We’ve all had that one student. The tiny voice rule-follower, sitting quietly at the edge of the circle. Sure, Kiara seems shy. But she also appears engaged in her favorite book, happily turning pages one after another. In truth, Kiara is at risk for dyslexia.
Skills that mask a deficit of reading skills.
Kiara has amazing oral language skills and visual memory. Her home life is language-rich, with an abundance of shared dialogue. Stories are read to her each night. This exposure allows Kiara to predict text based on picture clues, syntax and semantics. No wonder Kiara’s teacher thinks she “looks like a reader”.
Students with Dyslexia often struggle with phonemic awareness.
Phonemic awareness is one of the 5 Components of Reading. It’s the ability to isolate, delete, blend and manipulate the sounds in language, and Kiara struggles with it. That’s why she’s silent when it’s time to chant rhymes. Trouble with phonemic awareness can be predictive of reading performance in later years.
Struggles become issues.
Without a comprehensive approach to screening for foundational literacy skills, students like Kiara often get overlooked — until second grade, or sometimes even later. More complex texts mean she can no longer rely on memorizing words and picture clues. Deficits in decoding begin to surface. We frequently hear teachers say, “How did you get this far without knowing how to read?”
Early intervention rewrites Kiara’s story.
EarlyBird empowers teachers to spot weaknesses in phonemic and phonological awareness, sound-symbol correspondence, as well as oral language and naming speed. With EarlyBird, teachers have the tools they need to identify and target specific skill deficits, so students like Kiara can continue their growth and foster a love of reading.