Parent action hopes to help reading work for kids with dyslexia

Dyslexia Action Group of Naperville has a message for Naperville Unit District 203 that members plan to deliver during a school board meeting Monday night.

Lisa Gardina, co-founder of the group formed in 2014, said the message will encourage continued collaboration between the parent organization and district administrators, who have been working together for several months.

The parent group wants District 203 - and all school districts - to begin universal screening of students for dyslexia, instead of screening only those students suspected of having the disorder, as required by state law. Parents also are calling for easier connections to supportive tutoring that can help students build skills to overcome dyslexia.

"These kids deserve to have a reading program that works for them," Gardina said.

Medical professionals such as neuropsychologists diagnose dyslexia, and schools often don't use it as a label. Christine Igoe, assistant superintendent for student services in District 203, said the district instead focuses on identifying skills kids lack and providing extra instruction so they can succeed.

"We tend to focus on making sure kids are learning to decode and understand phonics instruction in those early grades," Igoe said. "We try to identify what specifically is the skill the student doesn't have."