Automaticity is a cornerstone in proficient reading—and one of the most challenging skills for students with dyslexia to develop. When readers recognize words quickly and effortlessly, they free up cognitive resources for comprehension and higher-order thinking. In the Simple View of Reading (Word Recognition × Language Comprehension = Reading Comprehension), automaticity is a foundational component of word recognition. Without it, reading remains slow, effortful, and frustrating.
For students with dyslexia, reaching automaticity requires far more practice than for typical learners. According to Bill Honig in Teaching Our Children to Read, most students need 4 to 15 successful exposures to a word before it becomes automatic. In contrast, students with dyslexia may need 40 to 100 or more exposures due to differences in phonological processing and working memory. This means practice must be intentional, structured, and responsive. Simply encouraging students to “read more” is not enough--they need the right kind of practice to build fluency and confidence.
The neurological challenges behind dyslexia make automaticity difficult to attain. Many students with dyslexia have weaker working memory, making it harder to hold sounds and letters long enough to form strong connections. These connections are essential for fluent reading. Their brains may also form neural pathways more slowly, requiring repeated practice over multiple sessions. Educators often observe this when a student seems to master a concept one day, only to struggle with it the next. This is not laziness or regression—it’s part of the learning process. Continued practice is what helps solidify the pathways.
Another hurdle is unlearning incorrect patterns. If students repeatedly practice words inaccurately, it takes much longer to replace those habits with correct ones. This underscores the need for intensive, accurate support to help students succeed in text-rich academic environments.
Structured Literacy provides a powerful framework for building automaticity. It emphasizes explicit, systematic, cumulative instruction that is teacher-led and multisensory. Strategies rooted in Orton-Gillingham principles engage visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning pathways. Yet instruction alone isn’t enough. Students also need high-quality practice that reinforces skills and provides feedback.
Skill-reinforcing practice, such as reading decodable texts aligned with phonics instruction, helps students apply newly learned skills in meaningful contexts. Programs like SPIRE offer decodable readers that pair directly with Structured Literacy instruction. Flexible resources like Readfetti align to various phonics and reading programs and include teacher-led activities that build vocabulary, background knowledge, and comprehension.
Deliberate reading practice is equally important for developing automaticity. This type of practice provides students with texts in their “stretch zone,” with individualized goals, immediate feedback, and ongoing assessment. It prevents the reinforcement of errors and supports steady progress. Tools like EPS Reading Assistant use adaptive technology to provide one-on-one oral reading practice, freeing teachers to focus on instruction while collecting valuable performance data.
Automaticity is not optional—it is a bridge that connects decoding to fluency and, ultimately, comprehension. With structured instruction, multisensory supports, and intentional practice, students with dyslexia can build the neural pathways needed for fluent reading. The journey may take longer, but the destination is worth the effort. Investing in automaticity is an investment in equity, ensuring all students can access the rich world of ideas found in print.
