• What is Dyslexia?

    CISD dyslexia and dysgraphia identification policies and practices were developed in accordance with the guidelines stated in the updated Texas Dyslexia Handbook, 2018. Dyslexia is defined by both the Texas Education Code (TEC)38.003 and International Dyslexia Association as a difficulty that affects an individual’s ability to read and/or write despite the provision of conventional classroom instruction. The difficulty is not due to a lack of intelligence or lack of sociocultural factors such as language development, educational history or linguistic background. (The Dyslexia Handbook, 2018 p. 1)

    CISD recognizes that dyslexia may manifest itself differently in students. Some students may exhibit typical characteristics while others may reveal a different pattern of abilities that reveal unique strengths and weaknesses.

     

    What is Dysgraphia?

    Texas state law requires districts and charter schools to identify students who have dyslexia and related disorders.

    Dysgraphia is best defined as 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.

    Dysgraphia may occur alone, or with dyslexia. An assessment for dysgraphia, as it relates to dyslexia, is important in order to determine whether children need additional explicit, systematic instruction in handwriting only; handwriting and spelling; or handwriting, spelling and written expression along with word reading and decoding (IDA, 2012). (The Dyslexia Handbook, 2018 p. 67).