Dyslexia Training for Teachers in Texas

Written by Sasha Blakeley

The Need for Dyslexia-Specialized Teaching in Texas

Dyslexia is a learning disability that is relatively common in children, though it can be diagnosed in adults as well. The primary characteristic of dyslexia is a pervasive difficulty with reading and sometimes with spelling. In most cases, dyslexia is diagnosed during a student's elementary school years, but some students only notice significant difficulties with reading and writing later in life. While research has varied, dyslexia may impact up to twenty percent of the US population, according to the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity, and it is by far the most common learning disability, accounting for between eighty and ninety percent of neuro-cognitive disorder diagnoses. Because dyslexia is so common and can result in significant difficulties for students as they try to complete their school assignments, there is a significant need for specialized teacher training for any teachers who might work with students with dyslexia.

In Texas, there are specific requirements for obtaining certification that can allow teachers to specialize in dyslexia-friendly education like TExES certification. Texas dyslexia law has changed over time to put a greater focus on screening students for dyslexia and providing specific instructional accommodations to support those students. Dyslexia training for teachers in Texas is a necessity, as teachers must be prepared to work with students with a wide range of learning disabilities and learning differences. Because most cases of dyslexia are detectable in early childhood, screening requirements in Texas focus primarily on students in kindergarten and first grade.

Fast Facts: Dyslexia Statistics in Texas

Understanding how dyslexia is handled in the Texas education system can help parents, students, and teachers engage with dyslexia-friendly education in a way that suits each student's needs. Here are some frequently asked questions about dyslexia statistics in Texas:

Screening for dyslexia usually takes the form of a series of tests to determine students' reading abilities, including the ability to recognize familiar or new words, understanding of syllables, spelling and phonics abilities, and more. These tests are generally administered by kindergarten and first-grade teachers who can receive specific training in dyslexia awareness and support.

Professional Development: Supporting Students with Dyslexia

Teachers in Texas have a number of options when it comes to professional development that will allow teachers to better support students with dyslexia. These professional development options can include various forms of classroom support for students with dyslexia. They can also include both mandatory and optional forms of teacher certification. Two important forms of dyslexia teacher certification in Texas include certification to become a dyslexia practitioner or a dyslexia therapist. Classroom training and support are great options for professional development that allow teachers to advance their skillsets without having to obtain a new degree. This can mean providing support to students in their own classroom as well as offering specific support within other classrooms or with a focus on particular students. The following are some of the ways that teachers can further their support of students with dyslexia.

Classroom Support

When it comes to dyslexia, schools in Texas can offer a wide range of support options at an individual classroom level, whether or not teachers pursue specific additional certifications. Some teachers may want to pursue non-degree courses to help them understand current evidence-based trends in dyslexia education, which can help them remain up-to-date on pedagogical research. With or without specialized courses, however, teachers working with students with dyslexia may want to try some of the following options to boost student engagement and to help students retain what they have learned even when they struggle with reading-based tasks and activities.

Providing Multi-Sensory Instruction

Students with dyslexia often struggle to parse written instructions or write long answers to questions. When delivering lessons, teachers should aim to provide multi-sensory instruction that allows students to understand the content of a lesson from a variety of perspectives. This often means delivering a verbal lesson while also providing visuals to improve student comprehension or providing a worksheet in addition to a video that explains the same information. Multi-sensory instruction helps students with dyslexia, and can boost other students' comprehension as well, making it a highly effective and relatively resource-light teaching strategy.

Creating an Inclusive Classroom

Dyslexia can be an isolating experience for students. It can make them feel unintelligent or insufficiently competent compared to their peers, even though dyslexia is not linked to lower overall intelligence. Creating an inclusive classroom means creating an educational space where all students are valued and considered important parts of the educational environment. It means destigmatizing learning disabilities, learning differences, and other experiences that students might have that can make education alienating or challenging for them. When teachers are able to create an inclusive classroom, students with dyslexia and other students are often better able to work together and express their educational needs, ultimately leading to a more respectful and productive classroom for all.

Exploring Differentiated Instruction

Differentiated instruction is a teaching strategy that researchers initially developed to help English language learners (ELLs) succeed in an English-speaking classroom. It involves teachers providing educational material at a variety of levels of linguistic complexity without sacrificing the lesson's content. In this way, all students can learn the same material at a level that they feel comfortable with. Differentiated instruction can be applied to students with dyslexia as well. Teachers may choose to provide different versions of educational material that caters to different reading levels, allowing students with dyslexia to keep up with classroom content without getting bogged down in complex reading exercises. Differentiated instruction should not be used when it is students' reading abilities that are the focus of a lesson. The purpose of this strategy is to help students with dyslexia meet non-reading-related learning objectives to free up time for them to focus on their reading during the time they might otherwise spend wrestling with complex written instructions for other subjects.

Texas Educator Dyslexia Endorsement Requirements

Teachers in Texas are not required to obtain specific dyslexia teaching certifications outside their regular teacher training, but they must have dyslexia-specific training. Dyslexia teacher certification in Texas begins with the same process as any regular teacher certification. Prospective teachers must start by obtaining a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university. While many future teachers opt to get degrees in education, there is no specific requirement for the subject of a teacher's undergraduate degree.

Next, teachers need to complete an approved Educator Preparation Program. These programs provide teachers with basic training that allows them to teach students with dyslexia. Following the completion of an Educator Preparation Program, teachers need to pass certification exams to prove their competence.

Then, aspiring educators will need to send in an application, complete fingerprinting and submit to a background check. Depending on the Educator Preparation Program, teachers may need to complete student teaching requirements before becoming fully-fledged teachers.

The Texas Department of Education releases Texas Education and Administration codes to help teachers determine whether they have met all of the requirements for their career. Educator Preparation Programs can be either general or specific, and teachers may wish to choose the areas in which they want to specialize depending on their educational goals. Some possible areas of specialization that Educator Preparation Programs offer in Texas include:

• English Language Arts and Reading (Grades 7-12)
• English as a Second Language Supplemental (all grades)
• Core Subjects (Grades 4-8)
• History (Grades 7-12)
• Mathematics (Grades 4-8)
• Mathematics (Grades 7-12)
• Physics/Mathematics (Grades 7-12)
• Physical Science (Grades 6-12)
• Social Studies (Grades 4-8)
• Special Education (all grades)

Teachers may choose to specialize in any of these areas, though those who are planning to work with elementary students may need broader certification in more subjects than secondary school teachers tend to.

Essential Course Content for Dyslexia Teacher Certification in Texas

All teachers technically receive dyslexia teacher certification in Texas because Texas Educator Preparation Programs offer instruction in working with students with various learning disabilities. According to the Texas Department of Education, any certified Educator Preparation Program must provide the following instruction to all teachers pursuing certification in Texas:

• Instruction about what dyslexia is and how students' experiences with dyslexia can impact learning outcomes
• Instruction about how to develop school-wide support systems to assist students with dyslexia
• Modules intended to help teachers provide effective classroom support for individuals with dyslexia
• Creating action plans to help teachers provide high-quality instruction for students with dyslexia

Educator Preparation Programs can help teachers begin their careers confident in their ability to make learning a positive experience for all students.

Dyslexia Training for Teachers in Texas: Dyslexia Practitioner vs Dyslexia Therapist

There are two specific kinds of training that teachers can pursue in addition to the general educator requirements for all teachers in Texas. These are the professions of dyslexia practitioner and dyslexia therapist. Becoming a dyslexia practitioner typically takes less educational effort and time than becoming a dyslexia therapist. Educators in Texas can become dyslexia practitioners by completing non-degree programs and passing licensure requirements. The title of Licensed Dyslexia Practitioner refers to a person with specialized training in working with individuals with dyslexia above and beyond what is expected from all teachers in Texas.

Dyslexia Practitioner

Pursuing licensure as a dyslexia practitioner can put instructors in high demand, as schools may be on the lookout for teachers who have specialist knowledge when it comes to working effectively with students with dyslexia at all ages. Texas schools do not have to employ dyslexia practitioners or dyslexia therapists, but they may choose to do so if they think it will benefit the student population. To become a dyslexia practitioner, individuals must already be licensed teachers and must complete instruction in multi-sensory language education as well as in-person classroom experience. They must also complete several demonstrations of their skills before being granted a license.

Dyslexia Therapist

Becoming a dyslexia therapist is relatively similar to becoming a dyslexia practitioner, though it has more intense educational requirements attached to it. Dyslexia therapists must have a master's degree, not only a bachelor's degree, before pursuing their training. While dyslexia practitioners are trained to provide specialist education for students with dyslexia, dyslexia therapists are considered experts in the subject of dyslexia and may work in schools, mental health services, and other institutions. Dyslexia therapists must complete many hours of practical and theoretical training as well as the multi-sensory language education training that dyslexia practitioners receive. If they complete the relevant master's degree education, dyslexia practitioners can upgrade their credential to dyslexia therapist within a year or two of intensive study.

Texas Dyslexia Accredited Programs

Several schools offer dyslexia training for teachers in Texas. Dyslexia schools in Texas typically offer training that allows teachers to become dyslexia practitioners, dyslexia therapists, or both. The following institutions are specifically offering training that goes beyond what's required for regular teacher licensing in Texas. These programs are for teachers who want to specialize in working with students with dyslexia and who are pursuing education beyond a bachelor's degree to achieve that end.

The Scottish Rite Learning Center

The Scottish Rite Learning Center of West Texas has a graduate program that prepares individuals to become dyslexia therapists. In addition to in-class learning, the program requires supervised teaching and demonstrations. Teachers who apply for the program must already have a bachelor's degree; they will receive a master's degree through the program, which typically takes two years to complete.

Rawson Saunders

Rawson Saunders is a school designed to suit the needs of students with dyslexia. It also has an associated Rawson Saunders Institute that offers training for teachers who are interested in becoming dyslexia practitioners or dyslexia therapists. The dyslexia practitioner program requires a bachelor's degree and takes between one and two years to complete. The dyslexia therapist program requires applicants to have a master's degree and takes between two and five years to complete.

MSU Texas

Midwestern State University Texas offers a Master of Education in Special Education Specializing in Dyslexia. The program prepares graduates to take examinations in order to receive certification as dyslexia therapists. Applicants must already have a teaching degree and must complete two years of graduate study as well as a practicum and closely observed teaching practice.

Dyslexia Center of Austin

The Dyslexia Center of Austin, Texas provides a variety of services for students with dyslexia as they make their way through the school system. They offer a Dyslexia Therapist Training Program that takes place over the course of two years. Like MSU and the Scottish Rite Learning Center, the Dyslexia Center of Austin uses a curriculum called Take Flight: A Comprehensive Intervention for Students with Dyslexia as the basis for its teaching strategy. To begin the program, students must have a bachelor's degree. To complete the post-program examinations, students need a master's degree.

Texas Dyslexia Training Project

The Texas Dyslexia Training Project offers a variety of teacher training programs for those who want to work with students with dyslexia. Currently, the project offers a dyslexia practitioner training program for those who already have a bachelor's degree. One notable difference between the Texas Dyslexia Training Project and other resources is that TDTP offers training that focuses particularly on dyslexia practitioners working with bilingual students. Because Texas has a large bilingual population, this specialization may be helpful for some teachers.