Read Naturally Effective in
Helping Students with Dyslexia
Do any of your students have dyslexia? Using the Read Naturally strategy can help. Dr. Sally Shaywitz, a neuroscientist and professor of pediatrics at Yale, and codirector of the Yale Center for the Study of Learning and Attention, advises that children who are struggling with dyslexia get additional reading practice and fluency training at home. In her book, Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Overcoming Reading Problems at Any Level, Dr. Shaywitz writes, "I urge parents of dyslexic children to make fluency training—repeated oral reading—their number one priority."
She recommends the Read Naturally strategy because it "follows the basic principles of effective fluency instruction." Dr. Shaywitz further extends her work in this area as a member of the National Reading Panel, a panel mandated by Congress to determine the most effective reading programs.
The Read Naturally strategy also received national attention in the July 28, 2003 cover story for Time magazine. The article, "Overcoming Dyslexia: What New Brain Science Reveals and What Parents Can Do," discusses new research surrounding this learning disorder. Our strategy is acknowledged in the section of the article that discusses how parents can help their children at home. Specifically, the Read Naturally SE program is mentioned as one of the computer-based reading programs that can be most helpful to parents and their dyslexic children.
