Free 2008 dyslexia conferences & seminars

The Florida branch of the International Dyslexia Association will convene a two-day state conference on Sunday, April 6, 2008, and Monday, April 7, 2008, at the Omni Jacksonville Hotel in Jacksonville, Florida. The conference title is: “Reading Rx: What Medicine, Science, and Education Prescribe for Reading Success.”

As part of that conference, the FL IDA is offering a FREE 90-minute seminar on “dyslexia basics” for parents, teachers, physicians, and anyone else who wants to know - in plain language - what dyslexia is and isn’t; the symptoms of dyslexia; assessment; research-based interventions; what an Individualized Education Plan is; and how a well-drafted IEP can help a dyslexic child achieve reading and school success. The session will be from 1:00 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. on Sunday, April 6th, at the Omni Jacksonville Hotel. Please register at www.idafla.org for the free session (and, if you wish, for the remainder of the conference) so the organization can make sufficient seating available.

The presenters for the free session are: (1) Dr. Michael Sisbarro, a school psychologist in private practice, and (2) Professor Rebekah Gleason of Florida Coastal School of Law, a former special education teacher who specializes in education law and who directs her law school’s Family and Child Clinic.

Note: Youth with dyslexia, ages 12 to 18, are encouraged to attend with a parent. Child care for younger children is NOT available.

Pediatricians/neuroscientists Drs. Sally Shaywitz (author of “Overcoming Dyslexia”) and Dr. Bennett Shaywitz of Yale University School of Medicine, and Dr. Gordon Sherman, a neuroscientist and dyslexia educator, are the keynote speakers for the two-day conference.