A research team at Boston Children’s Hospital is preparing to release an app that could help identify students at risk for reading disabilities early, putting them on a pathway to reaching their full reading potential, rather than languishing for years without proper support.
To get help with dyslexia or other significant reading disabilities, a child often has to try and fail to read for several years before receiving an official diagnosis. Only then, after missed opportunities for effective intervention, do they get the support needed for their specific challenges.
The consequences of this lost time are serious: Students who read below grade-level may struggle with issues like low self-esteem and a lack of academic motivation that can continue to plague them into adulthood, among other challenges.
But it doesn’t have to be that way. Schools can screen young children before they are even able to read, to see who may be at risk for reading disabilities including dyslexia. Armed with that information, educators can begin to help at-risk students in prekindergarten and kindergarten, rather than waiting for them to struggle. That’s why the Massachusetts Legislature passed a law last month that requires the state to develop screening protocols for dyslexia.
With the new app, screening for the risk of developing reading disabilities can be quick, easy, and fun for children, says Nadine Gaab, a researcher and faculty member at the Harvard Medical School and Harvard Graduate School of Education. Gaab created the app with the Innovation and Digital Health Accelerator at Boston Children’s Hospital.
“The goal is to identify, with a high degree of specificity, all children who struggle with reading, regardless of why they will struggle, as early as possible, and provide support for educators, parents, and health professionals through an easy-to-use, accessible platform,” says Gaab.