Press Releases

September 15, 2007

CONTACT:

Long Island Branch of the International Dyslexia Association

(631) 261-7441

DYSLEXIA GROUP HOSTS WORKSHOPS DURING OCTOBER

NATIONAL AWARENESS MONTH

October is National Dyslexia Awareness Month, and Long Island Branch of the International Dyslexia Association, located in New York will be conducting a series of local workshops and seminars during October, intended to increase awareness about dyslexia and promote understanding of some of the typical ‘warning signs’ of dyslexia when a child or an adult has difficulty with reading or spelling.

Estimates by the US Department of Health & Human Services, show that 15% of all American students may have dyslexia. According to the International Dyslexia Association in Baltimore, early identification and appropriate intervention with a dyslexic child are essential. When identified early, remediating a learning disability can be accomplished using proven, multi-sensory teaching methods, enabling the majority of students with identified learning disabilities the opportunity to reach their full potential. “When a child does not learn to read, their lives are affected forever”, says Nancy Hennessy, past President of IDA. “Teaching a child to read is a fundamental responsibility of our educational system and IDA believes strongly that effective instruction depends on the qualitative preparation of teachers and on-going professional development. If we give our teachers the right tools, they will succeed and our children will also succeed.”

Many parents, however, are simply unaware of the appropriate interventions or remediation programs for their children or are confused about the specific type of professional help to seek. Competing claims by reading, studying and learning organizations provide little guidance to a parent concerned about the possibility of a learning disability in their child. The Long Island Branch of IDA provides objective information and research-based knowledge about dyslexia as well as referrals to a network of learning disability professionals and organizations for testing and screening throughout Long Island.

The schedule of free informational sessions hosted by the Long Island Dyslexia , IDA Branch include:

71 West 23rd Street, Suite 1527 New York, New York 10010
Office Telephone: (212) 691-1930

IDA is a non-profit, scientific and educational organization, headquartered in Baltimore, MD and is the nation’s oldest, non-profit organization dealing with learning disabilities and the only organization dedicated exclusively to the study and treatment of the specific language disability known as dyslexia. The association has 12,000 members worldwide, 47 Branches in the U.S. and Canada, and global partnerships with nine other countries. IDA members include individuals with dyslexia and their families, educators, diagnosticians, physicians, researchers and other professionals in the field of dyslexia and learning differences. The organization publishes a peer-reviewed, interdisciplinary research journal—Annals of Dyslexia—and a quarterly publication—Perspectives—which discusses curriculum-based classroom techniques for the learning disabled, using case studies of instructional models and interventional research studies.

For more information about dyslexia and learning disabilities, contact the International Dyslexia Association in Baltimore, MD at (410) 296-0232 or log onto the website www.interdys.org. To contact the Long Island Branch of IDA, call 631- 261-7441 or log onto www.LIDyslexia.org