North Lamar Independent School District

Dyslexia

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurobiological in origin. It is characterized by difficulities 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. (Adopted by the International Dyslexia Board of Directors, November 12, 2002).

Our Programs

Logo for Turbo Start, a dyslexia curriculum, featuring a race car design.

Turbo Start: A Dyslexia Curriculum for Newly Identified Students

Used at Everett, Aaron Parker and North Lamar Intermediate

Turbo Start: A Dyslexia Curriculum for Newly Identified Students with Dyslexia is a nine-week, evidence-based dyslexia intervention that can be used as part of a standard protocol dyslexia instruction program. The Turbo Start program provides a jump start for newly identified students with dyslexia who need comprehensive dyslexia intervention while awaiting placement in an intervention group. Turbo Start addresses five specific evidence-based components of reading intervention. Each component is taught developmentally, using a direct, systematic, cumulative, multisensory method of introduction and practice to meet the specific needs of newly identified students with dyslexia. Turbo Start is a complementary dyslexia instruction program, which provides comprehensive, intensive, evidence-based instruction for students who are identified off-cycle, and addresses characteristic weaknesses of students with dyslexia to support optimal growth once placed in a sequential reading intervention program.

Logo for Scottish Rite for Children's 'Take Flight' program, featuring a stylized airplane.

Take Flight

Used at Everett, Aaron Parker, North Lamar Intermediate, and Stone Middle School

Take Flight: A Comprehensive Intervention for Students with Dyslexia is a two-year curriculum written by the staff of the Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Learning Disorders at Scottish Rite for Children. Take Flight builds on the success of the three previous dyslexia intervention programs developed by the staff of Scottish Rite for Children: Alphabetic Phonics, the Dyslexia Training Program and Scottish Rite for Children Literacy Program.

Image promoting 'Jet,' a reading intervention program, featuring a stylized jet.

Jet: A Fast-Paced Reading Intervention

Used at Stone Middle School and North Lamar High School

JET: A Fast-Paced Reading Intervention is a one-year curriculum written by the staff of the Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Learning Disorders at Scottish Rite for Children. Jet builds on the success of the four previous dyslexia intervention programs developed by the Scottish Rite for Children staff: Alphabetic Phonics, the Dyslexia Training Program, the Scottish Rite for Children Literacy Program, and Take Flight Elementary.

Reading By Design

Used at Aaron Parker, North Lamar Intermediate, Stone Middle School

Reading by Design^®: An Individualized Literacy Intervention is a systematic, multisensory approach aligned with research-based practices for developing literacy. This intervention follows an intensive, explicit, and cumulative design for remediation of reading and writing skills at all grade levels. This comprehensive program addresses the following components: phonological awareness, sound-symbol association, six syllable types, written spelling patterns, morphology, syntax, reading fluency, and comprehension. Progress monitoring and review lessons are embedded throughout the program to inform student progress and promote reading and writing automaticity.

Turbo Start, Take Flight and Jet curriculum contain the five components of effective reading instruction identified by research from the National Reading Panel. All three curriculums address each component by:

- Phonemic Awareness – following established procedures for explicitly teaching the relationships between speech-sound production and spelling-sound patterns
- Phonics – providing a systematic approach for single-word decoding
- Fluency – using research-proven, directed practice in the repeated reading of words, phrases, and passages to help individuals read newly encountered text more fluently
- Vocabulary – featuring multiple word learning strategies (definitional, structural, contextual) and explicit teaching techniques with application in text
- Reading Comprehension – teaching individuals to explicitly use and articulate multiple comprehension strategies in narrative and expository text (i.e., cooperative learning, story structure, question generation and answering, summarization, and comprehension monitoring)

For details about the latest research, please view the Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Learning Disorders’ research summary at scottishriteforchildren.org/dyslexia

Meet Our Dyslexia Therapists

A smiling woman with dark hair and a light-colored sweater poses for a portrait.

Alexandria Walters, CALT
Dyslexia Therapist
North Lamar Intermediate and Stone Middle School
903.737.2061 903.737.2041
awalters@northlamar.net

A woman with curly brown hair smiles at the camera.

Miranda Hale, CALP
Dyslexia Therapist
North Lamar Intermediate School
903.737.2061
mhale@northlamar.net

A woman with blonde hair and glasses smiles at the camera.

Suzanne Culbertson, CALP
Dyslexia Therapist
North Lamar Intermediate School
903.737.2061
sculbertson@northlamar.net

A woman with blonde hair and a pearl headband smiles at the camera.

Kerri Layton, CALP
Dyslexia Therapist
Aaron Parker Elementary School
903.732.3066
klayton@northlamar.net

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Barbara Uselton
Reading By Design Certified
Aaron Parker Elementary School
903.732.3066
buselton@northlamar.net

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Brittney Moreland
Reading By Design Certified
North Lamar Intermediate School
903.737.2061
bmoreland@northlamar.net

A woman with glasses smiles at the camera, posing for a portrait.

Cheryl Thrasher
Reading By Design Certified
North Lamar Intermediate School
903.737.2061
cthrasher@northlamar.net

A woman with glasses smiles at the camera, posing for a portrait.

Dedra Dollins
Reading By Design Certified
North Lamar Intermediate School
903.737.2061
ddollins@northlamar.net

Lakisha Green
Reading By Design Certified
North Lamar Intermediate School
903.737.2061
lgreen@northlamar.net

Evaluation and Identification of Dyslexia

EVALUATION AND IDENTIFICATION OF DYSLEXIA

The Dyslexia Handbook streamlines the process for identification of dyslexia and clarifies that anytime the district suspects that the student has dyslexia or a related disorder, the district must seek parental consent for a Full Individual Initial Evaluation (FIIE) under the IDEA.

Child Find is a provision in the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), a federal law that requires the state to have policies and procedures in place to ensure that every student in the state who needs special education and related services is located, identified, and evaluated. The purpose of the IDEA is to ensure that students with disabilities are offered a free and appropriate public education (20 U.S.C. §1400(d); 34 C.F.R. §300.1). Because a student suspected of having dyslexia may be a student with a disability under the IDEA, the Child Find mandate includes these students. Therefore, when referring and evaluating students suspected of having dyslexia, LEAs must follow procedures for conducting a full individual and initial evaluation (FIIE) under the IDEA. (See the FAQ below.)

For detailed information regarding Child Find