Erica Triggs

My daughter is nowhere near kindergarten age yet, although time seems to be moving faster every day. My mom watches her often while I'm teaching students after school, and she's already started introducing letters in the sweetest way. She can recognize and say the letter S, and they're working on M, G, D, and N for Mama, Grandpa, Dada, and Nonna. As a dyslexia and literacy interventionist, people often assume my biggest concern will be making sure she can read before kindergarten. The truth...

Every year as the school doors close, the same phrase starts circulating among educators and parents: the summer slide. It is often said with urgency, sometimes even fear. But what does it actually mean? Is it real? And more importantly, what should families realistically do about it? Let’s unpack it. What is the summer slide? The summer slide refers to the learning loss that can happen when students are out of school for an extended period, particularly in reading and math. Research from...

When I read, I get tired. Sometimes I can only make it through five pages before my brain needs a break. I like reading in the car when I’m a passenger, but it often ends with me falling asleep. Then I feel disappointed, like I should have been able to read more. This is what dyslexia looks like for me as an adult. Not an inability to read, but the mental fatigue that comes with it. Growing Up With Dyslexia (Before I Had the Word for It) When I was growing up, I loved reading. I still...