ICYMI: Chairman Cassidy Hosts Roundtable with Parents to Improve Child Literacy, Support Students with Dyslexia

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Chairman of the U.S. Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee, hosted a roundtable today on supporting students with dyslexia and ensuring all students have the opportunity to succeed. As Chairman, Cassidy is leading efforts to improve child literacy rates.

"Children with dyslexia are fully capable," said Dr. Cassidy. "Getting a dyslexia diagnosis, and getting it early, is critical. Without that, students don't get the specialized instruction or accommodations they need to succeed."

The parents on the panel echoed Cassidy's call for improving diagnoses, sharing their own personal experiences with their children who have dyslexia. One parent, Hope McDonald, expressed frustration with the overly broad definition of Specific Learning Disability, saying it's why her daughter's public school refused to recognize her dyslexia as a real disability.

It's stories like these that motivated the Chairman to introduce his 21st Century Dyslexia Act. The legislation includes dyslexia in the list of disabilities under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), so parents can more easily get a diagnosis and resources for their children with dyslexia.

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