The Language and Literacy Spectrum - Issue 1 - Article 2 - Incorporating Books as Strength-Based Examples of Characters with Dyslexia

Oct 15, 2026

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The article defines dyslexia as a neurobiological condition that affects both receptive literacy skills (word recognition and decoding) and productive skills (spelling), and highlights the growing U.S. focus on dyslexia screening and awareness. It argues that children’s literature portraying people with dyslexia can support empowering classroom discussions. The study’s purpose is to equip teachers with strategies and criteria for selecting books featuring diverse representations of dyslexia, modeling classroom-library curation through 26 selected examples and related discussion activities.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryHealthcare

FormatPDF

Pages21

Reading Time53 min

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Incorporating Books as Strength-Based Examples of Characters with Dyslexia

Dyslexia definitions and relevance of children’s literature

How teachers can identify books that accurately portray individuals with dyslexia

The Language and Literacy Spectrum | Volume 34 Issue 1 | Article 2 | | --- | --- | | May 2024
Incorporating Books as Strength-Based Examples of Characters with Dyslexia
Vera Sotirovska
University of Idaho, [vera.sot88@gmail.com](vera.sot88@gmail.com)
Margaret Vaughn
Washington State University, [margaret.vaughn@wsu.edu](margaret.vaughn@wsu.edu)
Follow this and additional works at: [https://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/lls](https://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/lls)
Part of the Accessibility Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Elementary Education and Teaching Commons, Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching Commons, Language and Literacy Education Commons, and the Special Education and Teaching Commons | | Recommended Citation Sotirovska, Vera and Vaughn, Margaret (2024) "Incorporating Books as Strength-Based Examples of Characters with Dyslexia," The Language and Literacy Spectrum: Vol. 34: Iss. 1, Article 2. Available at: [https://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/lls/vol34/iss1/2](https://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/lls/vol34/iss1/2) This Article is brought to you for free and open access by the Elementary Education and Reading at Digital Commons at Buffalo State. It has been accepted for inclusion in The Language and Literacy Spectrum by an authorized editor of Digital Commons at Buffalo State. For more information, please contact [digitalcommons@buffalostate.edu](digitalcommons@buffalostate.edu). Incorporating Books as Strength-Based Examples of Characters with Dyslexia Cover Page Footnote/Acknowledgements Vera Sotirovska, [Ph.D. soti5829@alumni.uidaho.edu](Ph.D. soti5829@alumni.uidaho.edu) University of Idaho College of Education, Health and Human Sciences 875 Perimeter Drive MS 3080 Moscow, ID 83844-3080 Margaret Vaughn, Ph. D. margaret.vaughn@wsu.edu Washington State University College of Education 1155 College Ave. Cleveland Hall 341 Pullman, WA 99164 This article is available in The Language and Literacy Spectrum: [https://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/lls/vol34/](https://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/lls/vol34/)[ ](https://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/lls/vol34/)iss1/2 Across the literature, dyslexia is defined as a neurobiological condition, characterized by literacy difficulties affecting both receptive (word recognition and decoding) and productive (spelling) skills, specifically how sounds and letters are perceived when reading and writing (Catts et al., 2024; International Dyslexia Association [IDA], 2002; Snowling et al., 2020; Wolf et al., 2024) . As dyslexia advocacy and dyslexia awareness initiatives across the United States (Al Otaiba et al., 2022 ; Eide, 2020 ; Shaywitz & Shaywitz, 2020) have increased, exploring children’s literature that portrays individuals with dyslexia is particularly relevant. At the time of writing this article, for example, 39 states in the United States have incorporated dyslexia screeners in many schools across the country (National Center on Improving Literacy, 2023), which suggests that dyslexia may become amore commonly discussed topic in many schools across the nation (Rice & Gilson, 2023) . The use of children’s literature that portrays multiple representations of individuals with dyslexia may serve as an important pedagogical tool that can be used to facilitate empowering discussions with children and youth in classrooms today (Sotirovska & Vaughn, 2022) . With this in mind, the purpose of this article is to provide teachers with strategies on how to select and use books with multiple representations of individuals with dyslexia. We present criteria to guide teachers in ways to curate their own classroom libraries with similar texts, reflecting the diversity of individuals with dyslexia. Then, book examples (n=26) are selected to model how teachers can use such texts in their classrooms. We aimed to find narratives that depict dyslexia as one aspect of a character’s complex selfhood rat

FAQs

How does the article define dyslexia?

Dyslexia is described as a neurobiological condition marked by literacy difficulties in both receptive skills (word recognition and decoding) and productive skills (spelling). It relates to how sounds and letters are perceived when reading and writing.

Why does the article emphasize children’s literature about dyslexia?

It argues that books can enable strength-based and equity-oriented classroom discussions. Multiple representations help students see themselves and others and support positive self-talk and critical conversations.

What is the main purpose of the article for teachers?

The article provides teacher strategies, including criteria for selecting and using books with multiple representations of individuals with dyslexia. It also presents 26 book examples to model classroom use and discussion.

Oct 15, 2026

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