ADULT LITERACY EDUCATION WINTER 2024 - Technology and Adult Learning - Improving Reading Skills for Adult Learners with Dyslexia in Incarcerated Settings with The Noah Text® - New Century Program

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Đào

Adult literacy education in winter 2024 highlights how dyslexia affects roughly 20% of the U.S. population and why many learners are not identified or supported with evidence-based interventions. The text synthesizes research on incarcerated adults, including prevalence and self-reported schooling trauma, and links dyslexia to specific brain functions involved in language processing and memory. It argues that digitally mediated assistive tools, especially Noah Text® in the New Century Program, can improve engagement, comprehension, fluency, and orthographic mapping through word-level scaffolding and visual cues.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages5

Reading Time13 min

AccessFree to download

Technology and Adult Learning

Improving Reading Skills for Adult Learners with Dyslexia in Incarcerated Settings with The Noah Text® -New Century Program

Evidence from Incarcerated Adult Learners

Causes, Diagnosis, and Federal Support

Dyslexia, Assistive Technology, and Noah Text®

What is Noah Text® ?

Opportunities

ADULT LITERACY EDUCATION WINTER 2024 | [http://doi.org/10.35847/SCacicio.6.1.54](http://doi.org/10.35847/SCacicio.6.1.54) | | | --- | --- | | | Technology and Adult Learning | Improving Reading Skills for Adult Learners with Dyslexia in Incarcerated Settings with The Noah Text® -New Century Program Sarah Cacicio, Adult Literacy & Learning Impact Network Dyslexia affects 20% of the U.S. population (Shaywitz et al., 2021). Research shows that the vast majority of students who are diagnosed with learning disabilities in school are, in fact, dyslexic. Still, many students with dyslexia are not adequately identified, assessed, or supported with research-based interventions. Despite having average or even above-average intelligence, growing up with dyslexia can negatively impact an individual’s self-esteem, behavior, academic performance, and overall mental health (Cassidy et al., 2021; Wilmot et al., 2022) . Adults with dyslexia report struggling with reading difficulties from as early as kindergarten which impacts their learning experiences over the life span. Providing evidence-based instruction alongside supplementary digitally-mediated reading tools such as The Noah Text®-New Century program described here is critical for improving learning engagement and outcomes among adult learners with dyslexia, especially for the disproportionate number of learners with reading difficulties in incarcerated settings. In a groundbreaking study among adult learners in prison, Cassidy et al. (2021) applied the federal definition of dyslexia, which recognizes a person’s intelligence as distinct from their difficulty with reading, to identify and intervene with inmates who experience dyslexia. The study reports findings on reading and IQ scores among 145 individually-tested incarcerated men and women in two maximum-security prisons in Louisiana. It indicated that almost half (47%) could be classified as having dyslexia, with 36% determined proficient readers and 17% determined to have cognitive impairment. Equally important as these indicators was the self-reported data the adult learners involved in the study provided about their prior educational experiences, shedding light on the rarely discussed trauma of schooling for learners who struggle with reading. Over half of the participants reported that they had been expelled from school, with significant majorities of 61% and 84% who had failed or repeated a grade and dropped out of school, respectively (Cassidy et al., 2021) . This study makes clear the need to integrate reading strategies and supports that are specifically designed for adult learners with dyslexia. The high prevalence of dyslexia among adult learners in prison has been attributed to inadequate education access, reduced language use in family life, and quitting school before completion because of academic and behavioral issues (Cassidy et al., 2021) . Significant efforts are now underway to improve methods for diagnosing and treating dyslexia, including at the federal level. For example, in 2018, the First Step Act (FSA) was the first major criminal justice reform to recognize the need to identify and support adult learners with dyslexia as part of a broader effort to reduce recidivism by improving access to evidence-based educational and rehabilitative programming for justice-impacted individuals. Dyslexia at its core is a difficulty with word reading (Sabatini, 2022). The primary cause of dyslexia is now linked to variations in functioning in the areas of the brain that deal with language processing, speed, short-term memory, auditory or visual perceptions, speaking, and related motor skills (Ahire et al., 2022). With a deeper understanding of what dyslexia is and how it impacts the whole learner, researchers, educators, and technology developers are now working together to improve reading outcomes for this significant population of adult learners. Technology is not [Correspondence: Sarah@barbarabush.org](Co

FAQs

How does dyslexia affect adult learners and why is identification important?

Dyslexia impacts word reading and can affect self-esteem, behavior, academic performance, and overall mental health. The text emphasizes that many learners with dyslexia are not adequately identified, assessed, or supported with research-based interventions.

What study evidence is presented about dyslexia among adults in prison?

Cassidy et al. (2021) tested 145 incarcerated men and women in Louisiana and reported that 47% could be classified as having dyslexia. It also notes educational trauma through self-reported experiences such as failing or repeating grades and dropping out.

What is Noah Text® and how does it support reading for people with dyslexia?

Noah Text® is described as a patent-pending method based on the science of reading that adapts text to improve reading fluidity. It provides word-level visual scaffolding by highlighting syllables and long vowels to support decoding and enunciation while keeping words intact.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Đào