Dyslexiastories.com is a website where we share information about the Raising Faith: Stories about Dyslexia documentary, DyslexiaStories podcast, and the latest film, Dyslexia Behind Bars.

The forthcoming Dyslexia Stories podcast will also share stories about dyslexic learners and dyslexic experiences. Raising Faith: Stories About Dyslexia, Dyslexia Stories, the Dyslexia Stories podcast, and the DX logo are copyrighted trademarks. For more information or interest in screening the film, contact Stacey.Irwin@Millersville.edu

The Raising Faith: Stories About Dyslexia documentary is a thirty-minute film that shares real talk with nine families with children who are dyslexic. The film, set in people’s homes, shares the poignant stories, advice, and struggles of dyslexia and provides hope for families of unique learners. The film also discusses the genetic component of this learning difference through the experiences of Faith, a young dyslexic, her father, and others.

The Dyslexia Behind Bars documentary film is in preproduction. The film is meant to raise awareness about the ways the American educational system is failing children and has created a school-to-prison pipeline for children with reading difficulties. While 20% of people are dyslexic, meaning they are neurodivergent in their ability to process information received from the eyes or ears into understandable language and coding, many more than this number of incarcerated individuals are dyslexic. One study suggests close to 80% of prison inmates in Texas are functionally illiterate, and a significant number of them are neurodiverse in ways associated with dyslexia (Moody et al., 2000). This topic has racial justice implications because dyslexia remediation is spearheaded far less in economically disadvantaged and poor educational systems than in wealthier ones. No national studies have been completed on the correlation between incarceration and dyslexia, however, a 2014 Department of Education Report and linked to the federally funded First Step Act that passed in December 2018, concludes that a disproportionate number of incarcerated individuals are dyslexic. This film’s production can help highlight this issue and foster further research.