Understanding Dyslexia: the Intersection of Scientific Research and Education

S. HRG. 114–759 UNDERSTANDING DYSLEXIA: THE INTERSECTION OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION HEARING OF THE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS UNITED STATES SENATE ONE HUNDRED FOURTEENTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION ON EXAMINING UNDERSTANDING DYSLEXIA, FOCUSING ON THE INTERSECTION OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND EDUCATION MAY 10, 2016 Printed for the use of the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions ( Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ U.S. GOVERNMENT PUBLISHING OFFICE 29–729 PDF WASHINGTON : 2018 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Publishing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2104 Mail: Stop IDCC, Washington, DC 20402–0001 VerDate Nov 24 2008 17:13 Apr 24, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 5011 Sfmt 5011 S:\DOCS\29729.TXT DENISE HELPN-003 with DISTILLER COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS LAMAR ALEXANDER, Tennessee, Chairman MICHAEL B. ENZI, Wyoming PATTY MURRAY, Washington RICHARD BURR, North Carolina BARBARA A. MIKULSKI, Maryland JOHNNY ISAKSON, Georgia BERNARD SANDERS (I), Vermont RAND PAUL, Kentucky ROBERT P. CASEY, JR., Pennsylvania SUSAN COLLINS, Maine AL FRANKEN, Minnesota LISA MURKOWSKI, Alaska MICHAEL F. BENNET, Colorado MARK KIRK, Illinois SHELDON WHITEHOUSE, Rhode Island TIM SCOTT, South Carolina TAMMY BALDWIN, Wisconsin ORRIN G. HATCH, Utah CHRISTOPHER S. MURPHY, Connecticut PAT ROBERTS, Kansas ELIZABETH WARREN, Massachusetts BILL CASSIDY, M.D., Louisiana DAVID P. CLEARY, Republican Staff Director LINDSEY WARD SEIDMAN, Republican Deputy Staff Director EVAN SCHATZ, Minority Staff Director JOHN RIGHTER, Minority Deputy Staff Director (II) VerDate Nov 24 2008 17:13 Apr 24, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 S:\DOCS\29729.TXT DENISE HELPN-003 with DISTILLER CONTENTS STATEMENTS TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2016 Page COMMITTEE MEMBERS Cassidy, Hon. Bill, a U.S. Senator from the State of Louisiana, opening statement .............................................................................................................. 1 Mikulski, Hon Barbara A., a U.S. Senator from the State of Maryland ............. 4 Bennet, Hon. Michael F., a U.S. Senator from the State of Colorado ................. 43 Murphy, Hon. Christopher, a U.S. Senator from the State of Connecticut ........ 45 Warren, Hon. Elizabeth, a U.S. Senator from the State of Massachusetts ........ 47 Casey, Hon. Robert P., Jr., a U.S. Senator from the State of Pennsylvania ...... 48 WITNESSES Shaywitz, Sally, M.D., Co-Director, Yale Center For Dyslexia and Creativity, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT ....................................... 7 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 8 Baraka, Ameer, Author/Actor, Terrytown, LA ...................................................... 16 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 18 Eden, Guinevere, D. Phil., Director, Center for the Study of Learning, George- town University Medical Center, Washington, DC ........................................... 19 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 21 Boies, David, Chairman, Boies, Schiller, and Flexner, LLP, Armonk, NY ......... 24 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 25 Mahone, Mark, Ph.D., ABPP, Director, Department of Neuropsychology, Ken- nedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD .............................................................. 27 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 29 Hanrath, April, Parent, Salt Lake City, UT .......................................................... 36 Prepared statement .......................................................................................... 38 ADDITIONAL MATERIAL Statements, articles, publications, letters, etc. Response to questions of Senator Sanders by: David Boies ................................................................................................ 57 Mark Mahone, Ph.D., ABPP ..................................................................... 58 April Hanrath ............................................................................................ 60 Response to questions of Senator Casey by Guinevere Eden, D.Phil. ......... 62 (III) VerDate Nov 24 2008 17:13 Apr 24, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 S:\DOCS\29729.TXT DENISE HELPN-003 with DISTILLER VerDate Nov 24 2008 17:13 Apr 24, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 0486 Sfmt 0486 S:\DOCS\29729.TXT DENISE HELPN-003 with DISTILLER UNDERSTANDING DYSLEXIA: THE INTERSEC- TION OF SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH AND EDU- CATION TUESDAY, MAY 10, 2016 U.S. SENATE, COMMITTEE ON HEALTH, EDUCATION, LABOR, AND PENSIONS, Washington, DC. The committee met, pursuant to notice, at 10:08 a.m., in room SD–430, Dirksen Senate Office Building, Hon. Bill Cassidy pre- siding. Present: Senators Cassidy, Mikulski, Burr, Scott, Casey, Bennet, Murphy, and Warren. OPENING STATEMENT OF SENATOR CASSIDY Senator CASSIDY. The Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions will please come to order. Welcome to all. Thank you for being here. Let me remark that Senator Bennett’s funeral is this morning. So we’ve lost some of our colleagues who will be attending the funeral. Senator Hatch, who asked that I would note that he’s going to be in Utah attending former Senator Bennett’s funeral and wished he could be here and regrets that he cannot be here to introduce Ms. Hanrath. Under the circumstances, we understand. This morning, we’re having a hearing titled Understanding Dys- lexia: The Intersection of Scientific Research & Education that, hopefully, will raise awareness and educate us on dyslexia, high- lighting the importance of early identification of students with dyslexia, and ensuring that such students have access to evidence- based resources. Senator Mikulski and I will each make an opening statement, and then introduce our panel of witnesses. Each panelist will have 5 minutes to summarize your testimony. We have a timer in front of you. Green light is go, yellow means you have 1 minute left, and red means I’m going to start pounding with my gavel. After our witnesses’ testimony, Senators will each have 5 minutes to ask questions. I am pleased to chair this hearing, and, again, I thank Senator Mikulski for co-chairing. I also thank my other colleagues who were in support of having this hearing. We’re discussing dyslexia, an issue very important to me, both as the parent of a dyslexic child and as a Senator. We have a great lineup of witnesses, including those who have personally addressed dyslexia. (1) VerDate Nov 24 2008 17:13 Apr 24, 2018 Jkt 000000 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6633 Sfmt 6633 S:\DOCS\29729.TXT DENISE HELPN-003 with DISTILLER 2 Ameer Baraka, who is a friend, will speak about growing up with unrecognized dyslexia, without resources, but overcoming and eventually becoming an actor; David Boies, who overcame dyslexia, entering the most language-based of all professions, law; and Ms. Hanrath will speak of her daughter, who has been quite successful, but from the mother’s perspective. Thank you, Ms. Hanrath. There’s a common thread in each family’s testimony: a child who struggles to read and cannot. Often, the parent was dyslexic, too, and they relate. But a child frustrated by their inability to read, if a boy, acts out. If it’s a girl, she becomes shy, embarrassed to read aloud in class. Afraid of being mocked. Think about the teacher who has that bright child struggling to read, but does not have the training or resources to help that child become the better student and achieve their fuller potential. In October of last year, Senator Mikulski and I sponsored and the Senate passed a resolution that defined dyslexia as a, ‘‘unex- pected difficulty in reading, highlighted by a gap between the individual’s intelligence and their reading level.’’ It’s the bright child who doesn’t read commensurate with their brightness. Put simply, in non-dyslexics, IQ and reading tend to track along the same line. In dyslexics, IQ is higher, and reading ability is lower. Dyslexia is the most common learning disability, many will men- tion. According to NIH sponsored research, nearly 20 percent of us have dyslexia, whether you’re watching on TV, in this room, in Congress, in your workplace. It’s from all walks of life. The impact of dyslexia on an individual, a family, a school, and our society is tremendous. What if I told you that by effectively addressing dyslexia, we could further prison reform by identifying students with dyslexia and providing science-based interventions? Or that we could get more bang from our Federal investments in education? Or that we could reach into the classroom and change the interaction between a dyslexic student and a frustrated teacher to a relationship between a learning, productive student and a fulfilled teacher? The goals of this hearing are simple: to raise awareness of the scope and scale of dyslexia; to increase awareness of what precisely dyslexia is, as defined by science; and to highlight the importance of early identification of those who are dyslexic and giving these children the necessary evidence-based resources needed to succeed in school and beyond. There are great

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