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KEYNOTE SPEAKER

Maryanne Wolf, John DiBiaggio Professor of Citizenship and Public Service; Director, Center for Reading and Language Research, Tufts University.

 KEYNOTE PRESENTATION

The Reading Brain in the Digital Age

This presentation will highlight three areas of research: first, the formation of the reading brain and its implications for understanding the development of reading and its breakdown in dyslexia. Within this area, new work on the “deep reading processes” will be emphasized with particular attention to the development of empathy and critical thinking.  Second, an overview of pertinent research on dyslexia will be provided with emphases on just published studies of the Kindergarten prediction of subtypes of readers with dyslexia.  The implications for targeted intervention will be discussed. Finally, a new account  of the cautions and promise of digital reading will be presented, based on the speaker’s new book: Letters to the Good Reader: The Reading Brain in a Digital Culture.

SCHEDULE OF THE DAY

8:00 am  Registration/Exhibitor Area Open/Continental Breakfast

8:55 am  Welcome & Keynote Speaker, Maryanne Wolf

10:50 am  Break/Exhibitor Area Open

11:10 am  Breakout Session 1 (1A), (1B), (1C)

12:35 pm  Lunch (provided)/Exhibitor Area Open

1:50 pm  Breakout Session 2 (2A), (2B), (2C)

3:15 pm  Break/Exhibitor Area Open

3:35 pm  Breakout Session 3 (3A), (3B), (3C)

5:00 pm  Conference Ends

MORNING BREAKOUT SESSIONS

(1A) Executive Function In and Out of the Classroom
Kaye Ragland, Ed.D., M.F.T., BCET - Educational Therapist
Karen M. Caruso, M.Ed. - Co-Founder Lola Techsystems

Today, many children lack the necessary executive function skills needed to be successful in and out of the classroom. Learn about executive function issues and leave with solutions/resources that lead to the development of these skills for K-12 students of ALL abilities in any authentic educational setting or at home.

(1B) How Cognitive Profiles of Reading Can Inform Instruction
Anne Treadwell, M.Ed. - Senior Literacy Advisor, Wilson Language Training

Understanding the cognitive processes (i.e. phonological processing, rapid automatized naming, orthographic memory, oral language and executive functioning) that underlie reading acquisition can help inform differentiated and diagnostic instruction. This session will examine a cognitive process framework and its connections to the components of reading. Related instructional practices will be given that can be used to meet individual student needs when using a structured literacy approach.

(1C)  Connecting the Dots: Developing IEP’s that are Compliant and Meaningful
Brandie Rosen, M.Ed. - Educational Consultant

Participants will gain an in depth understanding of the IEP process, including all requirements needed to obtain a meaningful and legally compliant IEP.  In addition, participants will learn how these goals drive placement and services. This session will review the process of the IEP meeting, including ways to make it work for the family and school district to assure everyone is meeting the needs of each individual student.    

EARLY AFTERNOON BREAKOUT SESSIONS

(2A) Learning and Emotion: How to Address Both to Improve School Performance
Karen Hillman Fried, Psy.D., M.F.T. - Director, K&M Center, Inc.

Children with learning differences and weaknesses in attention often struggle in school. Struggles include their ability to learn, as well as regulate their emotions and executive functions.  As school is such an integral part of their lives, these struggles can create emotional difficulties, in the same way that emotional difficulties can create academic challenges. With this understood, children can receive targeted intervention that might include remediation, psychotherapy, and/or both to resolve their presenting difficulties.  Even when these children have been remediated and improve academically, difficulties with their sense of self and contact functions remain. The Oaklander method is then an excellent complement to addressing their needs to allow these children to develop a strong sense of self.  This presentation will explore the use of the Oaklander method to address children with learning and attentional challenges. A blend of theory, case history, as well as an experiential exercise will be included.

(2B) Understanding Assessments: The Corner Pieces of the IEP Puzzle
Michelle Becker, Esq. - Special Education Attorney

This topic speaks to not only understanding the data within the assessments, but also the importance of understanding the data so that parents can successfully advocate for their children in IEP's.  Most of the clues as to determining eligibility for special education as well how to use the data to identify needs and write meaningful goals are in the data - not in the narrative supplied by the school in the report.  If parents know how to put all the pieces together in a meaningful way, parents will be better advocates for their students, have more meaningful participation in the special education process and will better manage their student's education.

(2C) The SIM Framing Routine: Part 1 of 2
Chris Schnieders, Ph.D. - Educator at the Frostig School, Pasadena; Instructor, CSUN
Beth Lasky, Ph.D. - Professor, Department of Special Ed, CSUN

Teachers and students use the Framing Routine in conjunction with a graphic organizer called a “FRAME” to develop a thorough understanding of information associated with key topics and main ideas. The FRAME is a concrete representation of abstract ideas and helps students study essential information and focus on relationships between main ideas and details as well as among several main ideas. Research results demonstrate the this routine effectively facilitates the development of literacy and thinking skills and subject-matter learning. Educators who attend this double session will be trained to teach this strategy to students in one-on-one or classroom settings. The Instructor’s Manual can be purchased for an additional $14 the morning of the conference at registration for attendees who pre-registered for this session.

MID-AFTERNOON BREAKOUT SESSIONS

(3A) Experience Dyslexia® Simulation
Elizabeth Lutsky, M.A., ET/P - Educational Therapist; IDALA, Immediate Past President
Lainie Donnell, M.A., ET/P - Educational Therapist; IDALA, Past President

Experience Dyslexia® is a hands-on workshop that lets participants experience some of the challenges and frustrations that people with dyslexia face each day. Learning stations simulate different language-related learning tasks encountered in the classroom or workplace. This thought-provoking experience is appropriate for teachers, parents, or anyone interested in better understanding the lives of individuals with dyslexia. 

(3B) Auditory Processing Disorders: A Team Approach
Bea Braun, Au.D. - Doctor of Audiology, Educational Audiologist

How do we work as a team to identify, diagnose, remediate and educate individuals with an auditory processing disorder?  This presentation will provide an overview of the tools and assessments used to screen for an auditory processing disorder, the role of the audiologist in diagnosing and subtyping an auditory processing disorder, targeted auditory training activities for remediation, deficit specific education approaches, and at-home recommendations.  

(3C) The SIM Framing Routine: Part 2 of 2
Chris Schnieders, Ph.D. - Educator at the Frostig School, Pasadena; Instructor, CSUN
Beth Lasky, Ph.D. - Professor, Department of Special Ed, CSUN
 
** see description above: (2C) The SIM Framing Routine

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