Reid Lyon, Ph.D.

By Reid Lyon and Patrick Riccards
Columnists EdNews.org
The old adage tells us, if it doesn't kill you, it only makes you stronger. Now, as we acknowledge five years of Reading First, the component of the No Child Left Behind law that focuses on early reading, and begin exploring the reauthorization of this important program, there is no question it has received far more slings and arrows than virtually any other education initiative in the history of our nation. Even before it became law, individuals and organizations lined up hoping to block the law, and then dilute the law, then muddle the law, and, finally, repeal the law. Why?

by G. Reid Lyon, Ph.D.
The National Institute of Child Health & Human Development (NICHD) considers that teaching and learning in today's schools reflect not only significant educational concerns, but public health concerns as well. Our research has consistently shown that if children do not learn to understand and use language, to read and write, to calculate and reason mathematically, to solve problems, and to communicate their ideas and perspectives, their opportunities for a fulfilling and rewarding life are seriously compromised.

THE NICHD READING RESEARCH PROGRAM:
THREE DECADES OF RESEARCH TO UNDERSTAND HOW CHILDREN LEARN TO READ, WHY SOME CHILDREN HAVE DIFFICULTIES DOING SO, AND WHAT CAN BE DONE TO PREVENT AND REMEDIATE READING FAILURE
The publications cited are organized according to the principle investigators primary affiliation. The following programs and universities are represented:

Statement of Dr. G. Reid Lyon, Chief
Child Development and Behavior Branch
National Institute of Child Health and Human Development
National Institutes of Health
Subcommittee on Education Reform
Committee on Education and the Workforce
U.S. House of Representatives
Washington, D.C.

SUMMARY COMMENTS
G. Reid Lyon
Good morning. I want to take this opportunity to thank the First Lady, Mrs. Laura Bush, Secretary Paige and Secretary Thompson for their extraordinary leadership and inspiring dedication to one of the most important goals set forth by this administration - a goal that seeks to ensure that all of our Nation's children develop, learn, and thrive to the maximum extent possible in their homes, in their school settings, in their communities, and in their lives at every age, including their time in the prenatal world. This is a goal that states clearly that no child will be left behind.

STATEMENT OF DR. G. REID LYON
OVERVIEW OF READING AND LITERACY INITIATIVES
I am Dr. Reid Lyon, the Chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development at the National Institutes of Health. I am pleased to have the opportunity to present to you information about the results of the extensive research that our Institute has supported on the process of learning to read in our Nation's schools.