The Experts Answer: What Do Students with Dyslexia Really Need?

Our theme for season 5 of Together in Literacy asked what students with dyslexia really need, and every time we welcomed a guest to the podcast we asked them for their own answer to that question. If you listened to any of season 5, you’ll already know that there is no single, simple answer. 

If you ask the people around you, some might answer better instruction. Others point to confidence, advocacy, accommodations, early intervention, or stronger teacher preparation. 

One thing we did learn– the question isn’t just about literacy. Behind every struggling reader is a real child trying to make sense of how they learn, how school sees them, and how they see themselves. Helping those students takes meaningful support from many angles, in our classrooms, intervention rooms, and homes. 

Let’s take a look at our guests’ answers to this complex question over the course of the season (answers have been edited for flow and clarity):

1. Dr. Melissa Orkin – Consistency, Strategy, and Authentic Text

“I think it's a combination. Consistency for students with dyslexia is really powerful. Providing these opportunities—and not assuming that fluency is going to be a byproduct, but actually providing strategic instruction that integrates all the multiple aspects of word knowledge—helps students become fluent. Some students need a small amount of that instruction, while others need more substantial support. It usually has to do with whether they have weaknesses in measures of retrieval or automaticity.

When appropriate, and as often as possible, we should also bring in authentic text. What we don't want to do is only provide very limited reading material to students with dyslexia. As soon as it's appropriate, collect information about their Lexile level—that's a fairly good metric of authentic reading ability—and bring in other texts. That way, students can understand that reading is now a tool, and that word reading is a tool they're going to use to learn about the world. We want to give them lots of opportunities to practice building that tool with authentic texts, even within our lessons.”

2. Dr. David Kilpatrick – The Core Components of Word Reading

“I would go back to my basketball analogy. To be good at basketball, you have to dribble, pass, shoot, and play defense. Kids with dyslexia either don't have or only have partial four things they need to be good at reading: letter sound knowledge and blending to sound outwards, letter sound automaticity or proficiency, and phonemic automaticity and proficiency to remember words. Show me a child who is skilled in all four of those who's struggling and reading. I don't think you're going to find that. Show me a child who's struggling and reading who does well on all those, and you won't find that. So, what that tells us is that those are all necessary, and they're all sufficient in terms of word reading.”

3. Dr. Rosine Dougherty – Fluid Instruction and Small Steps

“I think the first thing that students need is teaching that is explicit, systematic, and adjusted to their individual needs, especially when it comes to dyslexia. They need individualized instruction in the skills they find challenging.

Second, instruction needs to be individualized, but structure doesn't mean rigidity. It has to be somewhat fluid. Teachers need to recognize when things begin to improve, be willing to adjust, and move with the child. I talk about successive approximation in my book. I love that term from psychology because it basically means we celebrate the little steps—the baby steps. We have to appreciate and celebrate those small gains. We need to be champions of these incremental steps toward success.

Students also need schools to care about persistence and response to instruction, not just snapshot scores.”

4. Dr. Jacob Santhouse – Self‑Acceptance Without Judgment

“That is a great question – a huge question. And immediately, my answer is always going to be: it depends. It depends on what they're missing.

When I look at kids who are dyslexic, and when I look at adults who are dyslexic, I think the thing that makes a huge difference is being able to look at that part of yourself without judgment. If you can say, ‘This is a part of me,’ and hold the fact that you're going to make mistakes that others might not make, without judging yourself for them, while also recognizing the parts of yourself that are incredible and seeing how all of that integrates together—that's the idea of self-acceptance.

It's being able to look in the mirror without criticism or judgment and truly see yourself. If I could give one gift to everybody—not just dyslexic individuals, but especially dyslexic individuals—that would be the gift I would try to give.”

5. Aliyah Banchik – Valued Outlets and Flexible Assessment 

“What do students with dyslexia really need? I think they need more outlets that are genuinely valued for showcasing their excellence. For me, the biggest struggles associated with dyslexia have been self-confidence and self-efficacy. The academic challenges were difficult, but in some ways those feel more like symptoms—or perhaps contributors to the confidence issues.

Generally speaking, many of those practical challenges become less significant after school. Spell check exists, calculators exist, and a lot of that falls away. But the deeper underlying sense of having struggled—and continuing to struggle—can stay with you. That impact on confidence is still an issue.

So I think students need more support within the education system to learn alongside others in a variety of ways and to feel good about themselves while doing it, rather than constantly feeling behind. To make that more concrete, I think it would help if the arts were valued more. More broadly, students should have options in how they demonstrate what they’ve learned.

For example, when it comes to assessments, students could choose between taking a test or demonstrating their knowledge in another way. They might create an artistic project, develop a mind map, or, instead of writing an essay, give an oral presentation. Having options matters, because being able to perform well on a timed multiple-choice test under pressure is not the same thing as intelligence.”

6. Nancy Duggan – Systems That Share the Load

“Well, it's a system. Students with dyslexia shouldn't have to depend on a parent with a PhD in neuroscience or a master's degree in reading. They need a system that recognizes the differences humans have and accepts the responsibility—the obligation—to teach all children to read. As Kareem Weaver says, literacy is the currency of this century and the next. I love that idea. If our children are going to access that currency, and if dyslexic children are going to access it, they need a system of support.

Maybe it starts with a parent. Maybe it starts with a teacher, a preschool teacher, a pediatrician, or a school system. It includes those who develop and enforce IEPs, those who fund schools, and school committees. We need a system that helps all children gain the currency of literacy, and dyslexic children may need that support more than many others because literacy is the challenge they face.”

7. Deon Butler – Love and Tools for the Real World

“First and foremost, I want to say they need love. If you're in middle school or high school and you've been through a lot because you can't read, we have to start by giving you love and support. We have to nurture you. We have to let you know that it's alright—that you're not dumb and you're not stupid.

The second thing is that we want to give you the tools to survive in this world and keep up with everybody else, because many students with dyslexia are very intelligent—highly intelligent. If we give you the right tools, we can help unlock your potential and support whatever you want to become.

We also need structure in learning to read. You can learn how to read. But it won't be easy, and it won't happen overnight. It takes practice—over and over again. Dyslexia doesn't go away. I still struggle with words. I still use my fingers in public. I still sound out words. I continue to use these tools because I understand how much they benefit me.

I needed to learn how to read, how to code and decode words, so that when I walk into meetings, people aren't talking over my head. You need that information. So those are the two powerful things I would say students with dyslexia need: love, and the tools to navigate a world filled with both good people and bad people, so they won't be taken advantage of.”

Taken together, these voices remind us that students with dyslexia need evidence-based instruction, flexible and human-centered teaching, emotional safety and self-acceptance, systems that share responsibility, and, as Deon puts it plainly, love and tools to navigate the world.

Want to hear all these clips firsthand? Listen to our full episode 5.18 Season 5 Finale: What Do Students with Dyslexia Really Need?

And that's a wrap for season 5 of Together in Literacy! Thank you so much for joining us this year—enjoy your summer, and we'll see you in the fall for season 6! If you want to listen to any past episodes in the meantime, you'll find them all here.