2019 International Dyslexia Association Florida Branch Annual Conference 

 

Featured Keynote Presentations:

“Demystifying LD and Dyslexia” G. Emerson Dickman, Esq. 

Students with reading disorders make up to 85% of all children classified as having a Specific Learning Disability and Dyslexia is the most common reading disorder.

What is a learning disability?  What is dyslexia?  What can be done?  Unless we know the answers to these questions, parents and educators will be confined to a Tower of Babel where communications are unintelligible expressions of anxiety and frustration promoting conflict instead of collaboration. What is needed is a common understanding upon which meaningful communications can be based. 

For 30 years families caring for children with lifelong special needs have helped us develop a unique person centered approach to preserving family values and ensuring the quality of life of the family member with the disability.  A person centered perspective not only allows for the preservation of assets, but also for the knowledgeable, compassionate, and burden free transfer of care giving responsibility.  When the time comes, the individual with special needs should have the financial, professional, and caring support required to ensure the survival of family values and a quality and happy life.

 "From Talking to Writing”. Charley Haynes, EdD, CCC-SLP

 “What on Earth is going on With This Child?! The Evaluation of the Student with Dyslexia and Related Disorders” Eric Tridas, MD

How often have you had a student who is receiving appropriate intervention, but there is limited improvement in their educational challenges? During this presentation Dr. Tridas will discuss the process of the diagnostic evaluation of the child with dyslexia and related disorders and review an approach to assess the whole child. During this session, the participants will learn the salient factors in the student’s history, the types of tests that are used to measure these problems and how to evaluate for frequent coexisting conditions.  Dr. Tridas will describe an evaluation approach that facilitates the integration of all of the findings in to a practical formulation that can help guide the student’s intervention and accommodation plan.  

 

“A Blueprint for Comprehension: A Structure for Designing and Delivering Informed Instruction” Nancy Henessey

Reading proficiency demands both word recognition and the ability to make meaning of text. Many students struggle with constructing meaning. Designing and delivering informed instruction requires a knowledge of the language and cognitive processes and skills necessary for comprehension. This session will present a blueprint for instruction that provides a framework for addressing essential skills and that, structures the educator’s preparation of text. Participants will explore the evidence for effective strategies that develop comprehension competencies including vocabulary knowledge, sentence comprehension, use of text structure, access to background knowledge and inference making.

Friday Breakout Sessions:

• "A Picture of Success:  The Imagery Language Foundation for Teaching All Children to Read andComprehend"  LaNier Echols, M.Ed., Lindamood Bell
• "Comprehensive Evaluation and Interventions: Adam Scheller, PhD, Pearson Evaluations
• Microsoft Teacher Academy
• "Experience Dyslexia" Charlotte Chase, Facilitator, IDA Florida Board Treasurer
• "Executive Function in the Classroom" Michael Fisher, The Gow School
• "Understanding and Connecting Language Based Instruction" Caitlin Parker, M.S.Ed., Landmark School

 

Please see our registration and refund policies for additional information. If you would like to register using a purchase order, please contact us at treasurer.fl@dyslexiaida.org.

About our Speakers

Dr. Charlie Haynes
 

Dr. Charley W. Haynes is a Professor and Clinical Supervisor in the Graduate Program in Communication Sciences and Disorders at the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions.  He received his doctorate in Reading, Language, and Learning Disabilities under Jeanne Chall at Harvard Graduate School of Education.  With colleagues at Landmark School, Dr. Haynes developed the nation’s first language-based program tailored for children with dyslexia and expressive language disorders.  At the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions, Dr. Haynes worked with friend and colleague Dr. Pamela Hook to create a MS curriculum that offers dual teacher certification in both Speech-Language Pathology and Reading.  A specialist in the area of expressive spoken and written language development strategies, Dr. Haynes has given many keynotes, workshops, and invited addresses in the USA, Asia, Europe, South America, and the Middle East. 

 

G. Emerson Dickman, Esq.

Emerson Dickman is Past President of the International Dyslexia Association and a former member of the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities.  Emerson is a member of the Professional Advisory Board of the Center for Development and Learning, the Professional Advisory Board of The Children’s Dyslexia  Centers, Inc. a charity of the Scottish Rite, was a member of the Professional Advisory Board for the National Center for Learning Disabilities for six years, a member of the Learning Disabilities Roundtable sponsored by the Division of Research to Practice of the U.S. Department of Education, and Chairman of the Protection and Advocacy Agency for the State for the State of New Jersey for five years.  In 1994 and again in 2002, he served as Chair of the scientific consensus meetings sponsored by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development of the National Institute of Health resulting in the research definition of Dyslexia used in research throughout the United States of America.  In 2004, Emerson organized an invitational forum attended by 33 organizations to address the issue of RtI and building Capacity to Deliver Multi-Tiered Reading Intervention in Public Schools.

Emerson has been an invited speaker at conferences in 26 states, Hong Kong, England, Brazil, India, and the Czech Republic.  

Among the cases he has handled are leading precedents (New Jersey Supreme Court) protecting due process rights of pupils in special education and the constitutional rights of adults with developmental disabilities.

Emerson has received numerous honors including the 2012 Margaret Byrd Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Dyslexia Association.

Emerson’s legal practice has specialized in advocating for individuals with disabilities for over 40 years.

Dr. Eric Tridas

 

Dr. Tridas is Director of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics at Pediatric Epilepsy and Neurology Specialists, Clinical Associate Professor in Pediatrics at the University of South Florida, Morsani College of Medicine, member of the National Joint Committee on Learning Disabilities (NJCLD), and Associate member for the Advisory Committee on Exceptional Children and Youth for the Office of Oversea Schools, United States Department of State.  Dr. Tridas is Past President of the International Dyslexia Association and the 2017 recipient of IDA’s Margaret Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award.  Dr. Tridas is a Developmental Pediatrician who specializes in the diagnosis and management of neurodevelopmental conditions, he lectures nationally and internationally.  He edited and co-authored From ABC to ADHD: What Every Parent Should Know About Dyslexia and Attention Problems.

Nancy Hennessy

 

Nancy Hennessy, educational consultant and past president of the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), is an experienced teacher and administrator. While in public schools, she provided leadership in the development of professional learning systems, innovative programming for special needs student, and a statewide revision of special education code.  Nancy has consulted on varied topics ranging from professional practices to student assessment and instruction.  She has designed and delivered keynote addresses as well as virtual and live workshops and training courses to educators nationally and internationally. 

Nancy co-authored Module 6 of LETRS, Digging for Meaning: Teaching Text Comprehension (2^ndedition) with Louisa Moats and was a national trainer for Language Essentials for Teachers of Reading and Spelling (LETRS).  Additionally, she has written articles on varied topics as well as the chapter, Working with Word Meaning: Vocabulary Instruction, in Multisensory Teaching of Basic Skills (4^thedition).  She was the recipient of the International Dyslexia Association’s Margaret Byrd Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award.

 

 

 

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