Supporting Dyslexic Students Who Struggle with Phonics-Based Reading Instruction.

Supporting Dyslexic Students Who Struggle with Phonics-Based Reading Instruction. 

Questions parents or teachers should ask on the topic of supporting dyslexic students who struggle with phonics-based reading instruction:

- My child has received intensive phonics tutoring but is still not able to read fluently. What could be causing their continued reading difficulties?

- What are some reasons why some dyslexic students do not learn to read even after explicit and systematic phonics instruction?

- My student with dyslexia seems to be hitting a wall with their Orton-Gillingham tutoring. How can I support them to make more progress in reading?

- What supplemental interventions, accommodations, or supports can teachers provide to dyslexic students who are not responding as expected to phonics-based reading programs? 

- How can we motivate and encourage students who are feeling frustrated, defeated or resigned about their lack of reading progress despite phonics tutoring?

- My child can decode words but struggles to understand what they are reading. How can I help build their reading comprehension skills?

- What assistive technology tools are available to help provide access to grade-level content for dyslexic students who continue to struggle with reading fluency?

- How should we monitor the progress of dyslexic students during and after intensive phonics-based reading intervention to identify ongoing areas of weakness?

- What role can speech-language therapy play in supporting dyslexic students who are not responding to phonics instruction as hoped?

- How can teachers effectively accommodate and modify instruction for dyslexic students who don't make expected progress with reading, without lowering academic standards?

Abstract

Phonics-based reading programs like Orton-Gillingham are considered best practice for teaching reading to students with dyslexia. However, some subsets of dyslexic students continue to struggle with reading comprehension and fluency even after intensive phonics intervention. This article reviews the current research on dyslexic students who do not adequately respond to phonics-based reading instruction. It explores reasons why some students may not learn to read via phonics, including severe phonological processing deficits, weaknesses in oral language and vocabulary, and lack of motivation due to repeated reading failure. The article suggests supplemental supports to target these areas of weakness, including one-on-one language therapy, accessible literature at the student's listening comprehension level, assistive technology for reading, and interventions to build motivation and self-efficacy. It argues for an individualized approach that builds on the student's strengths and provides accommodations for continued reading challenges. More research is needed to determine how best to support the small subset of dyslexic students who continue to struggle after receiving the recommended phonics reading intervention.

Introduction

Phonics-based reading programs are widely acknowledged as the gold standard for reading instruction for students with dyslexia (IDA, 2018). Structured literacy interventions like Orton-Gillingham explicitly and systematically teach the mappings between graphemes (letters) and phonemes (sounds) to strengthen the phonological processing skills that are the core weakness in dyslexia. A wealth of research shows that systematic phonics instruction is essential for students with dyslexia to learn to read accurately and fluently (NRP, 2000; Torgeson et al., 2019).

However, some subset of dyslexic students fails to adequately respond to even intensive phonics-based reading intervention (Al Otaiba & Fuchs, 2002). These students may show ongoing struggles with reading fluency and comprehension, impeding their ability to gain vocabulary and knowledge from print. Unfortunately, there is a lack of research on why some dyslexic students do not respond to scientifically-based reading instruction and how best to support these challenging cases (Fuchs et al., 2012). This article reviews what is known about dyslexic students who struggle with phonics-based reading approaches and provides recommendations for supplemental instruction and accommodations to support these students.

Reasons Some Dyslexic Students May Not Respond to Phonics Instruction

There are several hypotheses for why some dyslexic students continue to struggle after explicit phonics tutoring:

Severe Phonological Deficits: Students with severe phonological processing deficits may have difficulty internalizing and retaining letter-sound correspondences (Kilpatrick, 2015). For these students, the intensity and duration of phonics intervention may need to be increased.

Oral Language Weaknesses: Some dyslexic students have co-occurring language disorders, impairing their vocabulary development and listening comprehension (Bishop & Snowling, 2004). These students may decode words accurately but struggle to comprehend text meaning.

Lack of Motivation/Self-Efficacy: Students who have experienced repeated reading failure often develop low motivation and self-efficacy (Margolis & McCabe, 2004). Their difficulty learning to read via phonics can compound these affective challenges.

Recommendations for Supplemental Instruction and Accommodations

For dyslexic students who continue to struggle after phonics intervention, experts recommend providing supplementary instruction and accommodations tailored to the individual student's needs:

- One-on-one language therapy with a speech-language pathologist to build oral language skills that support reading comprehension (ASHA, 2001).

- Accessible reading materials at the student's listening comprehension level to help them gain meaning from text when decoding remains challenging (Gough & Tunmer, 1986).

- Assistive technology like text-to-speech to provide alternate access to grade-level content while decoding catches up (Edyburn, 2003).

- Progress monitoring to identify areas of weakness and adjust instruction accordingly (Fuchs & Fuchs, 2006).

- Integration of motivational strategies, including highlighting the student's strengths and interests (Margolis & McCabe, 2004).

- Accommodations like extra time, oral examinations, and reduced reading/writing tasks to enable students to demonstrate knowledge without being impeded by reading challenges (Reid & Lienemann, 2006).

Conclusion and Implications

While phonics instruction is critical for students with dyslexia, there remains a subset of students who fail to make adequate progress even after receiving the recommended intensive reading intervention. More research is needed to determine why these students continue to struggle and how to tailor supplemental instruction and accommodations to their individual needs. With an individualized approach that builds on strengths while accommodating continued reading challenges, more dyslexic students can be supported to succeed in the classroom and beyond.