Congressional Dyslexia Caucus

19/09/2024

This week, Congressional Dyslexia Caucus Co-Chairs Congressman Bruce Westerman and Congresswoman Julia Brownley introduced a resolution recognizing October 2024 as National Dyslexia Awareness Month.

Read more here:

Today, Congressional Dyslexia Caucus Co-Chairs Congressman Bruce Westerman (AR-04) and Congresswoman Julia Brownley (CA-26) introduced a resolution recognizing October 2024 as National Dyslexia Awareness Month.

31/10/2023

Last week, Congressman Bruce Westerman, Congresswoman Erin Houchin, and Congresswoman Julia Brownley introduced the 21st Century Dyslexia Act. This legislation works to incorporate the modern, scientific understanding of dyslexia into federal statute and prevent the harm unidentified dyslexia can inflict on young students.

Read more about the 21st Century Dyslexia Act here:

WASHINGTON - Today, U.S. Reps. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.), Julia Brownley (D-Calif) and Erin Houchin (R-Ind.) introduced the 21st Century Dyslexia Act.

29/04/2022

This week, co-chairs of the bipartisan Dyslexia Caucus Congressman Bruce Westerman and Congresswoman Julia Brownley introduced the "21st Century Dyslexia Act" to reclassify dyslexia within the "Individuals with Disabilities Education Act."

By reclassifying dyslexia as its own, stand-alone category within the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, this bill will ensure those who suffer from the learning disability will receive proper care and accommodation to ensure a fruitful education.

Reading is an integral building block of a successful future. Our school system must provide proper tools to help our children overcome the challenges of this common learning disability, which starts by reclassifying the disability to ensure maximum accommodation.

Yesterday, Congressmen Bruce Westerman (R-AR), Co-Chair of the House Dyslexia Caucus, introduced the bipartisan 21st Century Dyslexia Act to reclassify dyslexia within the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). The members released the following statement:

02/03/2022

Happy Read Across America Day and happy birthday Dr. Seuss! Reading skills are vital building blocks for a successful education and future.

As co-chair of the Dyslexia Caucus and husband of a teacher, Congressman Bruce Westerman knows how important proper accommodation and attention is for those struggling with dyslexia. He looks forward to working with his colleagues in Congress to ensure no American living with dyslexia is left behind.

To celebrate Read Across America Day, Rep. Westerman read Sherri Graves Smith’s “Big Red‘s Game Day Rules.” Read along with him or read another favorite with your families today!

25/10/2021

As Co- Chairs of the Congressional Dyslexia Caucus, Congressman Bruce Westerman and Congresswoman Julia Brownley introduced a bipartisan resolution with 16 cosponsors designating October 2021 as National Dyslexia Awareness Month.

By raising awareness of dyslexia’s challenges, the Representatives hope to help students, teachers, and parents take full advantage of the resources available to them.

WASHINGTON – Today, Congressional Dyslexia Caucus Co- Chairs Bruce Westerman (R-AR) and Julia B

03/03/2020

In honor of Read Across America Day, U.S. Representative Chrissy Houlahan and Congressman Bruce Westerman introduced the bipartisan READ Act. The bill creates a grant program allowing states to capitalize on what Pennsylvania, Arkansas, and other states have learned about how to best support educators in teaching students how to read.

Read all about it 👇

WASHINGTON – Yesterday, U.S. Reps. Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Chrissy Houlahan (D-Penn.) introduced the bipartisan Reading Early and Addressing Dyslexia (READ) Act.

21/01/2020

"I don’t want other kids to feel stupid like I did, and I just want to raise money for tutors so they can help other kids learn to read better and not let dyslexia get in the way of everything," Elliot said.

Incredible to see young people making such a difference and refusing to let dyslexia hinder their dreams!

INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - A central Indiana middle school student hopes to become the youngest winner of the Indy 500, but his accomplishments off the track are making an impact on the classroom. Elliot Cox is a seven-time national go cart points champion. In this seventh grader's bedroom, you won't find...

09/12/2019

Because the human brain doesn’t come already wired to read, there is no “reading center” of the brain and there are no “reading genes.” As Proust and the Squid author Maryanne Wolf writes, each individual brain must learn how to read on its own.

In learning to read, the brain performs an amazing feat: it creates a specialized circuit that’s just for reading, forging a new circuit by combining parts of the brain that were originally designed to serve other functions, such as retrieving names. This new “reading circuit” combines processes from different areas of the brain and then runs at a speed so fast it’s nearly automatic.

But not all brains forge a flowing reading circuit easily. This is the case with dyslexia. Rather than being a disease or a medical condition (the common misperception), dyslexia is a different brain organization—one in which the brain’s reading circuit has been disrupted or re-routed in at least one way, and sometimes in two or three ways.

Students, parents, and teachers must understand that the dyslexic’s brain isn’t “broken” or deficient, just organized in a different way. And there is specialized reading instruction specifically for the different brain structure.

31/10/2019

Closing out National Dyslexia Awareness Month with a message from our co-chairs, Congressman Bruce Westerman and Congresswoman Julia Brownley.

25/10/2019

For today’s , did you know that parents with dyslexia have an increased chance of passing the genetic learning disability to their children? This is one of the reasons diagnosis in adults is just as important as in kids. If a parent has struggled to learn but hasn’t been diagnosed, they are less equipped to help their child who may have dyslexia as well.

We’ve heard from many adults who didn’t know they had dyslexia until later in life. Once they knew, it completely changed the way they viewed themselves and their learning abilities. We need to continue raising awareness about dyslexia so that both children and adults can learn in the best possible way!

23/10/2019

Hot off the presses! Caucus Co-Chairs Bruce Westerman and Julia Brownley, along with 13 original cosponsors, introduced a bipartisan resolution formally recognizing October 2019 as National Dyslexia Awareness Month.

This federal designation is a big step forward in removing stigmas about dyslexia, and we hope to see it passed quickly through the House.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressional Dyslexia Caucus Co-Chairs Bruce Westerman (R-Ark.) and Julia Brownley (D-Calif.), along with U.S. Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.), introduced a bipartisan resolution calling on Congress to support the designation of October 2019 as National Dyslexia A...