The Science of Reading: How It Informs Our Understanding of Dyslexia

Personal Note:

Hi everyone,

We apologise for our absence and inconsistency in keeping up with social media trends. As literacy tutors trying to build a literacy business, we often get caught up in day-to-day tasks, making it difficult to find time to sit and write. However, we recognise the importance of being consistent, especially during this month, which shines a light on what we do every day.

Dyslexia and other learning disabilities are challenging for the student, the parent, and the teacher/tutor. We are all doing our best with the knowledge and resources we have, and sometimes, we need more, which can be mentally exhausting. Despite the exhaustion, frustrations, and moments of feeling stuck, we find the strength to get back up every day and try again.

This is what it means to be a dyslexia warrior. To my fellow teachers, parents, and especially my students, it's been a tough year, but we've gotten up and tried again and again. And we will continue to do so because there is no cure for dyslexia. Until our education systems recognise the importance of teaching reading, we are left fighting to give our students a chance, a voice, and a future.

While we see this blog as an essential medium for helping others understand and learn about literacy challenges, we admit it's difficult to juggle. Nevertheless, we will continue to try and improve.

Having said that, Welcome to Dyslexia Awareness Month!

This year, our focus is on the impact of the research that comes under the umbrella term: The Science of Reading. 

Reading is a complex process that requires the integration of various cognitive skills. For decades, educators and researchers have sought to understand how reading develops and how to best support students who struggle with literacy. The Science of Reading has emerged as a comprehensive, research-backed approach to understanding the cognitive processes involved in reading. For students with dyslexia, this scientific framework offers crucial insights into their specific challenges and highlights effective strategies for intervention.

The Science of Reading informs our understanding of dyslexia, helping educators, parents, and literacy tutors better support students with dyslexia in developing their reading skills.

What Is the Science of Reading?

The Science of Reading refers to a body of research that draws from multiple fields, including cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and linguistics, to understand how the brain processes written language. It emphasises evidence-based instruction that targets the development of five key components:

1. Phonemic Awareness
2. Phonics
3. Fluency
4. Vocabulary
5. Comprehension

These components are essential for reading proficiency and are often developed sequentially. The Science of Reading has reshaped reading instruction by moving away from whole-language approaches that prioritise meaning over decoding toward explicit, systematic instruction, especially in the early stages of reading development.

How Dyslexia Affects Reading

Dyslexia is a neurobiological condition that affects a person’s ability to process written and spoken language. It primarily impacts phonological processing, which involves recognising and manipulating the sounds within words (phonemes). Dyslexic individuals often struggle with decoding—breaking down words into their individual sounds and then blending them together to read fluently. As a result, reading can be slow, effortful, and less automatic, even as dyslexic learners often excel in other areas such as creative problem-solving, critical thinking, and oral expression.

Understanding dyslexia through the lens of the Science of Reading provides a clearer picture of why students with dyslexia face difficulties in certain areas, particularly phonemic awareness and phonics. These foundational skills, crucial for reading fluency, are often weaker in dyslexic individuals.

The Role of Phonemic Awareness and Phonics

Phonemic awareness, the ability to hear and manipulate individual sounds in words, is one of the earliest and most critical skills in learning to read. Research from the Science of Reading has shown that phonemic awareness deficits are one of the most common and significant predictors of dyslexia. Many dyslexic students struggle to distinguish the sounds within words, which can hinder their ability to connect sounds to letters—a process known as phonics.

Phonics instruction, which explicitly teaches students the relationships between sounds and letters, is essential for dyslexic learners. The Science of Reading emphasises the need for systematic and direct phonics instruction, especially for students who struggle with decoding. Studies have demonstrated that dyslexic students benefit most from structured literacy approaches, where phonics is taught explicitly and systematically, ensuring that they receive the scaffolding needed to strengthen their decoding skills.

Fluency, Vocabulary, and Comprehension

Beyond phonemic awareness and phonics, dyslexia also affects fluency, or the ability to read text quickly and accurately. Fluency is critical for comprehension because when students are bogged down by decoding every word, they expend their cognitive resources on word recognition rather than understanding the meaning of the text. For dyslexic students, this often means that reading comprehension can suffer, even when they have the vocabulary knowledge to understand the material.

The Science of Reading also informs us about the importance of vocabulary and comprehension in reading development. While dyslexic learners often have a strong grasp of oral vocabulary, their difficulties with decoding can inhibit their ability to fully engage with texts. As such, dyslexic students benefit from targeted vocabulary instruction that builds their understanding of words and concepts, allowing them to better grasp the meaning of what they are reading.

Explicit instruction in comprehension strategies, such as summarising, predicting, and questioning, also aids dyslexic learners in navigating complex texts. By providing them with tools to actively engage with and make sense of reading material, educators can support dyslexic students in overcoming some of the challenges they face.

How the Science of Reading Informs Intervention

One of the most valuable contributions of the Science of Reading is its emphasis on early identification and intervention. Because dyslexia affects fundamental aspects of reading development, early screening for phonological awareness, phonics, and decoding skills can help identify students at risk for dyslexia. Once identified, dyslexic students require structured, multisensory approaches to reading instruction, such as the Orton-Gillingham method or other structured literacy programs. These interventions are rooted in the Science of Reading and have been proven to be effective in addressing the specific needs of dyslexic learners.

For example, the Science of Reading highlights the importance of engaging multiple senses—visual, auditory, and kinesthetic—in reading instruction. This approach helps dyslexic learners by reinforcing learning through different sensory pathways, making it easier to grasp and retain key literacy skills. Structured literacy, which is aligned with the principles of the Science of Reading, provides the explicit, systematic, and cumulative instruction that dyslexic students need to develop their reading abilities.

The Strengths of Dyslexic Thinkers

While the Science of Reading offers essential insights into the challenges faced by dyslexic learners, it’s equally important to recognise the strengths that often accompany dyslexia. Dyslexic thinkers are often highly creative, with strong problem-solving skills and the ability to see the bigger picture. They tend to excel in areas like design, storytelling, and entrepreneurship. By understanding the unique cognitive profile of dyslexic individuals, educators and tutors can create an environment that nurtures these strengths, helping dyslexic learners thrive in areas beyond reading.

The Science of Reading provides a robust framework for understanding how reading develops and the specific challenges faced by students with dyslexia. By focusing on phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension, educators can more effectively support dyslexic learners. Dyslexia is not a reflection of a student's intelligence or potential but rather a different way of processing language. With the right intervention and understanding grounded in the Science of Reading, dyslexic students can overcome their reading difficulties and unlock their full potential.

In raising awareness about dyslexia, it is essential to combine evidence-based instruction with a focus on the strengths and abilities of dyslexic learners. By doing so, we can build a more inclusive educational environment where all students can succeed.