POLICY BRIEF
What government can do about dyslexia
A brief for decision makers in ministries, school boards and agencies.
01
The problem in numbers
19%
of Canadian adults scored at the two lowest literacy levels, against an OECD average of 27%
Source: Statistics Canada, PIAAC 202253%
of Ontario Grade 3 students with an IEP missed the reading standard in 2018-19, and 26% of all Grade 3 students missed it. With effective teaching, only about 5% would be expected to fall short.
Source: OHRC Right to Read$54B
a year, or about 3% of GDP, is what a 1% rise in literacy could add to the Canadian economy
02
What happens without help
The Ontario Human Rights Commission links reading failure to dropout, lower income, poverty and mental health harm.
75%
of first-time federal offenders had no high school diploma, versus about 20% of all Canadians
Source: Correctional Service CanadaThis does not measure dyslexia rates in prisons.
03
What works
Early screening
Universal early screening identifies students at risk before they fall behind, when support is most effective and least costly.
Structured literacy
Explicit, systematic instruction in how language works is proven to teach dyslexic students to read and spell.
Teacher training
Teachers need training in approaches such as Orton-Gillingham so every classroom can respond, not just specialist programs.
Workplace accommodation
Simple accommodations and awareness let dyslexic employees contribute their strengths fully.
04
Five asks
- Screen every child twice a year from Kindergarten to Grade 2.
- Require structured literacy in curriculum and teacher training.
- Fund reading intervention on a stable basis in every board.
- Give faster access to assessments, and do not make help wait for a diagnosis.
- Expand assistive technology at school and work, and report outcomes.
05
Where provinces stand
- Yes
- Launching
- Partial
- Planned
- Not found
Partner with us
Skills Council of Canada delivers publicly funded workforce programs and runs SkillsHub, the School Within Industry. Together with Fraser Academy, we can deliver training, awareness and employer programs at national scale.
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