HIGH FIVE LITERACY AND ACADEMIC COACHING

According to the Suicide Prevention Lifeline website, SuicidePreventionLifeline.org, the following characteristics make it more likely that someone will consider, attempt, or die by suicide:

• Mental disorders, particularly mood disorders, schizophrenia, anxiety disorders, and certain personality disorders
• Alcohol and other substance use disorders
• Hopelessness
• Impulsive and/or aggressive tendencies
• History of trauma or abuse
• Major physical illnesses
• Previous suicide attempt(s)
• Family history of suicide
• Job or financial loss
• Loss of relationship(s)
• Easy access to lethal means
• Local clusters of suicide
• Lack of social support and sense of isolation
• Stigma associated with asking for help
• Lack of healthcare, especially mental health and substance abuse treatment
• Cultural and religious beliefs, such as the belief that suicide is a noble resolution of a personal dilemma
• Exposure to others who have died by suicide in real life or via the media and Internet

Nowhere does it mention not being able to read or write.  

Nowhere does it mention illiteracy.  

Nowhere does it mention dyslexia.  

Nowhere does it mention dysgraphia or dyscalculia.  

Nowhere does it mention learning disabilities.

Nowhere.  

Yet, empirical data suggests that students with learning disabilities like dyslexia have a three times higher risk of attempting suicide (Journal of Learning Disabilities, vol. 39,6: pp 507-514, 2006).

A study conducted by Fuller-Thompson, Carroll, and Yang (Healio Psychiatry, 2017) analyzed data and found that those with learning disabilities were 46% more likely to attempt suicide, even after adjusting for childhood adversities, mental illness, addiction history, and socio-demographics. 

            “Our findings of the strong link between learning disabilities and suicide attempts provide additional reason to prioritize the early detection and timely provision of effective educational interventions for children with dyslexia.”

Indeed, one study found that 89% of suicide notes contain dyslexic-type spelling errors (Journal of Learning Disabilities, Vol. 30, 6: pp 652-659, 1997).

Perhaps because spelling is not valued in our schools anymore, particularly in the lower grades, such a pattern has gone widely unnoticed.

Schools are already involved in the mental health movement.  Each September, they organize poster campaigns for Suicide Prevention Week and encourage kids to “get creative” and be on the lookout for and write messages of encouragement to those who might be struggling with their mental wellness. Schools have resource fairs and provide informational flyers and brochures for kids to put in their backpacks.  They hire speakers to talk to middle school students about how suicide hurts the people who are left behind.  

For high school students, there might be conversations around depression and suicide. Some schools might even use programs with teachers’ guides, have group and individual activities, or formulate school suicide crisis-management plans.

In 2019, the Center for Disease Control (CDC) issued a report showing that the rate of suicide among young people has jumped dramatically.  A number of reasons were cited as to why the suicide rate in teens has increased 56% in a decade: bullying; stress; family problems; social media; and the pressure to fit in all contribute.  These factors and more are frequently referenced in news accounts and discussions among concerned parents, educators, and health care providers.

One thing that never seems to be mentioned, however, is the role illiteracy plays in creating anxiety and depression.  And it’s not just in disadvantaged communities.  So many parents of my students, as young as kindergarteners, confide in me that they are very worried about their children’s safety and emotional well-being.

It gets worse in middle school.

Some of my oldest students, often brilliant, overcompensating eleventh and twelfth graders from the highest achieving districts, come to me in crisis, only after their mental health providers finally learn that the cause of their anguish is their inability to actually read with college looming on the horizon.  It is shocking to learn how little actual reading is required in the upper grades and how these students have been able to fake it for so long.

There are amazing stories of how people living with dyslexia go on to become successful professionals, even writers.  Don Winn is a successful writer with dyslexia and the publisher of my book, Failing Students or Failing Schools? A Parent’s Guide to Reading Instruction and Intervention.  He recently wrote a book for parents called Raising a Child with Dyslexia: What Every Parent Needs to Know, which addresses the need for “children to understand their strengths and challenges in order to have a balanced view of themselves.” We can only hope that parents of all children with learning difficulties will understand how to help them.  

With that said, however, it should be every child’s constitutional right to be taught to read. Shouldn’t dyslexia and learning disabilities be added to the conversation about depression and suicide prevention among middle and high schoolers?

Could it be that some instances of suicide can be traced to the inability of schools to teach some children to read and write?  

And, if so, shouldn’t we consider the way reading and writing are being taught in the schools?  

Shouldn’t we look at and monitor the emotional well-being of kindergartners and first-graders who may be suffering from anxiety because they are not able to keep up with their classmates?  

Shouldn’t we look at the connection between incarceration and illiteracy to inform our decisions about literacy curricula?  

Shouldn’t we focus on the mental health of children in special education programs and recognize that they may be at risk for suicidal ideations?

Suicide prevention, like reading intervention, should begin with treating the cause, not the symptoms.  In my private practice, I am blessed every day to witness children finding their self-esteem and thriving as they actually learn how to read in a systematic way that makes sense to them.  

Children should not be dying to read and write. 

Faith Borkowsky is the founder of High Five Literacy and Academic Coaching with over thirty years of experience as a classroom teacher, reading and learning specialist, regional literacy coach, administrator, and tutor. Ms. Borkowsky is a Certified Dyslexia Practitioner and provides professional development for teachers and school districts, as well as parent workshops, presentations, and private consultations. Ms. Borkowsky is the author of the award-winning book, Failing Students or Failing Schools? A Parent’s Guide to Reading Instruction and Intervention and the “If Only I Would Have Known…” series.  She is also a board member of Teach My Kid to Read, a 501(c) non-profit organization with a mission to support and empower students, teachers, and parents through education so all kids, including those with dyslexia, learn to read.