The Importance of Early Dyslexia Identification ft. Amy Dobronyi of COKID

Lots of parent groups, and they're all in different forms of, you know, as any volunteer organization is. It's about what people bring to that table and what their passion is. So for our audience, for people watching and listening to this, if they're a parent of a dyslexic kid, or if they're just interested in helping out, like, what's the, how can they get involved?

That's a really great question. You know, we definitely need help, Cokehead. We, the pandemic really took a hit on people's ability, their bandwidth to support. We, we definitely need volunteers that can help with social media and, you know, outreach and supporting parents and, you know, people have so many gifts and we need all those gifts at the door. But, and as far as local districts, coming together, parents are very powerful together and they speak truth and coming together and really advocating in your school district and, and speaking those truths and speaking it to your school boards, who you elect, who are using your taxpayer funds to teach.

And, you know, teachers are very, you know, teachers are very, you know, teachers are very involved in all of this. There's a lot of teachers who desperately want to help our kids and they need help helping our kids. And so that's part of that work too. But I'm open to your thoughts on, on this as well, because we definitely all need to be there helping. Yeah. And I think it's a good perspective just to realize that, like just, maybe just contact a local organization and see either what's needed or coming from the perspective of what you have to offer.

That's sort of, that is sort of your natural, natural wheelhouse. Yeah, absolutely. I mean, skills, passion, all of that's helpful. You know, always funds are very helpful. They help us, you know, keep our website going and pay those bills and all that kind of stuff as well. And so it's not all just coming out of our pockets, which is very often been the case. So that's always very helpful. But it really is people and their passion and their truths that make that huge difference.

And, you know, when the first piece of legislation around dyslexia that we really were more a part of happened, we had close to six hours of testimony from parents and kids and teachers, and it was moving and it was important. And I think it really helps show the legislature that this is really a problem, because I think they tend to not recognize the level of issue. And especially with everything that's happened in the last years, we really got to remind them that this hasn't gone away.

And if anything, it's exacerbated by everything happening. I think that's a really good segue, actually, into we were hoping that you could talk a little bit more about the kind of statewide legislation and and the sort of the current state of things there. So do you want to talk about maybe this this past legislative session a little bit? Sure. So this last legislative session, excuse me, in Colorado begins in January, typically ends about in May.

And there was a bill that was introduced that was really about ensuring that our current READ Act was finding our kids, because there are many assessments out there the way that they're currently administered. So although we have the READ Act, we have all those assessments, it's missing a lot of our kids that have dyslexia. And there's other reasons kids struggle to read. So really shifting to a reactive model, to more of a proactive early risk.

There's a lot that can be done while the kids' brains are very malleable and they haven't had that time to get behind, I guess you could say. Because it takes four times as long to catch up if we wait till third grade, as if we're doing it preschool and kindergarten and first grade. So there's a lot of early risk that we can identify and intervene very effectively, and it's not harmful. Like a kid is struggling in phonemic awareness, you know, that's that ability to hear the individual sounds in our speech and really identify those and manipulate those.

A core deficit of dyslexia. That can be very play-based and very fun for a preschooler and a kindergartner and a first grader to work on. So really getting to that early risk model more than a reactive, how is a child going to do on the state assessment, see math, and moving that to there's a risk in this subcomponent area. Let's identify it, let's do something about it, let's help our education field, our teachers to really understand what those indicators are in various areas, not just dyslexia, but areas that are very common with oral language difficulties and dysgraphia and so forth.

So that legislation was really about that, and it was introduced, and unfortunately, essentially was killed in two weeks. And we don't really truly understand all the reasons why. We know that there were some things that some groups were really upset about, and unfortunately, we never had a chance. None of anybody had a chance to come together and have conversations about those. It was just gone. So I really hope that we have another chance to have partnership and bring something forward that could help all kids, and especially those that parents don't have the resources or the knowledge, because no kid comes with a guidebook on what you should do, right?

So really arming our field to help our kids early, before all of the mental health and just even the difficulties catching up. I hope I answered that. If there's more, please let me know. As you can tell, I can literally talk about this. And my kids will be like, oh, no, she's on a roll. Everyone's split.

Just one quick follow-up. Go ahead. Yeah, no, go ahead. I guess maybe, you know, I think I have my opinions about this, but I'd like to hear your views on it. Why is it so important to have this kind of legislation at the state level, you know, rather than letting each kind of school district make their own decisions about how to manage dyslexia identification?

That's a very good question. I think that it, I can't remember how many independent school districts we have in the state. I think it's like over 160. I can't actually remember how many off the top of my head. But the level of advocacy it's taken for the school districts that are doing dyslexia screening, the level of advocacy it's taken for parents and from teachers or institutions, in some cases just the teachers, is so extreme that there really is not that a level of knowledge out there or time.

I mean, if you're a single mom trying to keep food on a table, do you really have time to do all the school board meetings? I mean, like, the level of work it takes is not equitable and it's not okay. So I think that state level is so important, but I really actually think it's like a top-down, bottom-up is needed to really make that change. So I think it's a both, but that legislation, I think, is necessary.

And I think at last count, I should have looked this up, but I think it's 34, maybe even 39 other states in California have mandated dyslexia screening. And we are not doing it. I mean, we think, some of us think we are, but we're not. Our kids are very missed. And there are some, actually, sorry, let me scratch that for a second. Just to respond to what you said, yeah, I think your point about the equity is really key there.

You know, there might be some districts, like Boulder Valley School District, where screening is happening because parents have advocated for it. I'm actually not sure if that's true. Actually, the parents have worked very tirelessly in Boulder Valley. Yeah, I thought it was. But, you know, this is a pretty, you know, well-funded, wealthier school district and not all the school districts are going to have that kind of parent, you know, time to commit to the advocacy.

And so that's why I think it's really important to get the kind of top-down requirements that you talked about. Yeah. And, you know, in the case of Boulder Valley, they've really proved it's possible to do this without a lot of added expense. They're actually using a free screener, and I've partnered with the University of Colorado's education students to bring that forward. And so I think they've actually proven that it's – and I'd be interested to see their data long run on the long term more longitudinally, but they've also shown us that it costs more not to than it is.

You know, there's a real – not just human cost, but there's actually a cost to the system in not doing this while it's not difficult to do, if that makes sense. So I think in some ways, you know, I still am hearing from teachers like, oh, I would get in trouble if I said dyslexia. Like, I think we also need legislation from – to really support those teachers who want to do the work and be able to point back and go, oh, but the state says that we're supposed to be doing this, too.

So there's just very varying levels of knowledge in the field. And I would say nationwide that's the case, not just – we're not special, even though we're miles away, we're not special. Yeah, so definitely it sounds like there's these very specific programs that are good models for early screening. Is there anything – any other aspect of what you'd hope to see, maybe with actually the remediation itself, for example, that are some good examples of districts or, you know, at whatever level that is just really doing things well?

You know, those – that is not an easy answer. Everything is – everything is layered and nuanced, right? So I wish I could just go, ah, but they're doing an amazing job there. I think that there are systems around the country that have shown us that this can be done very effectively. But there's a lot of confusion, I think, around – there's not a lot of confusion about what we should do, but there's a lot of confusion about how to go about that and what is the best way to do that effectively.

But I honestly think if I could wave my magic wand, it would be that we're not looking at children through a composite score, but we're looking at children, meaning we're not taking all the scores in their various areas. And our kids with dyslexia have many strengths, and they have weaknesses, and when you pop them all together, that number looks very average. They're very good – I'm making a huge generalization here – but they're very good at those compensatory strategies.

So really digging down into those subcomponent areas, and when I mean subcomponent, your reading is a – if you're familiar with the reading rope, it is many different strands of skills that are very expertly interwoven to be a competent reader. So really getting into those individual subcomponent areas to ensure that children are growing appropriately there to build a strong, competent, not just reader, but writer. And those two are so interwoven, and it's kind of like the out-breath and the in-breath.

Out-breath is writing, and in-breath is reading. So they're so interwoven together in oral language and so forth. So if I could wave my magic wand, it would really be that shifting very early and really being very diagnostic and prescriptive in how we're meeting those kids' needs. Yeah, and I want to emphasize the point you made about sort of looking at digging into sort of all aspects of a child's performance and abilities rather than just their average.

Because I think, you know, what we've observed is a lot of dyslexic kids aren't maybe necessarily doing great in school, but they're also not necessarily doing, like, badly enough or they're not being disruptive enough or whatever to get sort of the attention from the schools that they need also. I think that you're really touching on an important point, and that is, which is more of an aside to what I'm saying, but I think it's really, really important as well, which is looking at that child very holistically and what is this child struggles.

And yes, comparing them to the, let's say, 100 other kids, this child's looking darn average, but this particular child is actually gifted, and they're really performing down here in that very low average. And are they really at where they're capable of being, and what can we do to support and scaffold them to be there? And I think that's an incredibly important conversation to have as well.

Yeah, I'm wondering, I guess, taking the parent perspective here a little bit, and just with all, you have so many actually different hats here, too, just with the masters you're getting and all of this knowledge that's coming out from that perspective, too, plus your advocacy and your personal experience. Really big question, but just what comes to mind as top tips for parents of dyslexic kids from your perspective and from all these different hats that you're wearing?

That's such a good question. I think so many times parents are so fearful. Let's take it from the hat if they have the means and the ability to get them remediation. I think there's a really important balance with our kids and not communicating, overly communicating that they need to be fixed, that there's something wrong with them. They need things that fill their buckets and that give them a sense of joy and pride in who they are.

And so I think it's so important that, you know, I do some private tutoring, and when it's time for a kid to go off and do a camp and to have fun, like horse camp or this, that's so important to prioritize. Because these kids, you know, they're going to school and their entire day is difficult. Like, there's something easy about school. We're asking them to do some of the most vulnerable things they're doing for, what, eight, six, eight hours a day.

That we need to be really intentional in that filling their cup and giving them something that really brings them joy, whether that's art for them or horse riding or, in my son's case, bike riding or, in my daughter's case, craft, you know, RD type stuff. Where are their passions and how can we ensure that? So I think that's number one for me as we prioritize their soul, I guess is how I would say that.

And then that second piece is really continually communicating to them the gifts of who we see as their parents and really that, I would say, loving them very unconditionally. Because I think that they take on so much of the negative messaging that they hear and to have someone who's very emphatically speaking truths. I don't know about you guys, but my, my two, my husband too, can see straight through me if I'm not being truthful about, oh, you're brilliant.

And my daughter's like, yeah, I'm really not brilliant with that. What are you talking about, mom? But, you know, when she is brilliant with like math to really talk about, wow, like, I can't believe, I mean, honestly, she's doing math. I can't even begin to understand, but, all through her years of really being truthful about what gifts she has. And, and, so I guess those would be mine. I'm sure I have catch me on another day and I'll have even more thoughts, but, prioritizing, nurturing their souls is probably.

And their sense of worth in the world would be my, my best, sense of advice or my best piece of advice, I should say. Yeah, that's really, I think it's important advice to bring up because, you know, all of the rest of what we're talking about, I think can easily become so much the focus that that part has to get brought up. So that we don't forget that part that's so important and crucial.

Yeah. And I'm not saying remediation isn't extremely important. Yeah. it's just also. Yes. Having it be worth, you know, worth their, their living for and being there for. Right. Yeah. Absolutely. It's really good advice. So I guess, anything else that you'd like to add? And also where can anyone reach you? You know, if they're in Colorado, especially. probably the easiest way. My last name is so hard for people. so, ironic that, I'm in the world of dyslexia and it's so hard to spell and pronounce.

but you can find us at co kid.org. and some of the tools are there. So co kid.org and, emails are there. I can find me there as well. so as far as like takeaways, I just ask that you really tune in and pay attention, especially if legislation comes up this year, cause we're desperately going to need, the voices of what's really happening so that, people understand this isn't an isolated group of parents who are kind of annoying and show up and talk and sunny mills and, but is really speaking for an entire group in the state and nationwide too.

and just continuing to show up and, speak those truths to power and advocate for kids whose parents are not aware or don't have the ability to, to advocate for them. And, and then also your own child too. But, I would say that's where the desperate need is.

Thank you so much for being here with us and making all these really important points. And thank you for all your advocacy as well. It's very important. And I know it's like drinking from a fire hose. Like I'm super aware of that it's drinking from a fire hose, but that it's okay not to know. And that, you know, that disinformation comes and we're all just stepping into that spaces of vulnerability constantly.

Right. So that would be my other piece. I don't know what you want to do. Yeah, no, that's, that's really important to remember. And, yeah, it's just kind of like what we were saying when we were saying about getting involved in the advocacy, just kind of take that step forward towards that and then vulnerably and then can see from there. Yeah. Thank you so much. Thank you.