Dyslexia Canada1 reports that as much as 20% of the population have a learning disability, and Dyslexia is not only the most common, affecting about 750,000 Canadians, it is also the most often misdiagnosed of these disabilities.
This condition has no cure, no drug that can be taken, no surgery or operation can change or reverse it. The only solution is to ‘retrain’ their brains to make sense of letters and words. However, this often takes a more one-on-one approach as many dyslexic children simply cannot operate within a standard school system.
This individual approach is best accomplished while children are still young. Reading and writing are skilled-learned abilities that require more intensity and training than natural learned abilities, such as speaking. Multiple scientific studies have shown that intervention is best started when children are early in their school career, optimally in Kindergarten or Grade one.
Recently, Human Rights Commissions across Canada have urged provincial education ministries to make changes to their reading curriculum. The suggestions or recommendations are to adjust from a “Balanced Literacy” approach to a more effective “Evidence-Based Reading Instruction.”
They have also suggested that dyslexic students—and other students with learning disabilities—be given a more direct and personal relationship with educators.
Provincial Direction
While Provincial Ministries approve education procedures and direction, they basically leave the curriculum up to the individual school boards. In both Quebec and Ontario, a few school boards have adopted a more individual approach— but most haven’t.
In 2024, the Ontario Ministry of Education will invest a combined CAN$83 million to allow the school boards to purchase a program based on the proven ‘Orton Gillingham Approach’. While these programs should help children with ADHD or other learning difficulties, dyslexic students often require a more personal approach.
“All the teacher training money is going towards changing classroom instruction, none— or very little—is going towards ensuring dyslexic kids have timely access to evidence-based reading intervention—which is the point of the Right to Read Inquiry. This is required to remove systemic barriers for children with dyslexia,” said Natalie Gallimore, research lead for the parent-based advocacy group, Decoding Dyslexia Ontario.
“Children with ADHD, English language learners, from low SES (Socio Economic Status) or with poor vocabularies also stand to benefit and these children may never become struggling readers if the new curriculum is understood, improved upon, and followed with fidelity,” she continued.
In essence, while “Structured Literacy” will help many students, those with a medium-to-severe level of dyslexia will not improve without timely, targeted, and intensive small group or even individual tutoring.
“While the Ministry (of Ontario) provided extra money to Boards to catch kids-up, kids with dyslexia, by and large, were not offered the intervention service because they are the most behind, rather, children that are ‘slightly behind’ without a known dyslexia diagnosis were selected,” finished Gillimore, pertaining to the Covid disruption in educational services.
Alicia Smith, executive director of Dyslexia Canada, is also concerned with the decision to remove cursive handwriting and printing instruction in 2006. “That doesn’t mean that all teachers stopped teaching it, but was no longer mandatory and the approach was very inconsistent. In September 2023, both of those things became mandatory again when the new provincial language curriculum came into effect. This was never backed by evidence, and was huge disservice to students,” she said.
In Quebec, part of their approach has been to acknowledge that Dyslexic students, and other special needs students were not labelled as socially ‘mal-adjusted’, or handicapped. The following addendum became part of the education act in Quebec:
The Education Act stipulates that each student has the right to receive; “preschool education services and elementary and secondary school services (…)” Students are “also entitled to (…) student services and special education services (…) within the scope of the programs offered by the school board.”
In the year 2000, the Ministère de l’Éducation (Quebec) adopted the policy on “Special Education Adapting Our Schools to the Needs of All Students”. This was enacted to ensure that students who had difficulties in their schooling will be given proper support – including more individualized attention.
A study by the Quebec Auditor General conducted from 2020-2022 made several recommendations to the Ministère de l’Éducation. It showed that, among other things, cancellation of Ministry Assessments in June 2022 and for the 2020-2021 school year deprived the Ministry and CSS (Centre de Services Scolaire) of the necessary information required to understand and adjust any delays or learning disabilities.
However, it also showed that the Ministry invested CAN$88 million and various measures (main program being tutoring) to reduce the effects of the pandemic.
Destigmatizing Dyslexia
The Canadian Dyslexia Centre has been working to destigmatize dyslexia since the mid 1980s.
Louise Ward, who has a son who is dyslexic, wasn’t seeing any improvement in the public school system, so she began researching and learning the Orton Gillingham Approach, and using it to educate her son. From initially having 2 or 3 students, the centre in the Glenwood Plaza in Aylmer, Quebec, quickly outgrew its space and moved to a larger building.
The Dyslexia Centre created a program to help dyslexic children learn to read and write, based on the previously mentioned approach. This proven system is based on teaching students to see one letter, one sound, and write one word at a time. The program had amazing results, with many of former students moving on to better lives – and careers – as a result.
By the late 1980’s they moved to an even larger space in Ottawa, where they then opened a fully accredited private school. The school, Heritage Academy, now situated on Bayswater Avenue opened in 1989.
The Program offered at Heritage Academy through the Dyslexia Centre has proven more than effective. The school has become more than a school for Dyslexic students, but has incorporated learning skills for many other reading and learning disabilities.
Phillippe Morin, of Aylmer, is a former student at Heritage Academy. Morin is now a psychotherapist, operating a clinic in Gatineau. He attributes his ability to further his education to his time spent at Heritage Academy and the program developed by The Dyslexia Centre.
“I was in the school in 1994, and it helped me to understand my issues with dyslexia. The school gave me the tools I needed, which I couldn’t get in the public school system. I never thought I would even graduate High School, but I ended up earning a Master’s Degree and more (…). I’m very grateful for what Louise and the school did as far as my dyslexia and learning disabilities in a time when (dyslexia) was not recognized and students were much maligned,” said Morin.
Another former student, John Ward, who has recently co-authored a book called Indigenous Disability Studies, was a student at Heritage Academy. As a severely dyslexic child, he was the inspiration for Louise to start the Dyslexia Centre. John graduated in the year 2000, went on to accomplish a Master’s degree and then earned his Ph.D. at the University of Ottawa several years later.
In Quebec, diagnosing dyslexia can only be accomplished by a registered physician or psychologist but identifying students with learning disorders of any kind is the key to ensuring they get the proper help they need. Schools and teachers can recognize a reading or writing issue with a specific student and recommend a more personal approach, without a diagnosis.
“Teachers and educators must be able to deal more closely with children at a young age, to determine their level of reading and writing skills – not just for dyslexic children, but for all types of learning disorders. They must be able to have more direct interaction with students,” explains Louise Ward.
School Boards leading the Charge In 2021, the Saskatoon School Board dropped the use of The Fountas & Pinnell Benchmark Assessment Systems in favour of universal screening measures, which allow teachers to conduct literacy tests up to three times a year. This enables teachers to understand which students will need more direct help. This Saskatoon School Board has since adopted the Evidence-Based Learning approach.
“This change allows teachers to provide structured and explicit literacy instruction that was not feasible under the previous assessment and instructional model,” reported Dyslexia Canada.
In Vancouver, the Cowichan Valley School District has been using this system since 2022 and is reporting great success.
“It’s not a top-down or bottom-up situation; it’s been a collaborative effort where everyone has come together, focused on improving reading achievement,” associate superintendent Darlene Reynolds explained. “Teachers drive change when they believe it benefits their learners and they have confidence in their ability to enact it,” she was quoted.
The improvements have been amazing and significant, reports the district.
The Near North District School Board in Ontario began their changes in 2019.
“We recognized the need for systemic changes to improve outcomes for children with dyslexia and reading difficulties. (…) well ahead of the provincial mandate in Ontario. Their forward-thinking approach and dedication have set a precedent for other school boards across the province. In recognition of their successful efforts, the NNDSB Literacy team has been honoured with the 2024 Dyslexia Canada Educational Excellence Awards,” reports Dyslexia Canada.
“While dyslexia and other learning disorders need to be diagnosed by medical professionals, it should not require a medical diagnosis just to see that a child isn’t ‘getting it’ when it comes to reading and writing. They can be assessed (not diagnosed) by a teacher, or educator and see if they need more direct involvement. This one step would go a long way to helping these kids out,” finished Ward.
Links
1. https://www.blogger.com/blog/post/edit/308241027472117459/7972606665884067531?hl=en
To learn more about this issue you can go to: https://decodingdyslexiaon.org or https://dystinct.org/partner/decoding-dyslexia-quebec
To read the Ontario Human Rights report, please visit: https://www.ohrc.on.ca/en/ right-to-read-inquiry-report/reading-interventions
Colin Clarke is the former publisher and columnist of the The Informer, a weekly English newspaper previously publishing in Gatineau, Quebec. He has spent the last 2 decades working in communications for the National Research Council in Ottawa, Ontario. He currently works as a freelance writer. He can be reached at [email protected].
