About Dyslexia and IEP Accommodations

Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that affects reading accuracy, fluency, and spelling. Students with dyslexia often have strong verbal reasoning and comprehension skills but struggle to decode written words. Without proper accommodations, they may fall behind in every subject that requires reading.

Key accommodations for dyslexia include text-to-speech technology, audiobooks, extended time on reading-heavy tasks, and alternative ways to demonstrate knowledge. Your child should not be penalized for spelling errors on content-area tests (science, social studies) when spelling is not the skill being assessed.

Dyslexia-specific interventions (like Orton-Gillingham-based instruction) are different from accommodations. Your child likely needs both: intervention to build reading skills and accommodations to access grade-level content while those skills develop. Make sure the IEP includes both, and that accommodations are available in every class.