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The Ten Best Things to Happen to the Dyslexia Community in 2014
1. The Decoding Dyslexia movement grew to 49 states and a Canadian province. DD was number one my list in 2013 and they remain there because they continue to be the driving force behind public awareness and local dyslexia activism. They have accomplished more in three years than any other organization. Find them here: http://www.decodingdyslexia.net/.
2. Learning Ally hosted their first annual virtual Spotlight on Dyslexia conference. Not only was the list of presenters impressive, the technology they used made the day a smash hit. They made information accessible to anyone who wanted it – that is a major achievement. We hope they are already planning their second annual conference. Find them here: www.learningally.org
3. The International Reading Association (soon to be the International Literacy Association) not only published four articles about dyslexia, but they accepted workshop proposals from DTI and Learning Ally for their 2015 conference in St. Louis, MO. For an organization that is historically quiet on the topic of dyslexia, this is giant step forward for them and the students their members serve. We aren’t preaching to the choir anymore!
Those articles can be found here:
- Dyslexia: An Ounce of Prevention
- Dyslexia: When Spelling Matters
- Taking Dyslexic Accommodations Mobile
- Gifted and Dyslexic: Twice Exceptional
4. Thinking Differently: An Inspiring Guide for Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities by David Fink was published.
5. The International Dyslexia Association hosted their annual conference in San Diego and the energy was better than ever. There were more parents attending than before and the networking opportunities were invaluable. The dyslexia community is getting stronger by the month. Find out more here: www.interdys.org
6. The book When the School Says No, How to Get to Yes, by Vaughn Lauer made its way to the dyslexia community. Although it was published in 2013, it made its way to us in 2014.
7. Assistive Technology (AT) made its way to the forefront in the dyslexia community with people like Ben Foss and Jamie Martin leading the way. Find out more at: http://www.atdyslexia.com/assistive-technology/ and http://headstrongnation.org/tags/dyslexia-empowerment-plan.
8. Edutopia.org published Dyslexia in the General Ed Classroom and it has been read by over 21,000 in the general public. Teachers respond by thanking us for this information and hoping to use what they learned in the classroom. Again, not preaching to the choir anymore…
9. Gina Cooke and Peter Bowers made their presence known in the dyslexia community. They conducted in-person and online courses in Structured Word Inquiry to rave reviews from the dyslexia community. Gina Cooke can be found at www.linguisteducatorexchange.com and you can find out more about Peter Bowers at www.wordworkskingston.com
10. Dyslexia became fashionable. In the media there seems to be a new celebrity coming forward and talking about their dyslexia. This must mean that there is less shame in having dyslexia – now if that’s not progress then I don’t know what is.
Thanks for all you do for the dyslexia community and DD! We love our ranking on your list. We will be 50 states soon, too!
Great list! Congrats to Decoding Dyslexia for having reached all 50 states and four Canadian provinces. I’d add that Learning Ally’s Spotlight on Dyslexia national online conference was so successful thanks in no small measure to participation of leaders in the field like DTI. Thanks for being part of it and for the great work you are doing.
Thank you for including me on this list. I am honored and enjoy the numerous conversations I have had with those who are involved in the field of dyslexia. For those who have taken the time to answer my questions and to Kelli and Tracy for your time and thoughts. I am truly glad to have met you.
Great list! Bookshare online library of accessible books is a wonderful resource and no cost for students in the US with qualified print disabilities including dyslexia. http://Www.bookshare.org