HSU to Educate Parents, Teachers on Living with Dyslexia

Dyslexia and other reading disorders affect more than 10 million children in the United States, according to research done at Yale University and other institutional research supported by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development.

Dr. Emily Dean heads up the Center for Literacy and Learning at HSU. Dean holds a Doctor of Philosophy degree with a major field of study in reading. She has extensive education and training as a dyslexic specialist and has served as a member of the editorial review board for the Journal of Literacy Research and Instruction.

"Dean brings an extensive background in dyslexia education to the Center for Literacy and Learning," says Dr. Pam Williford, dean of the Irvin School of Education at HSU. "Dean has also served as a reviewer for publications and presentations for the International Dyslexia Association, and reviewer of presentations for the National Reading Conference," says Williford.

The HSU Irvin School of Education has been the home to the Center for Literacy and Learning for over 20 years and is a primary dyslexia resource base for teachers and parents in the Big Country and west central Texas areas.

"We are learning new information all the time about dyslexia, how to treat it, and how to utilize emerging evidence that links dyslexia to networking system problems between the back of the brain and the front parts of the brain," says Williford.

"It is wonderful to see classroom teachers receive sound training for teaching children in their classrooms who may be dyslexic. That is the real joy--training teachers who want to make a difference," says Williford.

Williford says one of her goals is to expand the support aspect of the center with more workshops and meetings for parents and educators to attend. "We have had programs in the past where sometimes 75 to 100 families will attend from as far away as Mineral Wells and Comanche. We want to offer these kinds of programs on more of a routine basis for parents."

The event will be on the first floor of Moody Center in Room 108 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m.

The event is free and open to the public.