Tennessee Center for the Study and Treatment of Dyslexia

Resources for Tennessee Families

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The links below can be helpful to Tennessee families seeking information about dyslexia screening, identification, and instructional support through response to instruction and intervention (RTI^2) or special education.

Please note: The following resources are linked below for your convenience but were not authored or published by the Tennessee Center for the Study and Treatment of Dyslexia at MTSU. If you have questions or concerns about information presented in these publications, please contact the appropriate organization, indicated in parentheses following the name of each publication.

In 2024-2025, the Tennessee Department of Education (TDOE) produced a family engagement series around dyslexia in Tennessee schools. Recordings of the first two installments of that series can be found below.

The following resource, co-authored by several organizations and available from the Learning Disabilities Association of Texas, is not specific to Tennessee but contains helpful information about terms such as dyslexia, learning disability, and comprehensive evaluation as defined in federal legislation.

Who Can Diagnose Dyslexia?

This is a common question, and the answer depends on the purpose for seeking a diagnosis or identification. First, dyslexia falls under the umbrella of two larger categories: specific learning disorder and specific learning disability. A diagnosis of a specific learning disorder, a category in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fifth Edition (DSM-5), is made by a clinical psychologist, developmental pediatrician (i.e., pediatricians that have received additional training to identify learning and behavioral disorders), or other medical professional based on a specific set of criteria. Most pediatricians do not evaluate students for dyslexia or other learning disorders.

Learning disorders, including dyslexia, are typically identified by professionals who have received extensive training in assessment through a graduate-level degree program. Examples of these professionals include school psychologists, clinical psychologists, speech-language pathologists, developmental pediatricians, and others with similar graduate-level, clinical training. Evaluators outside the public education system often use the term specific learning disorder.

Public school IEP (Individualized Education Program) teams use the similar term, specific learning disability, which is the disability category that federal special education law requires them to use when identifying a learning disability in reading, mathematics, or written expression. When a child is identified with a specific learning disability in basic reading skills and/or reading fluency, an IEP team may also use the term dyslexia. This 2015 “Dear Colleague” letter from the Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services of the United States Department of Education clarifies that use of terms such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, and dysgraphia is allowed in evaluations for special education, eligibility determinations, and IEP documents. While school teams must consider outside evaluations shared by a parent or guardian, a diagnosis by a medical doctor or other evaluator outside of the school system is not required for a child to access school services.

Qualified evaluators outside of the public school system may or may not use the term dyslexia to describe difficulties in word recognition, decoding, reading fluency, and spelling.

The resources linked below compare a medical or clinical diagnosis with determination of educational eligibility to clarify where these processes align and how they differ.

Understanding Evaluations: Educational versus Medical Disability (The Arc-TN, TN-TAN, and Family Engagement in Special Education-TN)

The Difference Between a School Identification and a Clinical Diagnosis (Understood.org)

How Can I Help My Child Develop Their Reading Skills?

Check out the resources below for ideas on how to support your child’s reading at home.

Supporting Your Child’s Reading at Home: A Resource for Parents and Caring Adults of Children in Grades K-3

This resource from the Regional Education Laboratory Southeast of the Institute of Education Sciences offers practical, research-based activities and videos that help families support foundational reading skills at home. Activities are organized by grade level and focus on key components of reading development, including phonological awareness, decoding, fluency, and comprehension. Access the free guide here.

Resources from the Tennessee Center for the Study and Treatment of Dyslexia

The Tennessee Center for the Study and Treatment of Dyslexia has created infographics, e-books and planning guides, and several video resources to help families understand dyslexia and identify ways to support their children’s reading development. You can also search for therapist or tutor who is trained in providing dyslexia-specific intervention.