Approach
EarlyBird: Reading Disability Screening App
The diagnosis of developmental dyslexia in underserved children is primarily based on a “wait to fail” approach. Dyslexia diagnoses are usually not made before the third grade even though studies show that intensive interventions are most effective in kindergarten or first grade, and other studies show that a majority of at-risk beginning readers achieve average reading ability levels when provided with intensive instruction.
Heckscher sought to address this problem by supporting the development of a learning differences screening app created by Dr. Nadine Gaab. Dr. Gaab (currently at Harvard University Graduate School of Education) in collaboration with Dr. John Gabrieli of MIT showed that a carefully selected screening can identify children at-risk of having dyslexia or other learning differences as early as Kindergarten. Dr. Gaab partnered with Boston Children’s Hospital’s Digital Health Accelerator, which builds and scales digital technologies, to develop this app – a mobile platform that consists of an engaging game to screen for early dyslexia indicators in approximately thirty minutes. The app is now scientifically validated at Boston Children’s Hospital in partnership with faculty at the Florida Center for Reading Research. EarlyBird brings together all the relevant predictors of reading in one easy-to-administer assessment and provides teachers with customized action plans and resources for each student.
Early Bird has been one of the most promising developments in the early detection and treatment of learning differences in early childhood, winning major awards including, in 2022, as a finalist in four categories in the Edtech Digest Awards. EarlyBird is now in use with tens of thousands of students nationwide, and was sold to Imagine Learning in 2024 where it will be incorporated into Imagine Learning’s numerous literacy offerings and provide end-to-end solutions for students across the United States.
