Lifestyle

Fort Worth School District Tackles Dyslexia

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Dyslexia is a learning disability that runs in the family and causes difficulty with reading and spelling. Nothing is physically wrong with those troubled by the disability. They have a neurological issue but that doesn’t mean intelligence is at all diminished.

Teaching those with dyslexia takes training and a good understanding of what students are going through. Fort Worth area schools are taking action by infusing money into the school district to combat the problem.

WFAA reports, “The Fort Worth district is making a $5 million investment in dyslexia services this school year.” Eagle Mountain-Saginaw schools have added a therapist, the Richardson suburb is gaining 16 dyslexia teachers, and Crowley is adding services as well.

What’s it like to have this learning disability? WFAA quotes 12-year-old Ellie Martinez, as saying, “In first grade, I was having problems spelling cat, hat, rat — stuff like that. That was probably whenever I first noticed, ‘Wow, I am really not good at spelling’… which made me feel like ‘What’s wrong? Why can’t I do this?'”

For students like Ellie who are obviously well-spoken and intelligent, an additional focus on dyslexia will help to alleviate the worry and elevate the students to where they should be.