In 2015, the Office of Special Education Programs published a letter stating that school teams were “not prohibited” from using the term “dyslexia”.
Unfortunately, this letter left many questions unanswered and is often misinterpreted.
Parents seeking out services for their children are still unsure how to advocate for appropriate services in their schools and communities.
School teams are still unsure about what they’re “permitted” vs. “required” to do.
Professionals are unsure who is qualified or responsible for identifying students with dyslexia and other learning disabilities.
That’s why I invited Tom Parton to episode 178 of De Facto Leaders to discuss legal mandates, ethical obligations, and factors school teams should consider when making decisions about curriculum and assistive technology.
Tom Parton is a private Speech Language Pathologist in Normal, Illinois. He retired after 35 years of public-school practice. Tom is President of Everyone Reading Illinois and is a member of ERI’s Legislative Committee. Tom has presented on autism and language/literacy topics at local, state, and national conferences. Tom participated in the ISBE Reading Instruction Advisory Group and Teachers of Reading Certification task forces. He is currently a member of the ISBE Dyslexia Handbook revision team. He is past-president of the Illinois Speech-Language-Hearing Association and is ISHA Honors Committee co-chair and a member of ISHA’s Leadership Development Committee. Tom is the 2024 chair of the American Speech Language Hearing Association Committee of Ambassadors.
In this conversation, we discuss:
✅What do federal guidelines require when it comes to identifying and serving students with reading/writing disabilities?
✅Picking the right battles to fight: Do we focus on the labels or the services and curriculum?
✅Who is qualified or responsible for diagnosing dyslexia?
✅The ethical problem with giving up on word-decoding in secondary school.
✅What skills do students need to effectively use assistive technology for reading, writing, and spelling?
Additional resources mentioned in this episode:
In this episode, I mention the
School of Clinical Leadership, my program that helps related service providers develop a
strategic plan for putting
executive functioning support in place in collaboration with their school teams.
You can learn more about that program here: https://drkarendudekbrannan.com/clinicalleadership
You can get 25% off either program when you join between September 15-October 15. Just enter coupon code RIF25 on the checkout page to get this special rate.
*If you’re already a member of either program and you refer a friend, tell them to email me at talktome@drkarenspeech.com if they join and let me know you referred them and I’ll send you a $100 referral bonus.
Here’s what you can do right now to support this campaign and ensure you don’t miss any of these amazing interviews/commentary.
- Go to Apple, Spotify, or any other directory you use for podcasts and subscribe to the De Facto Leaders podcast.
- Once you listen to an episode or two, leave me a rating and review. This helps get my show into the hands of people who need the information.
- Do you have a colleague or friend who needs to learn more about the research surrounding language and literacy? Do you want to spread the word about practices and ideas you’d like to see in your school, community, or state? If so, tell them about the De Facto Leaders podcast so they can listen to all the episodes in this special campaign.
Reading Is Fundamental is a nonprofit that focuses on connecting educators and families with materials and training aligned with evidence-based literacy instruction. Not only is their model aligned with the science of reading; they also offer unique book ownership solutions for professionals and families to address book equity issues. You can learn more about
Reading Is Fundamental here: https://www.rif.org/
We’re thrilled to be sponsored by IXL.
IXL’s comprehensive teaching and learning platform for math, language arts, science, and social studies is accelerating achievement in 95 of the top 100 U.S. school districts. Loved by teachers and backed by independent research from Johns Hopkins University, IXL can help you do the following and more:
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Ready to see why leading districts trust IXL for their educational needs? Visit IXL.com/BE today to learn more about how IXL can elevate your school or district.What is De Facto Leaders?
On the De Facto Leaders podcast, host Dr. Karen Dudek-Brannan helps pediatric therapists and educators become better leaders, so they can make a bigger impact with their services. With over 15 years of experience supporting school-age kids with diverse learning needs, Dr. Karen shares up-to-date evidence-based practices, her own experiences and guest interviews designed to help clinicians, teachers, and aspiring school leaders feel more confident in the way they serve their students and clients. She’ll cover a range of topics designed to help you support students' emotional and academic growth and set kids up for success in adulthood, including how to support language, literacy, executive functioning, and how to help IEP teams working together to support kids across the day. Whether you want to learn more effective strategies for your therapy session or classroom, be a more influential leader on your team, or find creative ways to use your skills to advance in your career, Dr. Karen has you covered.