children with learning disabilities (who make up 

nearly half of all students with disabilities) is an initial step to ensuring reducing 

the achievement gap. 

RESPONSE TO ADDITIONAL QUESTIONS OF SENATOR SANDERS BY MARK MAHONE, 

PH.D., ABPP 

Thank you for the opportunity to respond to these excellent additional questions. 

The questions and my responses are below. 

Question 1. When this committee considers the reauthorization of the Higher Education Act, what can we do to ensure that educators in-training—both those seeking 

to be general and special educators—get the training they need to support students 

with specific learning disabilities like dyslexia? 

Answer 1. First, for pre-service teachers, one possibility is to set and enforce national criteria for pre-service teacher training that include required courses about 

developmental psychology, learner variability, differentiated instruction, and evidence-based interventions. There are established models for such national standards 

in fields such as medicine, psychology, social work, speech/language pathology, just 

to name a few. Pre-service teachers should also be taught to be wise and active consumers of published research. At present, this type of coursework is notably absent 

from the majority of undergraduate and graduate pre-service training programs. For 

general educators, many universities now require only one survey course addressing 

instruction for children with special education needs. Given that the majority of 

children with special education needs are taught primarily by general education 

teachers, this training is woefully inadequate. 

Second, as noted above, national standards need to place significantly greater emphasis in pre-service training on the area of learner variability, emphasizing principles of Universal Design for Learning (UDL). UDL is a framework to improve and 

optimize teaching and learning for all people, and is built on the idea that instructional flexibility is a ‘‘standard,’’ and that systems and all classrooms are designed 

to accommodate all children and all learners. My home State of Maryland has implemented into its State law that school districts will use and emphasize principles 

of UDL in their curricular design. It is time for this emphasis to be at a national 

level. 

Third, pre-service training emphasizes content knowledge; but there is insufficient 

emphasis on practical experience. As part of considerations for national standards 

for pre-service education, it is imperative that certified teachers entering the workHELPN-003 with DISTILLER

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force have sufficient pre-service internship experience with high quality mentor 

teachers. To that end, teachers in training need quality experiential activities early 

in pre-service education, not simply during the final year before graduating. To accomplish this goal, there will also need to be national standards for mentor teachers 

who supervise internship experiences. 

Question 2. Furthermore, now that the Elementary and Secondary Education Act 

has been reauthorized, what can the U.S. Department of Education do to ensure 

that educators have ongoing and high-quality professional development that provides them with the tools to reach every student, including students with specific 

learning disabilities? 

Answer 2. For in-service teachers, it will be critical to fund grants for instructional coaching, and encourage State Departments of Education to use microcredentialing in order to reward teachers for seeking ongoing professional training. 

For example, a common practice at the State level is to provide a certification (or 

credential) for ‘‘Reading.’’ At initial glance, providing such a credential for those who 

teach reading seems like an excellent idea. Closer analysis reveals that such credentials are highly general, and may apply to the entire range of grades (pre-K–12). 

In other words, a teacher with a ‘‘Reading’’ credential may have expertise in teaching middle school students to read better, but may not have training or experience 

in teaching primary grade students how to read initially. Individuals with the 

‘‘Reading’’ credential may also have little training or experience in teaching dyslexic 

students. Conversely, the micro-credential allows for specific standards and 

credentialing in specific areas, such as teaching students with dyslexia, or early literacy instruction. With these micro-credentials, States and districts can better 

match teacher expertise to needs of students. The process also allows for highly targeted continuing education among experienced educators. This model, like that set 

forth for national teacher certification, is also used in fields such as medicine, psychology, and speech/language pathology—all of which has established criteria for 

specialties and subspecialties. 

Finally, continued and expanded funding should also be dedicated to improve the 

‘‘What Works Clearinghouse’’ to be more accessible and user friendly for the frontline teacher. Created in 2002 by the U.S. Department of Education’s Institute of 

Education Sciences, the What Works Clearinghouse provides educators, researchers, 

policymakers, and the public with a central source of scientific evidence on what 

works in education to improve student outcomes. Its goal is to help decisionmakers 

contend with differing messages from research studies and product offerings. 

RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS OF SENATOR SANDERS BY APRIL HANRATH

Question 1. Today, our schools are being asked to do more with less. This is unfair 

for students, families and educators, especially in an environment of increased economic inequality where over half of all public school students come from low-income 

families. 

States, local districts, and the Federal Government have a responsibility to ensure 

that our schools have the resources they need to provide every child an excellent 

education. Currently, over 30 States are spending less per a student than they did 

before the recession. Further, we have yet to make up even 15 percent of the over 

350,000 jobs cut by school districts due to the Great Recession. Making matters 

more challenging is the fact that schools are serving over 800,000 more students 

than they did in the year 2008. 

We know that students with disabilities often need extra support. Congress 

passed the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) to ensure that students with disabilities had a civil right to education and that schools had the resources needed to meet the ‘‘excess costs’’ of providing special education services. 

Today, the Federal Government is far short of its obligation to fully fund IDEA, contributing less than half of the promised 40 percent contribution necessary to cover 

the ‘‘excess cost’’ of educating students with disabilities. 

Ms. Hanrath, can you speak to the need of fully funding IDEA and how that 

would help schools better serve children with specific learning disabilities like dyslexia? Additionally, what extra challenges do low-income families face in trying to 

get the appropriate services for a child that has a disability? How can the Federal 

Government work to support low-income families that have a child with a specific 

learning disability like dyslexia and the public schools that serve these students? 

Ms. Hanrath, can you speak to the need of fully funding IDEA and how that 

would help schools better serve children with specific learning disabilities like dyslexia? 

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Answer 1. I am very proud of my daughter, Jocelyn, who just graduated high 

school with a 3.7 GPA and will begin studying sports management at Highline College in the fall. Jocelyn has learning disabilities and struggled throughout elementary school with reading, writing, test anxiety, executive functioning, and attention 

issues. Throughout elementary school, Jocelyn had several first-year teachers who 

thought she was simply unintelligent or a behavior problem. I knew that wasn’t 

true. At the end of fourth grade, I had Jocelyn evaluated by a neuropsychologist and 

her school finally recognized that she had dyslexia and dysgraphia and provided her 

the rights and services she is entitled to under IDEA. 

Starting in fifth grade and continuing throughout school, Jocelyn received extra 

time, oral testing, and the right to use a computer to type assignments. With the 

help of these accommodations and an amazing special education teacher who tutored and advocated for my daughter, Jocelyn was able to learn in general education 

classes with her friends. She even enrolled in AP and honors classes in high school. 

My family is not alone. There are 2.4 million students who, like Jocelyn, have specific learning disabilities and the majority of these students want to go to college. 

The President’s fiscal year 2017 request of $11,912.85 million for IDEA grants to 

States would freeze funding at the fiscal year 2016 level, which is only 16 percent 

of the total per child cost. IDEA is critical to ensuring that all students are able 

to achieve their goals. Special education services are a civil right accessed by 6.7 

million students with disabilities, and the number of students who need services 

does not decrease when Federal funding does. In order to ensure students and 

schools have the necessary resources, we need to fully fund IDEA State grants at 

the 40 percent level that Congress promised in 1975, and substantially invest in all 

IDEA programs. 

Question 2. Additionally, what extra challenges do low-income families face in trying to get the appropriate services for a child that has a disability? 

Answer 2. When Jocelyn was in fourth grade, the school tested her for special 

education the same week that her grandmother died, and reached the false conclusion that Jocelyn would never succeed in school because she just wasn’t smart. I 

knew that my daughter struggled in school, but was very bright so I found a 

neuropsychologist and paid to have the testing re-done. The neuropsychologist diagnosed Jocelyn with dyslexia and other learning disabilities. I am a single mother 

and a small business owner and was fortunate enough to have the money to pay 

for Jocelyn’s testing, but I was not wealthy enough to pay for daily tutors so I had 

to rely on the public school system, but mostly on myself. 

Families living in poverty may not have the money to seek private help, or the 

time to educate themselves on learning disabilities and advocate for their child. This 

is especially disconcerting considering the prevalence rate for learning disabilities is 

higher for children living in poverty. Overall, students with learning disabilities are 

more likely to be boys, living in poverty, in foster care, homeless, African American, 

or Latino. Although learning disabilities do not correlate with intelligence, one-third 

of students with learning disabilities have been held back in a grade at least once, 

and students with disabilities—particularly African American and Latino boys—experience higher rates of school disciplinary actions, higher dropout rates, and lower 

graduation rates. For adults, the prevalence rate for learning disabilities is almost 

twice as high for individuals living in poverty compared to individuals above the 

poverty line, and only 46 percent of working age adults with learning disabilities 

are in the labor force. Yet, students with learning disabilities are enrolling in postsecondary education at the same rate as the general education population and express similar goals for college, employment, and life. 

I was lucky that my daughter is a talented student-athlete so her college made 

it easy for her to get disability services using her high school IEP, and she earned 

a scholarship from the National Center for Learning Disabilities. This is not the 

case for most students with learning disabilities. Often, colleges make students pay 

for a new evaluation in order to receive services. Because these tests are so expensive, many students are just not able to get the supports they need in college. Even 

if the college recognizes that a student has a disability, the family may still have 

to pay extra, on top of regular tuition, to actually access services. 

Question 3. How can the Federal Government work to support low-income families 

that have a child with a specific learning disability like dyslexia and the public 

schools that serve these students? 

Answer 3. The biggest challenge that Jocelyn and I faced was the misconception 

that students with learning disabilities cannot learn. We’re not alone. Seven out of 

10 parents, educators, and members of the general public incorrectly associate 

learning disabilities with intellectual disabilities and autism, and half think that 

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learning disabilities are the result of laziness. The vast majority of students like my 

daughter spend 80 percent or more of their school day learning alongside their peers 

who do not have learning disabilities. Research shows that children who spend more 

time in general education classrooms have improved outcomes. The practice of inclusion also reflects a core requirement of IDEA. 

This means that it is critical for general education teachers to be trained on learning disabilities so that they can identify students as early as possible, hold them 

to high expectations, and address their unique learning needs. My daughter is proof 

that when you hold students with dyslexia, and other specific learning disabilities, 

to high standards and support them with the tools they need to succeed, they are 

able to fulfill their goals and dreams. To this end, the Federal Government can support low-income families that have a child with a specific learning disability by ensuring that schools are held accountable for all students’ academic outcomes. 

The Federal Government can support public schools by investing in IDEA, the National Center for Special Education Research (NCSER), and in programs designed 

to support all students, including high quality early learning programs, teacher 

quality grants, the Comprehensive Literacy Development grants, and evidencebased initiatives. As the Federal Government works to reauthorize the Higher Education Opportunity Act, streamlining and simplifying the documentation requirements for obtaining disability services will ensure that every student, regardless of 

her parents’ income, is able to receive the supports they need to thrive in college. 

RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS OF SENATOR CASEY BY GUINEVERE EDEN, D.PHIL. 

Question 1. Dr. Eden, I know the majority of your research focuses on K–12 age 

children, but in your experience, how does support for students with dyslexia and 

other learning disabilities change when those students attend college? 

Answer 1. While younger children with dyslexia struggle primarily with difficulties in decoding, high school and college-age students with dyslexia often struggle 

with reading fluency and reading comprehension, and also have difficulties retaining 

what they have read. Often they also struggle with spelling accuracy, slower handwriting fluency, limited writing vocabulary, or lower working memory capacity, 

which in turn can lead to difficulties with writing. This means that although these 

students may have the same ideas as their non-dyslexic peers, college students with 

dyslexia are at a disadvantage when it comes to writing academic essays. The 

amount of reading and writing is significantly greater than what students experienced in high school, further compounding the difficulties in making the transition 

from high school to college. For those students who also have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), the challenge of sustaining concentration and sticking 

with a storyline may be especially difficult. 

While dyslexia persists into adulthood, the support for students with dyslexia and 

other learning disabilities changes when those students attend college. The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), which applies to K–12, no longer applies in college, and as such, special accommodations, individual instruction, and alternative testing are no longer in place. There are no Individual Education Plans 

(IEPs). Instead, the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendments Act (ADAAA) applies, and while this can provide a student with accommodations, the student will 

no longer have access to the range of services that was available while in grades 

K–12. Importantly, the college student with learning disability has to make a concerted effort to obtain these accommodations, which requires identifying the appropriate office at the college, submitting the necessary materials (usually a professional evaluation), and from then onwards activating and re-activating the support 

services and/or accommodations available to them throughout their studies. The degree to which a student seeks the help to which they are entitled will vary greatly 

and depend on their own advocacy skills. The transition to the college comes with 

significant change, including a reduction/absence of prior support mechanisms (parents and teachers who previously advocated on their behalf) combined with a new 

perspective on a personal identity formed within this new environment, which may 

cause the student to disregard their learning disability. Critically, the student has 

to secure the services because the college does not have a mechanism by which to 

identify students with learning disabilities. The number of college students with 

learning disabilities has been increasing, and it is therefore important that these 

students are given the tools that allow them to select the college that suits them 

best and to advocate for their academic and other needs throughout their studies. 

The advice that students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities receive at 

college will vary depending on the institution. Some may provide input to help students identify courses that are more compatible with their reading and writing challenges or to substitute required courses. There are some colleges that specialize in 

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teaching students with dyslexia, such as Landmark College in Vermont. The choice 

of the college and the efforts made by the student to attain the necessary accommodations and support once they attend that college will play a critical role in their 

ultimate success. Taken together, the support for students with dyslexia and other 

learning disabilities changes a great deal when those students attend college, and 

the experiences will vary widely depending on the student and the college. 

SOURCES

Connelly, V., Campbell, S., MacLean, M., & Barnes, J. (2006) Contribution of lower 

order skills to the written composition of college students with and without dyslexia. Developmental Neuropsychology, 29:1, 175–196. Available at http://dx.doi 

.org/10.1207/s15326942dn2901l9. 

Sterling, C.M., Farmer, M., Riddick, B., Morgan, S., & Matthews, C. (1997). Adult 

dyslexic writing. Dyslexia, 4, 1–15. 

York, J. Advice for the College Student. Resource Office on Disabilities, Yale University. Available at http://dyslexia.yale.edu/Stulcollege.html. 

Question 2. As we think about how best to support students during the implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act do students who have dyslexia also struggle with other skills (in addition to reading) as well? What does brain research show 

about the relationship between dyslexia and other learning disabilities? 

Answer 2. Students who have dyslexia often also struggle with other skills. For 

example, dyslexia (also referred to as reading disability) often co-occurs with 

dyscalculia (also referred to as math disability). This co-occurrence (referred to as 

‘‘co-morbidity’’) is significantly higher than what would be expected by chance, leading researchers to study the cause of their connection. It has been shown that difficulties in both reading and math may arise from a common weakness in working 

memory, processing speed, and verbal comprehension. Studies have also shown that 

the same phonological processing skills that are needed to succeed in reading are 

also needed to succeed in math. That is, these skills are important for successful 

reading and math. Further, the severity of difficulties in these areas and their combination will likely influence the manifestations of a child’s reading and math impairments. As such, researchers are viewing reading disability and math disability 

not so much as discrete groups, but rather as multi-dimensional, viewing performance on these skills along a number of continua. From an educational and policy 

perspective, this means that a child may appear to be impaired on reading using 

a cut point on a given standardized test of reading, yet the same child may also 

have difficulty in math, but this weakness may not have been tested sufficiently, 

or the child may fall just short of the threshold used to determine the disability. 

Implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act should therefore take into account that when difficulties are identified in reading, the chances are high that 

there are weaknesses in math even though these may lie below the surface. Interventions need to be identified in consideration of all of these difficulties. 

Results from brain imaging research are consistent with this approach, showing 

that children diagnosed with dyslexia have less brain activity in left hemisphere 

brain regions associated with reading, and children with dyscalculia have less brain 

activity in right hemisphere brain regions associated with math. However, children 

with dyslexia also underactivate the left hemisphere for some arithmetic procedures, 

even though they do not meet a diagnosis of dyscalculia. This means that while they 

did not exhibit obvious difficulties in math on behavioral evaluation, especially in 

the context of their severe reading problems, they nevertheless show signs of aberrant brain function during some math tasks. Neuroscientists are also investigating 

brain regions that have a more general role, such as supporting working memory, 

that are critical to both math and reading, and that may be contributing to the difficulties more generally, rather than the brain regions associated specifically with 

just reading or math. The outcome of this work is likely to aid in determining avenues for intervention for children with these learning disabilities. 

SOURCES

Ashkenazi, S., Black, J.M., Abrams, D.A., Hoeft, F., & Menon, V. (2013). 

Neurobiological underpinnings of math and reading learning disabilities. Journal 

of Learning Disabilities, 46(6), 549–569. Available at http://doi.org/10.1177/ 

0022219413483174. 

Branum-Martin, L., Fletcher, J.M., & Stuebing, K.K. (2013). Classification and identification of reading and math disabilities: the special case of comorbidity. Journal 

of Learning Disabilities, 46(6), 490–499. Available at http://doi.org/10.1177/ 

0022219412468767. 

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Evans, T.M., Flowers, D.L., Napoliello, E.M., Olulade, O.A., & Eden, G.F. (2014). 

The functional anatomy of single-digit arithmetic in children with developmental 

dyslexia. Neuroimage, 101, 644–652. Available at http://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuro 

image.2014.07.028. 

Willcutt, E.G., Petrill, S.A., Wu, S., Boada, R., Defries, J.C., Olson, R.K., & Pennington, B.F. (2013). Comorbidity between reading disability and math disability: 

concurrent psychopathology, functional impairment, and neuropsychological functioning. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 46(6), 500–516. Available at http:// 

doi.org/10.1177/0022219413477476. 

[Whereupon, at 11:55 a.m., the hearing was adjourned.] 

Æ 

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