If you are concerned about your child’s reading skills, one of the most important steps you can take is to have an open and collaborative conversation with your child’s teacher. Teachers have valuable insights into your child’s learning and can work with you to identify specific areas of difficulty and explore potential solutions. https://learningally.org/resource/a-parents-guide-to-identifying-and-addressing-reading-issues-in-children. 

Following your conversation with your child’s teacher, a student study team may be created to explore interventions in general education before considering special education assessments. A Student Study Team (SST) can be requested by anyone concerned about a student's academic, behavioral, social, or emotional performance, including parents/guardians, teachers, school counselors, administrators, or staff members. An SST is a general education school-based, best practice problem-solving process. The team is designed to help teachers and parents develop effective personalized classroom intervention plans. The process used to develop these plans includes the identification of student strengths and needs, data-driven concerns, and research-based interventions that address those needs. The interventions are documented and monitored to determine their effectiveness. Once the plan has been implemented, typically for four to eight weeks, the team reviews the student's progress and determines if additional modifications are necessary. If insufficient progress is made, the intervention may be continued or modified for another 8-12 week period.

While the law requires the school district to consider and utilize, where appropriate, the resources of the general education program before making a referral for special education[1], the SST process cannot act as a substitute for or delay the special education assessment and IEP timelines without your consent.[2]   A referral for special education assessment must initiate the assessment process and timelines and any use of the student study/success team (SST) process does not affect this obligation. There is no authority in law or regulation to require a pupil go through an SST before a referral for special education may be processed. 

1. Cal. Ed. Code Sec. 56303[↩]

2. Cal. Ed. Code Sec. 56321(f).[↩]

https://serr.disabilityrightsca.org/serr-manual/chapter-2-information-on-evaluations-assessments/2-3-does-my-child-have-to-be-referred-to-the-student-study-success-team-before-assessment-for-special-education/#identifier_1_372

You can request a school evaluation by submitting a formal written request to your child’s school principal for an evaluation under laws like IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, 1975). The school psychologist and other school specialists (for example, the reading specialist and/or speech and language therapist) will conduct assessments as part of your child’s free educational services. You can always get a private evaluation at your own cost, but under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), you have the right to request an Independent Educational Evaluation (IEE) at public expense if you disagree with the school's assessment or if the school can't meet your child's needs. The school would either agree to pay for the IEE or, if they dispute the need, go through due process to prove their own evaluation was sufficient.

If you are interested in a private evaluation or private reading support, click on this link to find a list of  SERVICE PROVIDERS IN HUMBOLDT COUNTY.

People and Services Involved in Dyslexia Support

There's no single test to diagnosis dyslexia; it involves gathering data on listening/speaking skills, word recognition, and thinking skills and is often a collaborative process. Some of the professionals involved in your child’s reading journey may include the following:

Educational Psychologists evaluate students' thinking skills, learning styles, and potential learning disabilities, including reading disorders, language-based learning disorders and dyslexia. They can rule out other causes for struggles with reading and assess key areas like the ability to understand the sound structure of language (phonological processing), sounding words out (decoding), spelling (encoding), reading smoothly (fluency) and understanding what is read (comprehension). Using standardized tests and background information on language, education, and family history they can identify persistent difficulties despite instruction. Psychologist-led testing services help schools, families, and educators understand strengths and areas for growth. They provide detailed reports, IEP (Individual Educational Plan) support, strategies to address learning needs, consultation with other professionals, and personalized teaching recommendations for effective interventions. 

Reading Specialists are credentialed educators with formal advanced training in literacy development including assessments, teacher and parent collaboration, and personalized student intervention. Using evidence-based strategies, targeted instruction focuses on reading, writing, and comprehension skills. Reading Specialists work directly with students of all ages and literacy needs, including those with dyslexia.

Private Literacy Coaches provide personalized reading and writing support, working directly with students and/or parents/teachers to improve literacy skills. Literacy coaches should have training in the Science of Reading and Structured Literacy methods to build skills and confidence. Literacy coaches can assess reading issues, offer targeted intervention, model strategies, and create personalized plans to foster lifelong reading habits. 

Speech and Language Pathologists (SLPs) assess, diagnose, and treat a wide variety of speech and language disorders including communication, swallowing, articulation, language, voice, and fluency skills in children and adults. They are uniquely positioned to address reading skills because reading is a language-based activity. SLPs are trained to develop foundational language skills like phonological awareness, vocabulary development, and sentence structure, which directly impact sounding out words (decoding), fluency, and comprehension. Some SLPs have specialized training in Structured Literacy to work on early literacy, diagnosing reading disorders (like dyslexia), and providing interventions for sound-to-letter matching, word-building, and understanding context to ensure strong reading and writing skills.  For further information on the roles and responsibilities of Speech-Language Pathologists with respect to reading and writing in children and adolescents click on this link. https://www.asha.org/policy/ps2001-00104/

Resource Specialists (RSP) provide consultation, resource information and materials development as may be needed to address the instructional objectives established for students through the IEP process. The Resource Specialist provides direct individual and small group instruction both within the classroom and on a “pull-out” basis as a supplement to the regular or other special class instructional program in which students may be enrolled. https://hcoe.org/job-descriptions/resource-specialist-teacher/

Child and Family Therapists support dyslexia treatment by addressing emotional impacts (anxiety, low self-esteem, and growth mindset), building resilience, improving family communication, and connecting families to resources. Therapists help normalize the experience, teach coping strategies, and advocate for accommodations, fostering a supportive home and school environment for the child's overall well-being.