My child has a new dyslexia diagnosis. What should I ask for in the IEP?

It’s important to make sure the school is using a scientifically backed reading program. Find out what program(s) the school is using, and make sure the person administering reading support to your child is trained in it. Districts have multiple reading programs that they can pull from, and every child’s brain is different, so you may need to try more than one program to see what works. The psychologist who diagnosed your child could have recommendations for specific research-based dyslexia remediation programs. Remember: it’s not that your child can’t learn to read; they just need to be taught to read in a different way, by someone with specific training to teach that way.

Make sure there are IEP goals to support the area(s) of need. Check in with your IEP team regularly to see if progress is being made. If not, you could ask for an IEP meeting to discuss what changes need to be made. Does your child need more services? Do you need to rewrite some goals? You can also ask your child about what’s working and not working for them.

No matter a child’s reading ability, it’s important that they’re still accessing the grade-level curriculum. How are they accessing social studies, history, and science, for example? How are they accessing the book the whole class is reading and then having discussions about? Even while our kids are struggling to read, we want them to be getting content in those other areas so that they're building vocabulary, inferencing skills, and higher-level comprehension skills. You may want to request an assistive technology evaluation to see if any AT could help with access to the curriculum.

Be sure to read our full article about dyslexia for more ideas about IEP support.