Recognizing Dyslexia Awareness Month

Floor Speech

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Mr. WESTERMAN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring awareness to dyslexia, a learning disability that affects as many as one in five people.

October is Dyslexia Awareness Month, which is why I will be introducing a resolution this week calling on Congress to formally recognize it.

Those who have dyslexia struggle with language skills, making reading significantly more difficult.

While this is a serious problem, it is a solvable one. If educators identify dyslexia early on and teach children proper techniques, students can use these tools to succeed. Reading is foundational to education, as we first learn to read and then read to learn.

Dyslexia affects students equally regardless of intelligence, socioeconomic status, or gender. Many famous people, including Albert Einstein, Steve Jobs, and George Washington, had dyslexia. They were able to achieve incredible things despite their learning disabilities.

However, 74 percent of children who are poor readers in third grade remain poor readers by the time they reach ninth grade. This is why, as co-chair of the bipartisan House Dyslexia Caucus, I am working to increase awareness. I encourage my colleagues to join the House Dyslexia Caucus so we can ensure children with dyslexia have every opportunity to succeed.

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