by Tammy Chamley | Editor, Dells City Journal
Richard Branson, Albert Einstein, Whoopi Golberg, Tom Cruise, Steven Spielberg Jay Leno, Tim Tebow, Muhammad Ali, Magic Johnson, and Steve Jobs, are some famous individuals with dyslexia—in other words, many iconic individuals are successful despite—or because of—their dyslexia. Dyslexia is a learning difference that tends to have strengths.
Dell Rapids resident Tara Boechler has been an advocate for dyslexia for many years. Her son, Avery Boechler, senior at Dell Rapids High School was diagnosed with dyslexia at a very young age. By the end of first grade, Avery was diagnosed privately with dyslexia. Avery struggled with reading and writing and was pulled from the public schools after second grade and finally qualified for an individual education plan (IEP) in sixth grade after being tested privately each year. “Although I was a reading teacher with a Master’s Degree in education, plus sixty graduate credits in literacy, I had no idea what dyslexia was or all the children I had previously failed,” Boechler explained. “Educators weren’t even allowed to say the word dyslexia in my old school district.”
The Mayo Clinic defines dyslexia as learning disorder that involves difficulty reading due to problems identifying speech sounds and learning how they relate to letters and words (decoding). Also called reading disability, dyslexia affects areas of the brain that process language. Dyslexia affects 20% of our population. “Avery and I wanted to advocate so that no child would ever have to feel like he did and no family would ever feel as helpless as we did,” Boechler added.
“As evidence of my passion, I advocate and educate on dyslexia every chance I can,” Boechler said. Boechler uses Facebook a great deal and has advocated at the local and state level. Boechler has presented east river for the O’ Gorman staff K-12 in Sioux Falls on dyslexia and was hired to teach dyslexia workshops at the University of Sioux Falls (which were completely full this spring and summer, but Covid put a quick stop to that).
West river, Boechler was involved in many dyslexia awareness events and Decoding Dyslexia.
“I receive calls and emails weekly from all over South Dakota and the United States from concerned parents or teachers with questions regarding dyslexia,” Boechler stated. “I graduated from SD Partners in Policy Making and Advocacy in 2015. My car license plate reads “ONEIN5” because 1 in 5 students has dyslexia.”
The Boechler family continued their fight at the state level with two bills in 2016 and 2017. “Two bills that I introduced in 2016 and 2017 with help from both Avery and my husband, are SD HB1198-nicknamed Avery’s Dyslexia Bill—and SD HB 1133. Advocacy at the capitol resulted in a South Dakota dyslexia workgroup in
Pierre, where I worked with an assigned task force to create a 5-year dyslexia plan,” Boechler explained. This advocacy also brought dyslexia conversation forward across the state, and the Department of Education hosted a special education conference with a keynote dyslexia speaker and now has dyslexia workshops.
Boechler also helped a smaller team in Chamberlain create a revised South Dakota dyslexia handbook and brochure which Avery’s photo is featured in, and the DOE has added a dyslexia section to their website and quarterly dyslexia information is sent to teachers. The DOE has a state reading foundations class that has been created that is recommended for all elementary teachers.
In 2020 a parent from Yankton, Jessie Scott, spearheaded the SD HB1175 to define dyslexia in South Dakota for the purpose of special education and related services.
“It was the most exciting day testifying in Pierre and being part of the whole dyslexia journey past and present when the bill passed,” Boechler said. “The most emotional day was being personally invited back to the bill signing with Governor Noem knowing that this will make a difference for 27,000 students in South Dakota with Dyslexia!”
“Parents, trust your instinct and always advocate,” Boechler expressed, if you feel your child is showing signs of dyslexia. “Communicate closely with your child’s teacher, administrator, counselor, special education teacher, school psychologist, or pediatrician. If you are still concerned about your child request testing in writing from the school, contact a speech language pathologist, or seek a private evaluation from a highly qualified and recommended educational psychologist.”
Dyslexia is identifiable with 92% accuracy by age 5 1⁄2. Early identification and intervention are important because it takes four times as long to intervene in 4th grade as it does in late kindergarten, due to brain development and increased content.
A dyslexia diagnosis allows for appropriate accommodations on a 504 or an IEP enabling a student to be successful in a structured literacy classroom or small group intervention.
“With the support of an IEP, and excellent classroom teachers, administrators, and coaches as well as his perseverance to excel and self-advocate, Avery continues to be an A student, National Honors Society Member, and a competitive varsity athlete now at Dells Public High School,” Boechler added. “He was recognized by former Secretary of Education Melody Schoppe for his dyslexia advocacy and nominated for an award.”
Avery just applied for college at UCLA and University of Las Vegas.
“My most powerful advice for parents is to be their child’s biggest cheerleader, because they can do anything with a strong support system,” Boechler concluded.
