Dyslexia Awareness Month: 10 Things to Tell Your Child's School This October

Why use Dyslexia Awareness Month to talk to the school?

Dyslexia Awareness Month is observed every October by the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) and its branches. It gives you a reason to write that feels like partnership, not complaint. You are not saying “you missed something.” You are saying “this month seemed like a good time to share what I’m seeing.”

It also matters because dyslexia is common. The IDA’s Dyslexia Basics fact sheet estimates that perhaps 15 to 20 percent of the population shows some symptoms of dyslexia, such as slow or inaccurate reading and poor spelling, though not all of them would qualify for special education. More than 40 states now have dyslexia laws covering screening, teaching or both (see our roundup of new state dyslexia laws). Your school has very likely been asked to pay attention to this. Your email helps them do it for your kid.

Dyslexia is a language-based learning difference that makes it hard to connect sounds to letters, which shows up as slow, effortful reading and spelling. It is not a vision problem, and it is not a lack of effort.

What should I tell the teacher about what I see at home?

Start with specifics. Teachers see your child for one slice of the day; you see homework, bedtime books and the meltdowns. These first four lines give the school information it cannot get anywhere else.

1. What reading looks like at home. “At home, [name] guesses at words from the first letter and has trouble sounding out short words like ‘sit’ and ‘mop.’”
2. How long homework takes. “Reading homework that is meant to take 10 minutes usually takes us 40, and often ends in tears.”
3. Family history. “Reading was hard for [parent or relative] too.” Dyslexia often runs in families, and evaluators want to know.
4. What your child says. “[Name] has started saying ‘I’m dumb’ when we read.” A child’s own words get attention fast.

If you are not sure what to look for, our free parent dyslexia screener gives you plain words for what you are seeing. It is a starting point for the conversation, not a diagnosis.

One tip: describe, do not diagnose. “She cannot blend /s/ /i/ /t/ into ‘sit’” is more useful to a teacher than “I think she has dyslexia,” and it is much harder to wave away. If you have work samples (a spelling test, a page of writing), mention that you are happy to bring them in.

What should I ask the school for?

The next six lines are requests. Choose the ones that fit where your child is right now.

5. Screening results. “Could you share [name]’s most recent reading screening results and explain what they mean?” Many states now require early reading screening.
6. The specific skills. “Which reading skills is [name] missing right now: letter sounds, blending, decoding, fluency?”
7. How reading is taught. “What reading program is being used with [name], and is it explicit, systematic phonics?” Our post on how to tell if a school uses the science of reading explains what to listen for.
8. A check-in date. “Can we set a date in six to eight weeks to look at progress together?”
9. What you are doing at home. “We are practicing 30 to 60 minutes a day at home with a structured, Orton-Gillingham based program. I’d love to align with what you are doing in class.”
10. A formal evaluation, if you have real concerns. “I am requesting a full educational evaluation for a suspected learning disability in reading, including dyslexia. Please send me the consent form.”

Number 10 is the one that carries legal weight. Under federal special education law, schools have a Child Find duty to identify and evaluate children who may have a disability, and a written request from you starts that process. If a teacher has already told you to wait, our post on what to do when the school says “wait and see” covers your next steps in detail. For rules in your state, the Dyslexia Institute has a guide to dyslexia laws by state and a parent advocacy toolkit.

This is general information for parents, not legal advice. Special education rules and timelines vary by state, so check your state’s rules or talk with your state’s Parent Training and Information Center.

How should I send it, and to whom?

• Email, not a hallway chat. A conversation at pickup is easy to forget. Email gives you a dated record.
• Teacher first, with the right people copied. Send it to the classroom teacher. If you include request number 10, copy the principal or the special education coordinator too.
• Keep it short. One opening line, two or three items from the list, one closing line thanking them. A long letter gets skimmed.
• Save everything. Make an email folder or a paper file for every reply, form and report card. You will want it later.

A simple opening works: “Since October is Dyslexia Awareness Month, I wanted to share a few things I’ve noticed about [name]’s reading and ask a couple of questions.” Our free Advocating for Your Child course includes a letter writer that builds the email for you.

Here is what a complete email can look like, using lines 1, 2, 5 and 8. Swap in your own details:

Hi Ms. [Teacher],

Since October is Dyslexia Awareness Month, I wanted to share a few things I’ve noticed about [name]’s reading and ask a couple of questions. At home, [name] guesses at words from the first letter and has trouble sounding out short words. Reading homework that is meant to take 10 minutes usually takes us about 40.

Could you share [name]’s most recent reading screening results and what they show? I’d also love to set a time in the next six to eight weeks to look at progress together.

Thank you for everything you do for [name] and the class.

[Your name]

That is about 100 words. It is warm, specific, and it asks for two things the teacher can say yes to. If you later need to request an evaluation, you already have a dated record showing you raised concerns early.

What happens after I send it?

Usually, a reply and a meeting. If you asked for an evaluation, you should receive a consent form, and federal law generally gives the school 60 days from your signed consent to complete it unless your state sets a different timeline. If the school declines to evaluate, it must tell you in writing and explain why. Our guide to IEP vs. 504 plans explains what can come next.

Meanwhile, you do not have to wait for any of it. The teaching that helps children with dyslexia (clear letter sounds, blending, reading decodable words, a little writing every day) is something you can start this week. Our Level 1 workbook (on Amazon) is a parent-led dyslexia intervention curriculum built on the Orton-Gillingham approach, with scripted lessons so you always know what to say next. The curriculum page shows the full sequence.

One email will not fix everything. It does make your kid visible this month, on the record, and that is a real step.