PRINTER'S NO. 2541
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA
HOUSE RESOLUTION
No.
517
Session of
2019
INTRODUCED BY NEILSON, HARKINS, LONGIETTI, HILL-EVANS, MILLARD,
CALTAGIRONE, HAHN, HENNESSEY, SANCHEZ, SCHLOSSBERG, KORTZ,
DiGIROLAMO, MERSKI, MURT, FREEMAN, BIZZARRO, McCLINTON,
McNEILL, McCARTER, SONNEY, T. DAVIS, BERNSTINE, BURNS,
MACKENZIE, BROWN, READSHAW AND YOUNGBLOOD, SEPTEMBER 23, 2019
REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION, SEPTEMBER 23, 2019
A RESOLUTION
Designating the month of October 2019 as "Dyslexia Awareness
Month" in Pennsylvania.
WHEREAS, Developmental reading disorder, or dyslexia, is a
language-based learning disability that occurs when there is a
problem in areas of the brain that help interpret language; and
WHEREAS, Dyslexia's symptoms include slow or inaccurate
reading, poor spelling, poor writing or mixing up similar words;
and
WHEREAS, Problems experienced by people with dyslexia may
include:
(1) confusing letters or having difficulty learning the
sounds that go with letters;
(2) having trouble learning how to speak, recognizing
words or determining the meaning of a simple sentence; and
(3) having trouble processing the sounds of language,
such as rhyming;
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and
WHEREAS, Dyslexia can include disorganization of written and
spoken language or struggles in comprehending and concentrating
on longer reading assignments; and
WHEREAS, Dyslexia may also include difficulty in correctly
performing math operations, memorizing number facts or learning
a foreign language; and
WHEREAS, Dyslexia is a specific information processing
problem that does not interfere with one's ability to think or
understand complex ideas; and
WHEREAS, Dyslexia is not caused by a lack of desire to learn
and affects people of all backgrounds and intellectual levels,
with the majority of individuals being of normal intelligence
and many being above average in intelligence; and
WHEREAS, Students with dyslexia are likely to struggle with
many aspects of academic learning, are at a higher risk of
dropping out of school entirely and often go for years without
being properly diagnosed; and
WHEREAS, Aside from problems in school, an individual with
dyslexia can experience a loss of self-esteem and general
reading problems that may persist into adulthood, which can
affect the individual's job performance; and
WHEREAS, According to the International Dyslexia Association,
approximately 85% of students classified as having a primary
learning disability have difficulty in reading and language
processing; and
WHEREAS, The number of people having some symptoms of
dyslexia is much higher, perhaps as much as 15% to 20% of the
entire United States population; and
WHEREAS, There is much hope for students who are correctly
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diagnosed with this disorder, as they can successfully learn
with appropriate teaching methods; and
WHEREAS, The earlier that dyslexia is diagnosed, the better
for the student; and
WHEREAS, Dyslexia is a disorder that often manifests among
members of the same family; and
WHEREAS, While dyslexia affects individuals throughout their
lives, its impact can change at different stages of life; and
WHEREAS, Dyslexia is an often misunderstood language-based
disability, and a large percentage of residents of this
Commonwealth experience one or more symptoms of this disorder;
therefore be it
RESOLVED, That the House of Representatives designate the
month of October 2019 as "Dyslexia Awareness Month" in
Pennsylvania.
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