A Balanced Approach to Teaching Reading to Dyslexic Students
In a recent LinkedIn post, reading consultant Brian Vieira argued strongly against sight word or whole word instruction, calling it the “worst way” to teach reading. He emphasized the superiority of phonics-based methods, pointing to the vast number of English words, the finite set of speech sounds, and scientific evidence favoring sound processing over memorization.
Instructional Casualties and Systemic Blindness
In 2011, Malaysia’s National Service revealed that 1,000 out of 11,000 trainees were illiterate. But after just 30 credit hours of instruction, they could read and write. What happened during their years in school?
If 30 hours can reverse years of illiteracy, then the problem isn’t the students—it’s the system.
Children aren’t broken. Our teaching methods are. Discover why decoding is often innate — and how confusion poisons the path to literacy.
Sections:
Most children who read do so by figuring it out — even when phonics is taught incorrectly.
Decoding ≠ comprehension. Let’s stop conflating the two.
Harvard research shows reading relies on smooth neural pathways.
Wrong phonics = stoplights. Correct input = free flow.
Many “dyslexic” children are victims of confusion, not disorder.
Early exposure to wrong sounds (TV, kindergarten) blocks natural decoding.
My first student learned to read without phonics — just Peter and Jane books.
I’ve seen children “unlock” reading overnight when confusion is removed.
Call to Action: Let’s stop blaming children. Let’s start fixing instruction.
Read the full post below
For years, I’ve argued that many children possess an innate ability to decode written language — an ability that’s often overlooked, dismissed, or actively suppressed by flawed teaching methods. This claim has sparked heated debates, especially on Twitter, where educators like Pamela Snow have blocked me rather than engage with the evidence. But the truth remains: many children figure out how to read despite — not because of — formal instruction.
🚸 Decoding vs. Comprehension: Let’s Be Precise
When I say “reading,” I’m talking about decoding — the ability to recognize and sound out words. Comprehension is a separate skill, and I leave that to experts in that field. The confusion between these two has led to widespread misunderstanding about what it means to “learn to read.”
Here is a YouTube video by Dr. David Kilpatrick and my comments.
Dr. Kilpatrick:
At minute 2.08 it says: Poor access to the phonemes makes reading alphabetic languages very difficult.
At minute 2.47 it says: The ability of identifying unfamiliar words by sounding them out.
‘Preschool and child care have little impact on a child’s later school test scores’.
The above was tweeted by Greg Ashman.
A majority of children are wrongly classified as dyslexics when in fact they are instructional casualties. Many smart children who are predisposed to shutting down will disengage from learning to read when they have been taught the wrong pronunciation of phonemes.
Dear Luqman, I have been following your blogs and you seem to understand these children and able to help them. I have a 11 year old who is showing the signs of shut down in her writing. I would appreciate if you can help through Zoom. Kind Regards.
How would you pronounce the following word?
‘Cuhohtuh’
Can you recognize that word? It is an English word given to us by Liz Dunnon. You can hear it in a YouTube video here: (You can hear it under skill 2 between minutes 1.48 and 3.05 in the video.) LINK
