Linking Science-Based Research with a Structured Literacy Program to Teach Students with Dyslexia to Read: Connections: OG in 3-D®

Reading is a vital skill for functioning in society. People need to read road signs, prescription labels, restaurant menus, and job applications just to make it through everyday life. Unfortunately, approximately 20% of the population (Washburn, & Joshi, & Binks-Cantrell, 2011) are said to be dyslexic which means they will struggle learning to read. Evidence supports that learning to read based on science-based strategies that are taught systematically and explicitly to all students, but especially those who are dyslexic (Cowan, 2016). Illiteracy stems from lack of suitable reading instruction in the early school years. Since reading is not a natural process, literacy must be taught through the lens of the science of reading. Literacy teaching must incorporate all the elements and modalities in a comprehensive, research-based program. One such program is The Apple Group Connections: OG in 3D® (Frierson & Scholtens, 2014{Connections®}) science-based reading. Connections® is an efficacious methodology for addressing reading differences such as dyslexia with proven reading results.