Families Testify on Beacon Hill in Support of Dyslexia Legislation

Families from across eastern Massachusetts traveled to the State House Thursday with a team of experts in the field of dyslexia research to advocate for new laws aimed at improving outcomes for students with dyslexia, said an announcement.

Students and parents from Newton and Grafton joined others from towns such as North Andover and Tewksbury to speak on behalf of the bills.

Members of Decoding Dyslexia Massachusetts (DDMA) brought a team to Beacon Hill that included neuroscientist Dr. Elizabeth Norton from the Gabrieli Lab at the McGovern Institute of Brain Research at MIT and Dr. Charles Haynes of The Speech, Language and Literacy Center of Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions. Sen. Ryan Fattman and Sen. Barbara L’Italien hosted the information session.

DDMA is part of a national coalition in all 50 states to raise awareness about dyslexia and is working to create change in school systems across the nation.

Dr. Norton and Dr. Haynes explained to legislators that learning to read is more difficult for a person with dyslexia, but when identified and provided with the appropriate instruction, these students can and do learn to read with great success.

Nancy Duggan, of Acton, and Nicole Mitsakis, of Middleton, and Lisa Nelson, of Grafton, of DDMA, organized the event with the help of officials in Sen. Barbara L’Italien and Sen. Ryan Fattman’s offices.

Families traveling to the State House to discuss pending dyslexia legislation, and how their lives have been impacted by dyslexia, include Ethan Toubes-Marquis and his mother, Melissa Marquis, and Nigel and Mary-Jo Keenan, all of Andover; Kate Lovett, and her mother, Kirsten Lovett, of North Andover; and Luke Miller and his mother, Jayne Miller, of Tewksbury.

Members of DDMA are speaking out to help other families across the Commonwealth who have children with dyslexia.

Luke Miller, a 10th grade student at Tewksbury Memorial High School, described a journey with dyslexia beginning in kindergarten, to the Carroll School in Lincoln, and back to public school. He credits early screening, early diagnosis, and intensive, science-based instruction for allowing him to catch-up with peers and close achievement gaps developed by most students with dyslexia who struggle to learn to read, while peers begin reading to learn.

“I was screened at such a young age and my family could take action to solve this problem,” said Miller in a release.

Decoding Dyslexia MA supports legislation that would allow schools to use the scientific definition of dyslexia accepted by the National Institute of Health, and the International Dyslexia Association (IDA). Two legislators are already working towards this goal. Representative Alice Peisch, Chairwoman of the Education Committee, and Senator Barbara L’Italien both submitted dyslexia legislation: H 463 and S 312.