Welcome! This website is designed to share information with parents, guardians, students, and anyone else interested in dyslexia, dysgraphia, reading, and the Damon ISD dyslexia and related disorders program. Here you will find information on dyslexia and the instructional services we provide for dyslexia instruction.

All kindergarten and first grade students in Damon ISD will be screened for dyslexia as part of Texas state law TEC §38.003 and HB1886.  

The Texas Dyslexia Handbook requires that the skills of word reading accuracy or fluency and phonological awareness be assessed on the first grade dyslexia screener. To meet this requirement, students will be screened using MCLASS.  Bilingual students in Dual Language will be screened in their dominant language. First grade students will be screened no later than January 31st. A parent letter will be sent to the parents of any first grader who is determined to be at risk for dyslexia. 

The updated Texas Dyslexia Handbook, linked below, is in effect as of August 2024.

Texas Dyslexia Handbook 2024

Manual Sobre Dyslexia 2024

Dyslexia Screening Results Letter

Dyslexia Definition 
TEC §38.003 defines dyslexia and related disorders in the following way:

“Dyslexia” means a disorder of constitutional origin manifested by a difficulty in learning to read, write, or spell, despite conventional instruction, adequate intelligence, and sociocultural opportunity.

“Related disorders” include disorders similar to or related to dyslexia, such as
developmental auditory imperception, dysphasia, specific developmental dyslexia,
developmental dysgraphia, and developmental spelling disability

Dysgraphia Definition 
Dysgraphia is a neurodevelopmental disorder manifested by illegible and/or inefficient handwriting due to difficulty with letter formation. This difficulty is the result of deficits in graphomotor function (hand movements used for writing) and/or storing and retrieving orthographic codes (letter forms) (Berninger, 2015).

Secondary consequences may include problems with spelling and written expression. The difficulty is not solely due to lack of instruction and is not associated with other developmental or neurological conditions that involve motor impairment.

Characteristics
Students have difficulties with:

• Reading words in isolation 
• Accurately decoding unfamiliar words 
• Oral reading (slow, inaccurate, or labored without prosody) 
• Spelling 
• Segmenting, blending, and manipulating sounds in words (phonemic awareness)
• Learning the names of letters and their associated sounds 
• Holding information about sounds and words in memory (phonological memory) 
• Rapidly recalling the names of familiar objects, colors, or letters of the alphabet (rapid naming)

The following characteristics identify risk factors associated with dyslexia at different stages or grade
levels.

Preschool

• Delay in learning to talk
• Difficulty with rhyming
• Difficulty pronouncing words (e.g., “pusgetti” for “spaghetti,” “mawn lower” for “lawn mower”)
• Poor auditory memory for nursery rhymes and chants
• Difficulty adding new vocabulary words
• Inability to recall the right word (word retrieval)
• Trouble learning and naming letters and numbers and remembering the letters in his/ her name
• Aversion to print (e.g., doesn’t enjoy following along if a book is read aloud)

Kindergarten and First Grade

• Difficulty breaking words into smaller parts, or syllables (e.g., “baseball” can be pulled apart into “base”
• “ball” or “napkin” can be pulled apart into “nap” “kin”)
• Difficulty identifying and manipulating sounds in syllables (e.g., “man” sounded out as /m/ /ă/ /n/)
• Difficulty remembering the names of letters and recalling their corresponding sounds
• Difficulty decoding single words (reading single words in isolation)
• Difficulty spelling words the way they sound (phonetically) or remembering letter sequences in very
• common words seen often in print (e.g., “sed” for “said”)

Second Grade and Third Grade
Many of the previously described behaviors remain problematic along with the following:

• Difficulty recognizing common sight words (e.g., “to,” “said,” “been”)
• Difficulty decoding single words
• Difficulty recalling the correct sounds for letters and letter patterns in reading
• Difficulty connecting speech sounds with appropriate letter or letter combinations and omitting letters
• in words for spelling (e.g., “after” spelled “eftr”)
• Difficulty reading fluently (e.g., reading is slow, inaccurate, and/or without expression)
• Difficulty decoding unfamiliar words in sentences using knowledge of phonics
• Reliance on picture clues, story theme, or guessing at words
• Difficulty with written expression

Fourth Grade through Sixth Grade
Many of the previously described behaviors remain problematic along with the following:

• Difficulty reading aloud (e.g., fear of reading aloud in front of classmates)
• Avoidance of reading (particularly for pleasure)
• Difficulty reading fluently (e.g., reading is slow, inaccurate, and/or without expression)
• Difficulty decoding unfamiliar words in sentences using knowledge of phonics
• Acquisition of less vocabulary due to reduced independent reading
• Use of less complicated words in writing that are easier to spell than more appropriate words (e.g., “big” instead of “enormous”)
• Reliance on listening rather than reading for comprehension

Middle School and High School
Many of the previously described behaviors remain problematic along with the following:

• Difficulty with the volume of reading and written work
• Frustration with the amount of time required and energy expended for reading
• Difficulty reading fluently (e.g., reading is slow, inaccurate, and/or without expression)
• Difficulty decoding unfamiliar words in sentences using knowledge of phonics
• Difficulty with written assignments
• Tendency to avoid reading (particularly for pleasure)
• Difficulty learning a foreign language

What If I Suspect My Child Has Dyslexia or Dysgraphia?
The identification and intervention process for dyslexia and/or dysgraphia is multifaceted. These processes involve both state and federal requirements that must be followed. The evaluation and identification process for students suspected of having dyslexia is guided by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The first step is to discuss your concerns with your child’s teacher. If you have continued concerns, you may request an evaluation by contacting an administrator at your child’s school. You will be notified in writing of the district’s plan to assist your child.

Screeners
LEAs are required, per Texas Education Code (TEC), §38.003, to conduct universal dyslexia screening of students in kindergarten and first grade. Kindergarten students must be screened for dyslexia at the end of the school year, and first grade students must be screened no later than January 31st. The Dyslexia Handbook describes the screening criteria for this requirement. 
 

Damon ISD uses the mCLASS Texas instrument, which is a TEA approved instrument.

The district sends a letter to the parents before the screener is administered. For students who are identified as at risk for dyslexia, the school should provide targeted intervention provided by the appropriate staff and notify the parents. 

Dyslexia Screening Results Letter

Providers of Dyslexia Instruction
Feyguele Varner is a bilingual educator who serves as the Provider of Dyslexia Instruction and she has almost 10 years years of experience teaching Kindergarten, and First Grade. She currently works as a Reading Specialist with Kindergarten through 5th Grade. Feyguele received a Bachelors in EC-6 Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Houston, and a Masters in Curriculum and Instruction in Reading. She strongly believes that education needs to prepare students to lead a choice filled life that is not limited by weakness but defined by their strengths. Ms. Varner provides dyslexia therapy in accordance with the Dyslexia Handbook.

You can contact Mrs. Varner by phone at 979-742-3457 or by email at fvarner@damonisd.net.

Referrals for Special Education
It is important to remember that at any point in the data review process a referral for a FIIE under 
the IDEA may be initiated. Parents also have the right to request a FIIE at any time. Regardless of 
the process in place for screening and data review, whenever accumulated data indicate that a student 
continues to struggle with one or more of the components of reading, despite the provision of adequate 
instruction and intervention, the student must be referred for a full individual and initial evaluation under the IDEA.
Dyslexia referral and identification under IDEA must be individualized and based on multiple 
pieces of information, including results of the screening.

Accommodations
By receiving specialized instruction that contains the components described in the Dyslexia Handbook, the student with dyslexia and/or dysgraphia is better equipped to meet the demands of grade-level or course instruction. In addition to specialized instruction, accommodations provide the student with dyslexia and/or dysgraphia effective and equitable access to grade-level or course instruction in the general education classroom.

Listed below are examples of reasonable classroom accommodations:

• Copies of notes (e.g., teacher- or peer-provided)
• Note-taking assistance
• Additional time on class assignments and tests
• Reduced/shortened assignments (e.g., chunking assignments into manageable units, fewer items given on a classroom test or homework assignment without eliminating concepts, or student planner to assist with assignments)
• Alternative test location that provides a quiet environment and reduces distractions
• Priority seating assignment
• Oral reading of directions or written material
• Word banks
• Audiobooks
• Text to speech
• Speech to text
• Electronic spellers
• Electronic dictionaries
• Formula charts
• Adaptive learning tools and features in software programs