{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T07:05:40Z","timestamp":1789369540727,"version":"build-2803163510"},"reference-count":17,"publisher":"AOSIS","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1789344000000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"abstract":"<jats:p>Dyslexia is often addressed through specialised intervention, yet growing scholarship in literacy and educational psychology also underscores the importance of contextualised and meaningful literacy experiences for students with reading difficulties. In this article, I argue the relevance of Paulo Freire\u2019s concept of decodification for reading instruction for students with dyslexia and broader reading difficulties. Drawing on the literature on dyslexia, background knowledge, culturally relevant text selection and experiences of emergent bilingual learners, I argue that decodified texts may support engagement, meaning-making, vocabulary integration, inferential reasoning and retention. The discussion extends the framework beyond dyslexia to other reading difficulties and illustrates its instructional relevance through three practice-oriented suggestions: recognising the student\u2019s context, talking with the student and evaluating current texts.\nClinical Implications: A pedagogical example further shows how decodification may inform text selection and assessment within existing reading instruction, rather than constitute a new intervention. Overall, in this article, I position decodification as a literature-grounded and practice-relevant framework for rethinking reading instruction in ways that better reflect students\u2019 lived realities.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.4102\/ajod.v15i0.2087","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]],"date-time":"2026-09-14T06:29:55Z","timestamp":1789367395000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.4102\/crossmark-policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Decodification for dyslexia and broader reading difficulties"],"prefix":"10.4102","volume":"15","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9421-7806","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Larry E.","family":"Onokpite","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"id":[{"id":"https:\/\/ror.org\/00rs6vg23","id-type":"ROR","asserted-by":"publisher"}],"name":"The Ohio State University"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"2580","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,9,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"ref0","unstructured":"Freire, P., 1970, Pedagogy of the oppressed, Continuum, New York, NY."},{"key":"ref1","unstructured":"Freire, P. & Macedo, D., 1987, Literacy: Reading the word and the world, Praeger, New York, NY."},{"key":"ref2","unstructured":"Garc\u00eda, O., Kleifgen, J.A. & Cervantes-Soon, C., 2025, Educating emergent bilinguals: Policies, programs, and practices for multilingual learners, Teachers College Press, New York, NY."},{"key":"ref3","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Johnston, P. & Scanlon, D., 2021, \u2018An examination of dyslexia research and instruction with policy implications\u2019, Literacy Research: Theory, Method, and Practice 70(1), 107\u2013128. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/23813377211024625","DOI":"10.1177\/23813377211024625"},{"key":"ref4","unstructured":"Kelly, J., Kunkel, A.K., Smith, A., Gerzel-Short, L., Park, S. & Moore, A., 2023, \u2018The role of culture in reading comprehension interventions for students with learning disabilities: A systematic review\u2019, Learning Disabilities: A Contemporary Journal 21(1), 17\u201336, viewed 17 June 2024, from https:\/\/files.eric.ed.gov\/fulltext\/EJ1386309.pdf."},{"key":"ref5","unstructured":"Muhammad, G., 2020, Cultivating genius: An equity framework for culturally and historically responsive literacy, Scholastic Incorporated, New York, NY."},{"key":"ref6","unstructured":"Okorafor, N., 2020, Ikenga, Viking Books, New York, NY."},{"key":"ref7","unstructured":"Onokpite, L.E., 2022, \u2018African speculative fiction as recollection intervention for grade four dyslexic learners\u2019, Masters research report, University of the Witwatersrand, viewed 09 December 2024, from https:\/\/hdl.handle.net\/10539\/34779."},{"key":"ref8","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Rajagopal, H. & Kendrick, M., 2023, \u2018Looking closely at words and worlds: Emergent bilinguals making meaning through drawing and talking\u2019, Language Arts 101(2), 94\u2013107. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.58680\/la202332684","DOI":"10.58680\/la202332684"},{"key":"ref9","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Sharma, S.A. & Christ, T., 2017, \u2018Five steps toward successful culturally relevant text selection and integration\u2019, Reading Teacher 71(3), 295\u2013307. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/trtr.1623","DOI":"10.1002\/trtr.1623"},{"key":"ref10","unstructured":"Shaywitz, S. & Shaywitz, J., 2020, Overcoming dyslexia, Vintage, New York, NY."},{"key":"ref11","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Smith, R., Snow, P., Serry, T. & Hammond, L., 2021, \u2018The role of background knowledge in reading comprehension: A critical review\u2019, Reading Psychology 42(3), 214\u2013240. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/02702711.2021.1888348","DOI":"10.1080\/02702711.2021.1888348"},{"key":"ref12","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Staudt, D.H., 2009, \u2018Intensive word study and repeated reading improves reading skills for two students with learning disabilities\u2019, Reading Teacher 63(2), 142\u2013151. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1598\/RT.63.2.5","DOI":"10.1598\/RT.63.2.5"},{"key":"ref13","unstructured":"Tatum, A.W., 2021, Teaching Black boys in the elementary grades: Advanced disciplinary reading and writing to secure their futures, Teachers College Press, New York, NY."},{"key":"ref14","unstructured":"Test, J.E., Cunningham, D.D. & Lee, A.C., 2010, \u2018How teachers encourage learning\u2019, Dimensions of Early Childhood 38(3), 3\u201314, viewed 08 January 2025, from https:\/\/www.grecs.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/01\/Talking_With_Young_Children.pdf."},{"key":"ref15","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wagner, R.K., Zirps, F.A., Edwards, A.A., Wood, S.G., Joyner, R.E., Becker, B.J. et al., 2020, \u2018The prevalence of dyslexia: A new approach to its estimation\u2019, Journal of Learning Disabilities 53(5), 354\u2013365. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1177\/0022219420920377","DOI":"10.1177\/0022219420920377"},{"key":"ref16","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Wolf, M., Gotlieb, R.J., Kim, S.A., Pedroza, V., Rhinehart, L.V., Tempini, M.L.G. et al., 2024, \u2018Towards a dynamic, comprehensive conceptualization of dyslexia\u2019, Annals of Dyslexia 74(3), 303\u2013324. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s11881-023-00297-1","DOI":"10.1007\/s11881-023-00297-1"}],"container-title":["African Journal of 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