What Do I Do When My Child Isn't Responding To Traditional Reading Interventions? | Dawn Jagannath

In this episode of The Reading Symphony Podcast...

Katie talks with reading specialist Dawn Jagannath about what happens when struggling readers aren't responding to traditional reading interventions.

They explore structured linguistic phonics, speech-to-print instruction, why older striving readers need meaningful "catch-up growth," and how parents can tell whether an intervention is actually working. Dawn also shares practical ways families can support struggling readers at home without turning home into another intervention session.

📩 Subscribe to The Reading Symphony on Substack

Get practical literacy tips, science-of-reading insights, and evidence-based strategies to help children become stronger readers.

Subscribe here: 👉 https://katiemegrian.substack.com/

👤 About Dawn Jagannath

Dawn Jagannath is a reading specialist with more than 20 years of experience as a special educator, classroom teacher, and literacy specialist. She is an EBLI Certified Educator and is currently pursuing her Ed.D. in the Science of Learning at Gordon College.

🔗 Dawn's Links:

Website: https://www.jagannathliteracy.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/dawn-jagannath-88a225426/

Evidence-Based Literacy Instruction (EBLI): https://eblireads.com/

Reading Simplified: https://readingsimplified.com/

Chapters

00:00 Why Some Struggling Readers Need a Different Approach

00:40 Meet Dawn Jagannath

02:33 From Special Education to Reading Specialist

04:45 Learning the Science of Reading After Graduate School

06:12 What Struggling Looks Like for Older Readers

07:45 Why "Catch-Up Growth" Matters

10:47 What Is Structured Linguistic Phonics?

13:04 How Dawn Discovered Speech-to-Print Instruction

14:34 When More Intervention Isn't the Answer

16:04 Changing How Students See Themselves as Readers

18:24 Why Speech-to-Print Can Be More Efficient

19:18 How the Brain Finds Patterns in Words

24:15 Helping Students Reach "Escape Velocity"

25:11 Moving From Decodable to Authentic Text

28:16 Questions Parents Should Ask Schools

31:10 Helping Older Striving Readers Catch Up

33:21 What Parents Can Do at Home

35:04 Protecting a Child's Identity as a Learner

36:20 Another Tool for Educators and Parents

38:12 Dawn's Future Research Into Linguistic Phonics

40:09 Where to Find Dawn