Mayor Adams to Provide Dyslexia Screening for Every NYC Child, Starting in September

by Yehudit Garmaise

Mayor Eric Adams, who wants to ensure that dyslexia does not hold back any more children, has announced that by September 23, the New York City Department of Education will have centers in each borough that will provide free dyslexia screenings for every child in grades K to 8.

Adams said dyslexia screenings can cost hundreds or even thousands of dollars, Mayor Adams said he “is going to remove that barrier, ensure that every child in every zip code receives the screen, and with it, the help they need” said Mayor Adams, who has often talked about his childhood struggles with dyslexia. 

Mayor Adams spoke emphatically when he said that “Just like so many children today, he walked into so many classrooms in which he did not really want to stay because [he] just couldn't keep up.”

“I didn't know what was stopping me from comprehending and learning the information that was in front of me. Dyslexia holds back too many children, not just in school, but in life.

“[Dyslexia] haunts you forever until you could get the proper treatment that you deserve.”

Mayor Adams said that dyslexia is not a disadvantage, “It's just a different way of learning. Children with dyslexia need the tools to know how to understand how they comprehend information.”

In addition, the mayor pointed out that dyslexia screenings can help to reduce crime as well. 

“We are feeding the incarceration of our nation and city because of our failure to educate, said the mayor, who cited a 2014 Department of Education study that found that approximately a third of Americans who are jailed had difficulty reading simple text. “What if we just would have screened them for dyslexia? Imagine what a different pathway they would have been on.”

BoroPark24 reached out the mayor's press office to determine whether kids in private schools will be tested as well, and we will keep readers posted.