CDT CDT Family Education & Parent Collaboration 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: When educating parents about dyslexia, which explanation best describes its neurological basis?
- A personal choice or lack of effort
- A difference in how the brain processes phonological information (Correct answer)
- A vision problem that causes letters to reverse
- A temporary delay that resolves without intervention
Correct answer: A difference in how the brain processes phonological information
Dyslexia is a neurologically-based difference in phonological processing, not a vision problem or lack of effort.
Question 2: Which strategy is MOST effective when communicating a student's progress to parents?
- Use clinical jargon to convey professionalism
- Provide only positive feedback to maintain motivation
- Share specific data and measurable outcomes in plain language (Correct answer)
- Limit communication to annual report cards
Correct answer: Share specific data and measurable outcomes in plain language
Using specific data and plain language empowers parents to understand and support their child's progress meaningfully.
Question 3: A CDT is training a parent to practice phoneme segmentation at home. What is the FIRST step to ensure carry-over?
- Have the parent observe a full therapy session
- Give the parent a printed worksheet without explanation
- Demonstrate the technique and have the parent practice with feedback (Correct answer)
- Wait until the child has mastered the skill before involving parents
Correct answer: Demonstrate the technique and have the parent practice with feedback
Modeling the technique and having the parent practice with corrective feedback ensures accurate home implementation.
Question 4: Which federal law requires schools to provide parents with information about their child's special education eligibility and services?
- HIPAA
- FERPA
- IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act) (Correct answer)
- ADA Title III
Correct answer: IDEA (Individuals with Disabilities Education Act)
IDEA mandates that parents be informed and involved in all eligibility, evaluation, and IEP decisions.
Question 5: A parent asks why their child must read aloud slowly and repeat words during therapy. The BEST response by the CDT is:
- Explain that repetition builds automaticity and strengthens neural pathways for decoding (Correct answer)
- Tell the parent that the child has a severe deficit requiring intensive remediation
- Avoid explaining the rationale to keep sessions simple
- Suggest the parent limit reading at home to avoid frustration
Correct answer: Explain that repetition builds automaticity and strengthens neural pathways for decoding
Explaining the neuroscience of automaticity helps parents understand and value the repeated-reading practice.
Question 6: Which approach BEST supports a family whose primary language is not English when providing dyslexia education?
- Conduct all sessions in English to build immersion
- Provide materials only in English since it is the school language
- Offer materials in the family's home language and use an interpreter when needed (Correct answer)
- Advise the family to focus on English and disregard the home language
Correct answer: Offer materials in the family's home language and use an interpreter when needed
Providing materials in the home language and using interpreters ensures equitable access to dyslexia education for all families.
CDT CDT Family Education & Parent Collaboration 1
When educating parents about dyslexia, which explanation best describes its neurological basis?