Events sponsored by Decoding Dyslexia CA (DDCA) are indicated on the events calendar. Local events held by other organizations may also be listed that may be of interest to our members. DDCA does not endorse any specific program or company.
Access Is The Best Medicine Fighting for Equality in Health Care
By: Barry Blitt
Hosted hors d’oeurves, wine, and soft drinks
Please RSVP to Ingrid Fischer : itischer@dredf.org
FEATURED GUEST
Sharon Lewis
Past Presidential Appointee, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS); Administration for Community Living & Past Senior Disability Policy Advisor to George Miller
EDWARD M. KENNEDY LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
Mary Lou Breslin
DREDF Co-Founder and Senior Policy Advisor for Doing Healthcare Justice for People with Disabilities
EMCEE
Yomi Wrong
Palo Alto Medical Foundation
Meet Dr. Kelli Sandman-Hurley of the Dyslexia Training Institute, in the San Francisco Bay Area on September 17th, as she discusses dyslexia advocacy and signs her new book, Dyslexia Advocate! How to Advocate for a Child with Dyslexia within the Public Education System. Click here for more details and to register for the event.
This book is an invaluable tool for parents and advocates trying to negotiate the complex US legal system and advocate for the right educational entitlements for a child with dyslexia.
Dr. Sandman-Hurley is the co-founder of the Dyslexia Training Institute. She received her doctorate in literacy with a specialization in reading and dyslexia from San Diego State University and the University of San Diego. She is a certified special education advocate assisting parents and children through the Individual Education Plan (IEP) and 504 Plan process. Dr. Sandman-Hurley is trained in many Structured Literacy programs. She is the Past-President of the San Diego Branch of the International Dyslexia Association. She co-created and produced “Dyslexia for a Day: A Simulation of Dyslexia,” and is a frequent speaker at conferences.
The Importance of Self-Care as a Caretaker
Since 2003, PEN has been helping parents connect with a unique community of support.
As parent of a child with learning and attention differences, you work hard to guide, care for, and advocate for your child. But you also need to replenish your own energy and reconnect with your own passions, creativity and relationships.
Connecting with other parents on the journey is one of the most important steps you can take in your self-care as a caretaker.
Start the new school year on a positive note by joining us for a discussion of parent self-care, and learn how PEN can support you this year.
Cost: FREE to PEN Members and any parent interested in learning more about PEN. Registration required.
SAFE (Student Advisors for Education) is a student community that strives to educate, mentor, and support students, parents and teachers regarding the challenges and strengths of students with learning and attention differences.
Our meetings are open to students ages 13-19 interested in joining Student Advisors For Education, so encourage your friends to join you. Parents are asked to drop off and pick up, but are welcome to come in and introduce themselves.
Cost: This is a FREE event for students. Please register so we can take care of permission slips and other administrative issues prior to the event.
If you are a first-time attendee and have any questions, please email us.
About the Workshop
Learning math can be challenging, especially for students who have specific learning disabilities. Language skills, executive functioning, motor planning, and math-specific visual processing skills all play a role in acquiring math competency. Specific deficits and their resulting impact will be explored in this workshop. Methods will be presented that use the minimum language demands and whole-to-part, multi-modal strategies to help students express, relate, store, and retrieve information efficiently.
Chris Woodin has been with Landmark School since 1986. He is a graduate of Middlebury College and the Harvard Graduate School of education and is currently the mathematics department head at the Landmark Elementary/Middle School. He has published several articles, including a recent one through the Yale Centre for Dyslexia and Creativity. His latest book is entitled Multiplication and Division Facts for the Whole-to-Part Visual Learner. He presents nationally on topics involving multimodal math instruction and learning disabilities.
Our meetings are open to students ages 13-19 interested in joining Student Advisors For Education, so encourage your friends to join you. Parents are asked to drop off and pick up, but are welcome to come in and introduce themselves.
Location: San Francisco Friends School, 250 Valencia Street, San Francisco 94103
To be added to the SAFE mailing list Please sign up here. If you are a first-time attendee and have any questions, please email pen@parentseducationnetwork.org
Join us for lunch and a chance to hear Paul Orfalea speak about his story of personal “failures” that ultimately resulted in success.
Philanthropist, investing guru, Kinko’s founder, serial entrepreneur, and speaker Paul Orfalea struggled through his school years because of conditions we now recognize as Dyslexia and ADHD. Paul credits these “disabilities” as the blessings that allowed him to see the world differently from his peers.
Today Paul remains active in a number of businesses, including his work on the Investment Committee of West Coast Asset Management. He also shares the benefit of his business and life experience through his writings, speeches, and college courses. Through his family’s philanthropic efforts and public speaking on early care and education, intergenerational programs and learning differences, Paul strives to improve resources for the next generation of leaders and educators.
Co-sponsored by Parents Education Network
The Perfect Storm: ADHD, Dyslexia, and Executive Function Problems plus Executive Function in the Classroom
with Eric Tridas, M.D. and Sr. Mary Gilchrist Cottrill
Saturday, October 1, 9:00 am-3:30 pm (check-in begins at 8:30 am, lunch is included)
Ross School, 9 Lagunitas Road, Ross, CA 94957
Cost:
NCBIDA and PEN Members – $75
Non-members – $85
Walk-ins- $100
Join us for a day-long look at ADHD, Dyslexia, and Executive Function problems.
Dyslexia, ADHD, and anxiety frequently coexist. Often students do not respond to seemingly appropriate interventions because the impairment is the result of multiple factors and the intervention plan only addresses some of them. Dr. Tridas and Sr. Mary Cottrill will discuss the main contributing factors to these students’ problems and how they interact with each other to impair learning. In the morning, Dr. Tridas will review the symptoms of ADHD and anxiety and their impact on executive function and reading. In the afternoon, Sr. Mary Gilcrist will focus on how executive function deficits impact learning and give practical, strategic supports to assist students, teachers, and parents.
Eric Tridas, M.D. is the Medical Director of the Tridas Center for Child Development, a multidisciplinary practice in the Tampa Bay area. He is a developmental pediatrician who specializes in the diagnosis and management of handicapping conditions including ADHD, learning differences, dyslexia, autism spectrum disorders, intellectual disabilities and other neurodevelopmental and behavioral problems. He is also a Clinical Associate Professor at the University of South Florida, Morsani College of Medicine. Dr. Tridas edited a book for parents titled From ABC to ADHD: What Every Parent Should Know About Dyslexia and Attention Problems.
Sr. Mary Gilchrist Cottrill is the Director of Ave Maria Preparatory School, a day school for children with learning and behavior challenges in Florida. She designed and directed several schools for children with special needs. Sr. Gilchrist designed and directed Masters level programs in Special Education for Barry University and Ave Maria University. She designed and directed a public partnership with thirty-two schools in the West Coast of Florida. Sister is an Adjunct Professor at Notre Dame College in Ohio and has presented nationally and internationally on learning and behavior disorders.
Pre-registration ends Wednesday, September 28.
Cancellation Policy: Cancellations in writing will be accepted until 5:00 pm on Thursday, September 29. In such cases, the registration fee will be refunded less a $10 cancellation fee. No refunds will be given for cancellations after 5:00 pm, Thursday, September 29.
Synopsis of the film:
A shock of recognition in social work school leads award-winning filmmaker Sarah Entine to explore how undiagnosed dyslexia and ADHD have impacted three generations in her family, starting with her own struggles. With surprising candor, vulnerability and even a touch of humor, Read Me Differently reveals the strain of misunderstood learning differences on family relationships. It is a unique film that generates thoughtful discussion whether in a classroom setting, work environment or at home with family members and friends.
For additional information, please contact Amanda Szakats, amanda.szakats@gmail.com.
Dysgraphia & Handwriting:
Has Handwriting Become an Instructional Dinosaur?
Handwriting May be More Important Than You Think!
Speaker:
Nancy Cushen White, Ed.D., BCET, CALT-QI, LDT
Writing by hand is a written language skill – not just a motor skill – and it impacts early literacy, working memory, planning, composition – and even note-taking in adults. Handwriting is most effectively taught within a purposefully integrated langauge arts approach that includes the teaching of reading, spelling, and written expression (and their subskills).
Handwriting is a complex skill that involves both cognitive and motor skills. A foundational skill for literacy, it influences reading, written expression, and critical thinking. Sequential hand movements during handwriting activate brain regions associated with thinking, working memory, and language. Cross-disciplinary research shows that handwriting is a critical skill to teach from preschool to high school.
Explicit, integrated handwriting instruction is important! Manuscript, cursive, and keyboarding all have advantages for different students at different ages and stages. A note-taking study comparing keyboarding and handwriting showed better comprehension and retention of content for the handwriters. Elementary students composing by hand, not keyboarding, wrote faster, longer pieces with more ideas.
Literacy is the foundation for all learning! Handwriting instruction influences the development of reading and written expression by students of various ages and with diverse learning characteristics.
Learning objectives:
- Participants will be able to define dysgraphia.
- Participants will be able to discuss at which ages and stages the use of manuscript, cursive, and/or keyboarding is most likely to be an advantage for various students.
- Participants will be able to explain how handwriting is a written language skill – not just a motor skill.
- Participants will be able to give examples of strategies for integration of handwriting and keyboarding instruction into the teaching of reading and written expression.
Do you know – or do you work with – a student who struggles with handwriting? Have you wondered what will work well with these children and what they need?
If so, then………… ***This webinar is for You!
Introducing Nancy Cushen White
Nancy Cushen White, Ed.D., is a Clinical Professor, Division of Adolescant & Young Adult Medicine in the Department of Pediatrics, and a member of the Dyslexia Research Center Team at University of California, San Francisco. She is also in private practice at the Dyslexia Evaluation and Remediation Clinic as a Board Certified Educational Therapist and a Dyslexia Consultant in private practice. She is a certified director of the Slingerland Multisensory Structured Language Instruction Comprehensive Teacher Training Course. And, she’s a fantastic person! You’ll enjoy listening to her.
Tickets are available until 1 pm on October 4, 2016
You will receive:
- A copy of the Powerpoint – a day or two before webinar
- Access to the audio/visual version of the webinar – available two weeks after webinar
Typical Q and A:
- What if I cannot make the start time for this webinar? You can join us at any time. Afterwards, you will receive a copy of the entire presentation, including the audio portion. This will enable you to review the material, or if necessary, catch up on anything you may have missed.
- Will I receive a copy of the Powerpoint prior to the start of the webinar? We will do everything in our power to make this happen!!
- Will there be background noise from the other people on the line that interferes with whether or not I am able to listen to the speaker? We do everything we can to prevent this. One way is that we mute everyone while the speaker is talking.
- Is there an opportunity for me to ask questions? Definitely YES! You may ask a question at any time by writing your question in the space provided. The speaker will answer it at an appropriate time. At some points, we will unmute specific participants who have their hand up to ask a question.
A webinar? What is it?
In a webinar, you stay at home, or wherever you want, and you use your own computer. You log in at the specific day and time — and then you listen and participate.
The vital aspect is that you must be preregistered. After you register here at Eventbrite, your name will be placed on the log with GotoWebinar and they will email you the instructions you need. These will contact a special log in code that you use to log in at the appropriate time. You may use a phone and/or a computer; however, the computer allows you to also see the PowerPoint Presentations. The phone or a USB microphone on your computer allows you to talk to the presenter and others.