Our Goals
Decoding Dyslexia – NJ is a grassroots movement driven by NJ families concerned with the limited access to educational interventions for dyslexia within our public schools. We aim to raise dyslexia awareness, empower families to support their children and inform policy-makers on best practices to identify, remediate and support students with dyslexia in NJ public schools.
We advocate for:
- Expanded and improved access to early screening tests for dyslexia
- Mandatory dyslexia remediation programs, which can be accessed by both general and special education populations
- Access to appropriate “assistive technologies” in the public school setting for students with dyslexia
Goals we have achieved to date:
- A universal definition and understanding of “dyslexia” in the state education code (N.J.A.C. 6A:14-1.3)
- Mandatory teacher training on dyslexia, its warning signs and appropriate intervention strategies (N.J.S. 18A:6-131)
- Mandatory early screening tests for dyslexia (N.J.S. 18A:40-5.1, et seq.)
- Spreading awareness and offering families a variety of opportunities to connect, share experiences, and gain insights and resources:
- A Facebook Page reaching over 8,000 followers
- Parent/educator workshops and events
- Community roundtable discussions
- Parent networking sessions after our monthly business meetings
DD-NJ Advocacy in Action!
DD-NJ with Timothy Lynagh, Deputy Chief of Staff & Legislative Director for Rep Christopher Smith (NJ)
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DD-NJ with former US Representative Rush Holt (NJ)
DD-NJ with Brendan Hennessey, Legislative Assistant for Representative Frank Pallone (NJ)
Psychologist and researcher Dr. Virginia Berninger will share her expertise in the field of LDs, and will discuss specific learning disability (SLD) definitions, the steps of an evidence-based diagnosis for each LD, evidence-based instruction linked to each learning disability, and more! Presentation will be followed by a Q&A. A recording of the webinar will be sent out to all registrants. Register here: us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_jMIy3kvMQ0iy4GHhBZxQvw?utm_medium=email&utm_source=getrespons...
"Lack of understanding of the importance and value of this stage is probably how predictable/repetitive texts got a foothold in early education. I detest them, because they teach children to fake fluent reading by memorising repetitive sentence stems and guessing the rest from pictures." ![]()
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www.spelfabet.com.au/2021/09/the-sweaty-sounding-out-stage-builds-reading-muscle/?fbclid=IwAR1D9g...
The sweaty sounding-out stage builds reading muscle
www.spelfabet.com.au
We want young children’s lives to be fun, and free of struggle and hard work. We want them to enjoy reading, like we do. So listening to young children reading simple books containing the spe...
Check out Learning Disabilities Association of New Jersey Inc. fall newsletter for lots of news and events. LDANJ and LDA of Michigan are hosting a Virtual Conference about LDs, Attention Issues, and Related Disorders on Friday, Oct. 15 & Saturday, Oct. 16: 12 keynotes and 52 workshops to choose from over two days; topics for families, educators, related professionals, all ages and stages. Read more here: ![]()
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files.constantcontact.com/eb063402601/5893edf0-f099-462a-b623-1d7885854d66.pdf
files.constantcontact.com
DD-NJ TRL-NJ Parent Workshop Oct. 19 at 7:00 pm ET: ![]()
Is My Child’s Reading Program Appropriate? Is It Aligned with the Science of Reading?![]()
Presented by The Reading League NJ President Susan Miller LDTC![]()
Coming right before parent conference season, Susan Miller will share with participants what to look for in general education and intervention/basic skills settings that indicate the application of the Science of Reading. Register here: docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSev9fnj6yVvi5gMqTAxu1eHH_-DcAEKR7xw-Fh2M0NvUdZEuw/viewform
DDNJ Parent Workshop Sign Up Form
docs.google.com
Decoding Dyslexia NJ is hosting a parent workshop series for the 2021-2022 school year for NJ families. Participants will meet for workshop sessions once a month on Tuesdays from 7-8:30 pm. Space is l...
How is an IEP goal considered "achieved" at 80% when F&P (based on a flawed theory of reading, and terrible for dyslexia, but we digress) book levels A-K require student reading accuracy of 90%-94% to find the student's "instructional" level and accuracy of 95-100% to be "independent?" Is 4/5 tries really success?
What an embarrassment of riches! This photo is a science of reading wish list come true. How lucky these teachers are to be supported on their #SOR #lifelonglearning #knowbetterdobetter journey.
Any attempt to help students make up for what they’ve missed ... has to begin with the recognition that our standard approach to literacy instruction is fundamentally flawed. The idea that the solution to low reading scores is more work on isolated comprehension skills was producing learning loss even before the pandemic, in the sense that students who started out with less academic knowledge fell further behind their more advantaged peers every year they spent in school. The last thing we should do now is perpetuate that failed practice."
Learning Loss: Urgent Crisis or Harmful Myth?
nataliewexler.substack.com
The pandemic has left many students needing help--but not the same kind of help
ATTN NJ Teachers, Principals, Curriculum Directors, Special Education Leaders: Looking for opportunities to meet the mandated PD requirement for dyslexia and reading disabilities?![]()
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The NJ DOE has a few recorded webinars available on their website, under the dyslexia professional development tab: ![]()
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• Multisensory Structured Literacy - Group Instruction Methodology![]()
• Comprehension and Fluency![]()
• Dyslexia and Other Reading Disabilities: An Overview of Screening, Assessment, Intervention, and Assistive Technology![]()
• *Exploring the New Jersey Dyslexia Handbook: A Guide to Early Literacy Development and Reading Struggles ![]()
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*The "Exploring the New Jersey Dyslexia Handbook” series is new and we highly recommend it! It’s a four part recorded webinar series designed to help school districts become familiar with the guidance contained in the state handbook and to support district-based stakeholder teams or professional learning communities in making the best educational programming decisions for the students in their schools. Each individual installment provides team members with an overview of content and activities to support the team members in translating the information discussed into best practices in their schools and classrooms. The series is approximately 1 hour and 30 minutes in total length with each individual session lasting between 15 to 30 minutes. School teams should plan for additional time to complete the coordinated activities.![]()
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Visit: www.nj.gov/education/specialed/dyslexia/pd.shtml
Dyslexia and Other Reading Disabilities - Professional Development
www.nj.gov
Offices of Special Education P.O. Box 500 Trenton, NJ 08625-0500 Policy and Procedure: phone: (609) 376-9060 Professional Development: phone: (609) 376-9084 Both: fax: (609) 984-8422
"Dr. Phillips argues that there is not enough phonemic awareness or phonics instruction in balanced literacy for many kids to learn to read proficiently, especially kids with dyslexia. “In those early K-2 years, we really need to be focusing on word identification and then you move on to comprehension,” she says. “Balanced literacy is trying to do it all at once with not enough emphasis on phonemic awareness and phonics.”
How to Teach Kids With Dyslexia to Read
childmind.org
Kids with dyslexia need systematic phonics instruction to learn to read. How to tell if your child's school is using an effective curriculum.
"Based on the tens of thousands of people who have joined social-media groups devoted to research-backed instruction, many teachers clearly sense that something is deeply amiss with the way they were(n’t) taught to teach reading; however, surrounded by people who believe otherwise, they have until very recently managed to convince themselves that the problem was on their end. If you fall into this category, I say: it’s not you, and it never was. If you think that students are being taught in a way that encourages them to develop reading problems, then that’s probably exactly what you’re seeing."
The Three-Cueing System and the Most Disordered Form of Reading
www.breakingthecode.com
As I’ve written about before, what launched me onto this whole insane journey into the seamy underbelly of American reading instruction was my observation of high-school students who seemed incapabl...Check us out on Instagram!
