Screening for dyslexia in low-resource and multilingual contexts

Effectively screening for dyslexia is a challenge in low- and middle-income countries, in large part due to a general lack of locally appropriate screening tools and trained professionals and a poor understanding of what dyslexia is. Furthermore, support for students identified with dyslexia in these contexts is largely inadequate. RTI International (RTI) has introduced a phased approach to dyslexia screening, which encourages education systems to immediately begin meeting the needs of students with dyslexia and other learning challenges—including instituting basic screenings for all students—while developing the tools, expertise, and systems needed to expand to more specific and comprehensive dyslexia evaluations. Recent innovations in low-cost, easily administered vision and hearing screening, and in specific screening for reading challenges, offer options for education systems as they take stock of current inclusive education practices and plan for the future.