Look for a pattern rather than a single incident: difficulty hearing and manipulating individual sounds in words, slow and effortful decoding, unstable spelling, avoidance of reading, and a noticeable gap between spoken reasoning and written performance. When those signs persist despite consistent, quality instruction, a formal evaluation is appropriate. Evaluations typically examine phonological processing, rapid naming, word reading accuracy and fluency, spelling and language comprehension. A diagnosis is not a verdict; it is a map that tells you which instruction will help.

As soon as a concern is well founded. Research consistently shows that support delivered in kindergarten through second grade is more efficient and more effective than the same support delivered later, because skills are still forming and the emotional cost of years of struggle has not accumulated. That said, intervention helps at every age. Older students need instruction that respects their maturity, targets syllables and word parts, and rebuilds confidence alongside skill. It is never too late; it is simply harder to wait.

Most children make substantial, life-changing progress with explicit, systematic instruction delivered consistently by someone trained to provide it. Dyslexia does not disappear, and reading may always require more deliberate effort, but accuracy, fluency and comprehension all improve markedly. Many dyslexic adults read well and pursue demanding careers. The variables that matter most are how early support begins, how well matched it is to the child's specific gaps, how frequently it happens, and whether the child's confidence is protected along the way.

Orton-Gillingham is an instructional approach, not a single boxed program, developed decades ago for students with dyslexia. It is diagnostic and prescriptive, meaning the instructor continually assesses and adjusts; explicit, meaning nothing is left to guesswork; sequential and cumulative, so each lesson builds on secure prior learning; and multisensory, engaging sight, sound and movement together. Many modern structured literacy programs are built on these principles. What matters most is the quality of the practitioner's training and the consistency of delivery.

Structured Literacy is an umbrella term for teaching that explicitly and systematically addresses phonology, sound-symbol correspondence, syllables, morphology, syntax and semantics. Lessons follow a planned progression, students practice to mastery, and teachers give immediate corrective feedback. It benefits all readers and is essential for students with dyslexia. If you observe a lesson and can identify a clear objective, direct explanation, guided practice and checks for understanding, you are almost certainly watching structured literacy in action.

Balanced literacy typically emphasizes immersion in rich text, choice, and strategies such as using pictures or context to identify unfamiliar words, with phonics taught incidentally as needs arise. Structured literacy teaches the code directly and in sequence before expecting independent application. Strong readers often succeed either way because they infer patterns on their own. Children with weaker phonological processing generally do not, which is why the difference between the two approaches shows up most clearly in the students who struggle.

Yes, alongside decoding practice rather than instead of it. Listening builds vocabulary, background knowledge, sentence-structure familiarity and love of story, all of which feed comprehension once decoding becomes automatic. A child restricted only to books they can decode independently may go years without encountering rich language. Use audiobooks for content and enjoyment, keep dedicated decoding practice separate and short, and let your child experience being a person who enjoys books while the mechanics are still developing.

Ten to twenty minutes of focused practice on most days outperforms long, irregular sessions. Consistency creates the repeated retrieval that moves skills into automatic memory, and short sessions protect the relationship. Keep home practice narrow: reread a familiar decodable passage, review sound cards, play a two-minute oral sound game in the car. Leave new teaching to the specialist. If practice regularly ends in tears, the task is too hard or too long, and adjusting it is the right response.

Ask for the reasoning in writing and request the data behind it, including screening results and progress monitoring. You can request an evaluation in writing at any time, and you are entitled to a response. Meanwhile, document your own observations with dates and examples. Many families also pursue a private assessment or outside instruction while the school process moves. Waiting without a plan costs instructional time, and instructional time during the early years is the most valuable resource you have.

The reading instruction itself remains structured and explicit, but delivery adapts. A child with attention differences may need shorter segments, more movement, clearer transitions and stronger external organization. An autistic child may need predictable routines, visual supports and careful attention to language comprehension, which can differ from decoding ability. Coexisting profiles are common rather than unusual. Good practitioners assess the whole learner, coordinate with other providers, and adjust pacing without diluting the content being taught.