If you just received an At-Risk Letter, discover what to do with that information. Do you know which specific skill the dyslexia screener actually flagged? Most parents never find out, and that answer changes everything about what you do next. This episode will help you reframe a dyslexia screener as the eye chart, not the glasses.

By the end of this episode you'll be able to understand an at-risk letter for what it really says, and walk into the school with five questions that get you real answers.

More than half of US states now require schools to screen young children for reading risk, which is why these letters are suddenly being sent to parents. In Georgia, every student from kindergarten through third grade is screened three times a year, and the school has fifteen school days to notify you in writing.

I'm Tracy Young, an ALTA certified Orton-Gillingham tutor and mom to a dyslexic daughter. A screening takes five to twenty minutes and samples a few narrow skills. It's like the nurse at the pediatrician’s office saying your child should probably see an eye doctor. She didn't prescribe glasses.

Discover how to:

1.Tell the difference between a dyslexia screener and a full evaluation

2.Read the subscores and know which flag deserves a closer look

3.Send one email with five questions that starts a key paper trail

4.Spot the quieter signs in an older child who never got a letter at all

If you know another parent who received an at-risk letter about a dyslexia screener, please share this episode with them, tap follow, and leave a quick rating.

Cheers,

Tracy Young

Orton Gillingham Tutor

Find The Literacy Keys

Instagram: @theliteracykeys

Facebook: theliteracykeys

YouTube: @theliteracykeys

Website: TheLiteracyKeys.com

Chapters

00:00 Understanding the at-risk letter

04:15 Dyslexia Screeners: what they measure

08:33 Three things to know

12:10 Five questions to ask the school

19:47 Final thoughts

transcript

Picture your four-year-old standing on the front porch in a backpack that hangs down past their knees. Everybody is smiling for the first-day-of-preschool photo. Not one person in that picture is thinking about the early signs of dyslexia.

After this episode, you'll know what to watch for in a two year old toddler, in a four year old preschooler, and for a six year old child. Plus discover one easy thing to do that takes five minutes a day.

Brain differences linked to reading show up in babies who are still in diapers, years before anyone hands a child a book. Meanwhile, the average child in this country isn't identified until after the third grade. The windows are in the wrong order, and that gap is where families lose years they never needed to lose. I missed every one of these signs in my own daughter, which is exactly why I'm walking you through the early signs of dyslexia.

Learn to:

1. Recognize the early signs of dyslexia by age

2. Read your family tree like a detective

3. Explain what at risk actually means

4. Use the five-minute-a-day activity that predicts reading success

5. Ask your child's school the specific question about reading instruction

If you know another parent of a struggling reader who's been told to wait and see, please share this episode with them. Tap follow so next week's episode finds you, and leave a quick rating.

If you're seeing a cluster of these early signs of dyslexia in your child and you want a second set of eyes on it, book a free 15-minute consultation at https://theliteracykeys.com/contact/ No pressure and no pitch, just a clear next step.

Cheers, Tracy Young,

Orton Gillingham Tutor

The Literacy Keys

Find The Literacy Keys

Instagram: @theliteracykeys

Facebook: theliteracykeys

YouTube: @theliteracykeys

Website: TheLiteracyKeys.com

Resource mentioned:

Yu X, Ferradal S, Dunstan J, et al. "Patterns of Neural Functional Connectivity in Infants at Familial Risk of Developmental Dyslexia." JAMA Network Open, 2022: https://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamanetworkopen/fullarticle/2797787

Picture your child at the table, counting a small handful of coins for the third time while telling time on the clock is a total mystery. You’re concerned but aren’t sure why.

Let me share that dyscalculia symptoms rarely announce themselves in one dramatic moment. By the end of this episode, you'll know nine signs to look for; understand what is dyscalculia in plain language and discover five books that will make your journey feel a lot less lonely.

A while back, a family asked if I could help their dyslexic son with math. I said yes, and then went straight down the research rabbit hole. Dyslexia and dyscalculia travel together far more often than parents are told. Roughly 30% of kids who have dyslexia will also have dyscalculia. That doesn’t mean that you need to have dyslexia to have dyscalculia.

Here's what this episode hands you:

Recognize the nine dyscalculia symptoms parents and teachers miss: from telling time on an analog clock, to retrieving basic math facts. This will help you explain: “what is dyscalculia?” to your child's teacher, without any clinical jargon. Then discover 5 must-have books on the subject.

If your child is fighting reading or math and you are not sure where the foundation cracked, book a free 15-minute consultation at https://theliteracykeys.com/contact/ No pressure and no pitch, just a clear next step.

Lastly, if you know another confused parent, please share this episode with them, follow the show so next week's episode finds you, and leave a quick rating.

Cheers, Tracy Young

Orton Gillingham Tutor

Find The Literacy Keys

• Instagram: @theliteracykeys

• Facebook: theliteracykeys

• YouTube: @theliteracykeys

• Website: TheLiteracyKeys.com

Key Points

(00:00) What is dyscalculia?

(06:42) Recognizing signs of dyscalculia

(13:07) Dyscalculia challenges

(15:39) Recommended books on dyscalculia