The READ Plan Started. Now What?
The letter is no longer news. The small group has started, and the kitchen table still looks the same. Here is what these weeks can tell you, and what they cannot.
Direct answer: A few weeks of a Colorado READ plan is not a verdict. The school is doing what the letter promised: extra reading support and a check on progress. That support can help. It still does not tell you why reading is hard. If you want that second look, it can be a video visit from anywhere in Colorado, alongside the school's plan.
If you are still holding the envelope and wondering what the words mean, start with what a READ plan letter means. This page is for the families who are already past that. The group has started. Homework still takes too long. Nobody has used the word you were afraid of.
A few weeks is not a verdict
Colorado schools screen reading in kindergarten through third grade, then write a READ plan when a child has a significant reading deficiency. The plan puts your child into targeted instruction and asks the school to watch progress through the year. That is a real intervention. It is also slow to see from the kitchen table.
A child can be less teary at reading time and still be guessing at words. A child can sound smoother in the school group and still fall apart in a library book. Both of those are information. Neither one means the plan failed, and neither one means you should wait until spring to ask why.
What you can actually watch
You do not need a test kit. Over the next couple of weeks, notice three ordinary things.
- Do they still guess from the picture, or are they willing to try the sounds?
- After the school group, is a page you already read together any easier, or only the pages the school practiced?
- Can they tell you what happened in the story when you read it aloud, even if they cannot read it themselves?
The third one matters. A child who understands a story you read and cannot get the words off the page is a different child from one who can say the words and cannot tell you what happened. The READ plan may be working on only one of those. You are allowed to notice which.
The letter still does not say why
A READ plan is a school finding. It is not a diagnosis of dyslexia, and the paper may never use that word. A statewide screen specifically for characteristics of dyslexia is scheduled to begin in the 2027–28 school year, so a plan this year is still about a reading deficiency.
A speech-language pathologist looks at the spoken-language skills under the score: hearing and moving the sounds in words, matching sounds to letters, vocabulary, and whether comprehension breaks even when someone else does the reading. That is a screening and a therapy question. A formal dyslexia identification, if you need that name, is a psychoeducational evaluation. We refer for that. We do not do it in this clinic, and we do not ask the school to drop the plan.
The law, the letter, and how a video session fits next to the school plan are on our Colorado reading and dyslexia page. The service itself is on the reading and literacy page.
If you want a second look
You can ask now. You do not have to wait for the winter check. Families anywhere in Colorado can do the visit on video. Families who can come to west Greeley can do it in person at 4645 18th St, Ste #200. Park in the free lot on the right side of the building. There is no Denver office and no Colorado Springs office. Those pages, Denver and Colorado Springs, are the same video visit with the district details filled in.
No referral is required to apply. Some insurance plans still ask the family for one. We verify benefits before treatment, and we will tell you if the school's plan is the right amount of help for now.
How long should I wait to see if the READ plan is working?
Give the school group a few weeks, and watch the three things above. A few weeks will not prove the plan failed. It also will not explain why reading is hard. You can ask for a second look before the next school conference.
Does a READ plan mean my child has dyslexia?
No. It means the school found a significant reading deficiency and wrote a support plan. Dyslexia may be the right word later. A formal identification is a psychoeducational evaluation, which we refer for. We can still look at the language skills under the score.
Should I stop the school's reading group if we start therapy?
No. Keep the READ plan. Private sessions sit next to it. If the school support is enough, we will say so.
Can this visit be on video if we do not live near Greeley?
Yes. Reading and literacy sessions are available by secure video anywhere in Colorado, and the reading service is available nationwide. The only clinic is in west Greeley.
Do I need a referral?
No. Apply and tell us what the letter said and what you are seeing at home. Some health plans still require a referral for coverage. We will sort that out with you. It is not a reason to wait to ask.
Sources
- Colorado Department of Education, READ Act handbook
- Colorado Department of Education, significant reading deficiency
- ASHA, written language disorders
Bring the plan, if you still have it
Call or text (720) 798-6930 or request a reading consultation. Tell us what the school group is working on and what the kitchen table still looks like. We will tell you whether a visit would help.
This article is educational and does not replace an individualized evaluation or medical advice.