Cambridge parent Mandi Bond says that when it comes to the challenges posed by dyslexia, she and others advocating for their children have faced an ongoing struggle with the Waterloo Region District School Board (WRDSB).
The mother of four has been looking for supports for over five years. Now, with a son in Grade 6, Bond says she is seeing similar struggles from parents across the region.
“Our own struggles overlap with other parents. My family’s ‘journey through the board’ is the same,” Bond says. “We all want to think that educators have the best intention and do what they can. And I think they do, but I think it is the system that is broken in the end.”
Bond says parents have tried to advocate for change and communication, but the two worlds between parents and school board, are still so far apart.
“Since my son was in Grade 1, we have been asking for help because we knew that there were struggles and that something wasn’t right,” Bond says.
Dyslexia is a specific learning disability in reading and writing. Dyslexia Canada says kids with the learning disability have trouble reading accurately and fluently. They may also have trouble with reading comprehension, spelling and writing.
In Canada, approximately two to four children in every classroom struggle with dyslexia.
Learning to read is a basic, essential right according to the Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC), which released its Report from the Right to Read Inquiry last February, a significant number of children in Ontario, including those with dyslexia are being denied that right.
That report made over 157 recommendations to school boards across Ontario, focusing on key requirements to successfully teach and support all students.
In response to the OHRC's findings, school boards across the province including WRDSB, developed structured literacy multi-year plans for students.
The WRDSB admitted it needs to do better to support every learner with reading, while remaining focused on and committed to improving the outcomes for all students.
Bobbie Chatha, system administrator for elementary education at WRDSB, says the Right to Read addresses the strategies, knowledge and skills with respect to the science of reading which translates to a structured literacy approach in classrooms across the system
“When educators use a structured literacy approach in classrooms, as opposed to a balanced literacy approach, it helps to ensure students with dyslexia are provided with that systematic and evidence-based approach to teaching reading,” Chatha said.
Michelle Barnard, a mother, and dyslexia advocate in Waterloo Region, says change for students with dyslexia, is long overdue.
“My concern is that this is the number one recommendation from the Ontario Human Rights Commission, but first, all school boards in Ontario need to start using the word ‘dyslexia’, Barnard says.
The Right to Read Report uses both the terms reading disability and dyslexia.
The Ontario education system, however, only uses the term learning disability, which typically only includes students who have been formally identified with a learning disability through a process called an Identification, Placement and Review Committee (IPRC).
“We are so angry and frustrated that still nothing is being done. Yes, they are changing how they are teaching, and that the school board is going to the ‘science of reading’. But are they using the term dyslexia? No.”
Bond agrees and says the WRDSB still won’t call it what it is.
“The school board refuses to call it dyslexia. They just call it a learning disability but there are so many different kinds. If we know the specific kind and we know of supports that would help, why not do that?,” she says. “Why should we have to fight for this?”
WRDSB has implemented a structured literacy steering committee to focus on the gradual implementation of these recommendations.
Depending on the identified level, supports will include evidence-based, direct instruction interventions such as Lexia and the Empower, a reading program that includes evidence-based literacy instruction to students with reading difficulties.
“Programming for students with dyslexia in the classroom level, will be systematic and explicit, particularly with phonological awareness and phonemic awareness skills,” Chatha says. “This approach, while necessary for students with dyslexia, is also necessary for all of our students. It’s important to note that structured literacy and early reading strategies decrease the number of students needing interventions and decrease any reading gaps that may arise.”
Knowing that a learning tool that has been available for years will be implemented for future students is frustrating for Barnard whose now-adult son was placed in program that did not include Empower.
“The school board has the the software to help our kids, but they refuse to use it,” Barnard says.
“I have an 18 and 20 year old. My son graduated Grade 12 reading at a Grade 4.5 level. They put our son into a program that didn’t have Empower. They did nothing in Grade 4. He felt even more stupid in Grade 5 and wanted to kill himself. And then in Grade 6 we had him reassessed and dyslexia was included,” she says.
“This would have helped teach him to read but the school board said no because his mental health was worse. Back then, I didn’t know how to advocate. I didn’t know a whole lot until 2019, when the Right to Read came out,” Barnard says.
Barnard and her husband have spent over $33,000 out of their own savings for dyslexia therapy for their son.
“I’ve been going through this battle since my kids started school. My oldest son is now 18, so I have been battling this now for 16 years with the school board.”
Barnard’s son continues dyslexia therapy twice a week.
“He has been doing this since Grade 9 and is now in his fifth year of high school. He has missed his teenage years because not only does he have to do schoolwork, but also dyslexia therapy homework. So, he is working so hard when he shouldn’t have to,” Barnard says.
“I know it’s too late for him, and that’s what is frustrating. The school board knows our issue very well. They need to start saying dyslexia like they do autism, or ADHD.”
Bond said that she too has asked the school board to test for dyslexia.
“We had to refinance to get our assessment because we were told that our child was not eligible for one of the assessments that the board pays for,” Bond says.
“When the board says they support every student and where they are at, it’s not true because they even know where students are at.”
Bond said she blindly thought the school would bring in resources to help support her child.
“We were told that they didn’t have to follow the recommendations from the assessment. I didn’t know what to do. Why would they not follow the recommendations?” Bond says.
Chatha says that for students with dyslexia, structured literacy is the approach to teaching reading that ensures student success.
“We know that this is an area that requires continued conversation to ensure that there is consistency and understanding,” Chatha says.
“The Right to read report has helped us to uncover the inconsistencies. One of the report recommendations is how we can more efficiently diagnose difficulties.”
Chatha says all stakeholders in the province are looking at new ways to make this happen. The school board intends to introduce a universal screener for all schools in the fall of 2023.
Chatha says that many students who have received psychological assessments have complex needs and learning profiles within WRDSB's 60,000 plus students.
“We only have 16 psychologists, and we have 20 speech and language pathologists. We triage and we do the best we can, but we do recognize the need to find efficiencies and assessments for students with reading difficulties,” Chatha says.
“There is definitely much to be done and we are responding to the Right to Read by building knowledge and capacity of our classroom educators from Kindergarten, all the way up to high school."
Bond and Barnard want to see transparency between families and WRDSB.
“There’s nothing now, it’s like a bad word, and they don’t want to say it. I hope that the school board uses the word dyslexia. Saying and identifying it costs nothing,” Barnard says.
Bond says after years of trying, she is frustrated.
“There should be supports for these kids. Myself as a parent, I have asked the school board numerous times, and I have yet to see a summary of a multi year plan,” Bond says.
Not supporting my child in providing tools to read is no different than not providing a ramp to get into the school for a child who needs a wheelchair. Both are disabilities and both impact their future.”
Barnard says she doesn’t want to hear another parent say that they can’t afford to send their child to dyslexia therapy.
“I don’t want any other child to feel like my own. I don’t want any other child to say that the only way to make themselves feel better is to kill themselves,” Barnard says.
“I don’t want any family to go through this.”
To view the Right to Read report, visit here.
