Dyslexia Training Institute

08/30/2026

A good reader isn't necessarily a fast reader.

Speed gets a lot of attention when we talk about reading fluency, but faster isn't automatically better.

Fluent reading involves accuracy, appropriate rate, expression, and—most importantly—understanding what is being read.

For some students with dyslexia, reading may continue to require more time even as their skills improve. Pushing speed at the expense of accuracy or comprehension doesn't create a stronger reader.

The goal is meaningful, increasingly fluent reading—not winning a race through the page.

💙 What do you wish more people understood about reading fluency?

08/29/2026

Self-advocacy is a skill that has to be taught.

We often tell students to “speak up” when they need help—but knowing how to do that isn't automatic.

Students with dyslexia benefit from learning how to describe what helps them learn, ask for clarification, use their accommodations, and communicate when something isn't working.

Those skills become increasingly important as children get older and take more responsibility for their own education.

Self-advocacy isn't about expecting students to navigate everything themselves. It's about gradually giving them the language and confidence to have a voice in their own learning.

💙 What's one self-advocacy skill you think every student with dyslexia should learn?

08/29/2026

A student can be gifted and have dyslexia.

In fact, sometimes those exceptional abilities are exactly what make a learning difference harder to recognize.

A highly capable student may use strong reasoning, vocabulary, memory, or problem-solving skills to compensate for reading difficulties. From the outside, they may appear to be doing “fine.”

Meanwhile, their dyslexia may be masking just how advanced they are in other areas.

These students are often called twice-exceptional, or 2e—and identifying both sides of the equation matters.

We shouldn’t have to choose between supporting a student’s challenges and developing their strengths.

They deserve both.

Explore why twice-exceptional children can be overlooked and what they may need to thrive.

Read more:

Twice-exceptional, or 2e kids have exceptional ability but also disability. They may have ADHD, autism, dyslexia, or another learning disorder. And they have a unique set of issues that need addressing.

08/28/2026

Sometimes the most important part of an IEP meeting is what isn’t being said.

A student can have pages of goals, accommodations, services, and data—and still have fundamental needs that aren’t being adequately addressed.

For students with dyslexia, families and educators need to look beyond whether an IEP simply exists and ask a more important question:

Does this plan actually address this student’s reading needs?

Dr. Kelli Sandman-Hurley examines the conversations that need to happen when developing an appropriate IEP for a student with dyslexia.

Read more:

Dyslexia and the IEP. The heart of any meeting, including IEP meetings, is communication. But good, productive, cooperative communication is hard. In many situations comments and words can be taken out of context and twisted to fit the narrative of someone else’s point. Sometimes secondhand accoun...

08/28/2026

Vocabulary shouldn't have to wait for decoding to catch up.

Students with dyslexia may have difficulty independently reading words they can easily understand when they hear them.

That means we shouldn't limit the language, ideas, or content they're exposed to simply because their decoding skills are still developing.

Rich conversations, read-alouds, audiobooks, and explicit vocabulary instruction allow students to continue building knowledge while they receive the reading intervention they need.

We can work on foundational reading skills and keep feeding curiosity, language, and understanding at the same time.

💙 What's one way you help students build knowledge while their reading skills are developing?

08/28/2026

Effective reading instruction can change a student’s skills.

It doesn’t make dyslexia disappear.

Dyslexia is lifelong, and even students who have received excellent intervention may continue to experience challenges with reading fluency, spelling, writing, working memory, or the amount of effort required for reading.

That’s why progress shouldn’t automatically mean support is no longer needed.

The goal isn’t to “cure” dyslexia.

The goal is to give individuals with dyslexia the instruction, strategies, accommodations, and tools they need to become successful readers, learners, and self-advocates.

Take a closer look at why dyslexia remains even after a student receives appropriate reading instruction.

Read more:

Once your child has learned to read, does that mean his dyslexia is cured? An expert explains whether dyslexia goes away after proper reading instruction.

08/27/2026

We are excited to add Alaska to the list of states DTI is approved in!

08/27/2026

What if the child who “doesn’t want to read” actually desperately wants to—but reading has become associated with frustration, embarrassment, or failure?

There is an important difference between won’t and can’t yet.

When students repeatedly struggle with tasks that seem to come easily to their peers, avoidance can become a form of self-protection. Calling them lazy, unmotivated, or reluctant misses what may really be happening underneath.

Dr. Kelli Sandman-Hurley explores why we need to look beyond behavior and understand the reason a student may be avoiding reading.

Read more:

Lately, it seems like I have heard the term ‘reluctant reader’ more than usual. Maybe I am just listening more carefully, but every time I hear it, I am struck by the carelessness of the speaker using the term. Unfortunately (or fortunately), people who use that term are revealing much more abou...

08/27/2026

Reading fatigue is real.

When reading requires intense concentration, a task that seems simple to someone else can be mentally exhausting for a student with dyslexia.

That exhaustion can sometimes look like distraction, avoidance, frustration, or a sudden drop in effort. But before assuming a student doesn't want to do the work, it's worth considering just how much cognitive energy the task is requiring.

Recognizing reading fatigue doesn't mean removing appropriate expectations. It means understanding the effort involved and providing thoughtful supports while continuing to build reading skills.

Sometimes behavior is telling us, “My brain is tired.”

💙 What signs of reading fatigue have you noticed in your child or students?

08/27/2026

“I have dyslexia.”

Being able to say those words without embarrassment can be a powerful step toward self-advocacy.

Children need language to explain how they learn, what is difficult for them, and what helps them succeed.

Instead of teaching children to hide their learning differences, we can help them understand those differences—and eventually learn to advocate for what they need.

That might sound like:

“I need more time to read this.”

“Can I listen to the text?”

“It’s easier for me when you give me one direction at a time.”

Self-advocacy doesn’t suddenly appear in adulthood. We can start building it now.

Here are some practical ideas for helping children become more comfortable talking about their learning differences.

Read more:

Sometimes opening up about learning differently is hard, but with practice, the rewards can be huge. How to talk to kids about learning disabilities.