IDA's mission is to create a future for all individuals who struggle with dyslexia and other related reading differences so that they may have richer, more robust lives and access to the tools and resources they need. GA.DyslexiaIDA.org

IDA-GA is excited to host the Dyslexia Knowledge Wednesday Webinars. The goal of this 3-webinar series is to inform and enlighten teachers, administrators, other education professionals, parents, and policymakers about dyslexia and the science of reading. Thanks to your support during the Dyslexia Dash season and additional support from sponsors for this series, IDA-GA is offering this at no cost to those who wish to attend.

Our speakers are highly-regarded academics from research and teaching institutions in the United States.

Our first speaker for the IDA-GA Dyslexia Knowledge Series will be Dr. Devin Kearns, University of Connecticut, Center for Behavioral Education and Research, and Haskins Laboratories.

Devin M. Kearns, Ph.D. is an associate professor in the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Connecticut. He researches reading disabilities—including dyslexia—in school-age children. His research focuses on linking educational practice to cognitive science and neuroscience in collaboration with colleagues at Haskins Laboratories and the Brain Imaging Research Center at UConn.

Dyslexia is a serious reading disorder affecting 5 to 10% of individuals in the United States. However, its causes and the best treatments for it are not well-understood.

On February 24, Dr. Kearns will begin with an explanation of the skills students require for reading success and then address the nature of dyslexia and how it causes reading problems. Finally, Dr. Kearns will provide guidance about the elements of instruction that are essential for the success of students with dyslexia and how to address dyslexia within an MTSS/RTI process.

Following this one-hour presentation, we will invite questions from the audience.

IDA-GA updates on an ongoing basis our comprehensive database of information and referrals so that we can provide our best assistance in guiding individuals who contact us with dyslexia-related inquiries.

With your help, we would like to begin updating our reference list of schools (public and private) that serve our students with dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities.

Do you know of

... a school endeavoring to provide Structured Literacy in the general classroom setting so that fewer students need to be pulled out for special services?

... a school that provides intensive remediation instruction for those students who are not making adequate progress in the regular classroom setting?

... a school that has set up a special program within the mainstream school for those students who need more explicit reading and writing instruction and more opportunities for reinforcement of concepts?

... an independent school designed specifically for students with dyslexia and language-based learning difficulties?

Email us at info@idaga.org and include SCHOOL in the subject line. Thank you for your assistance in helping us help others!

As a part of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief funding allocated to Georgia through the CARES Act and in response to the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency, the GA SOLVE Program was established. The purpose of SOLVE is to provide scholarships for families with students enrolled in a Georgia public school, state charter commission school, or locally approved charter school that offers primarily virtual learning. GA SOLVE offers scholarships to working families with children and young adults ages 5-12 (kindergarten through grade 7), or up to age 22 for students with qualifying disabilities, by paying for care, supervision, and support during the school day while students are engaged in virtual learning.

Find out more: https://www.decal.ga.gov/CAPS/Solve.aspx

In another effort to help schools and students during this difficult time, a donation from AT&T to the Georgia Foundation for Public Education in May 2020 has enabled the deployment of 448 Wi-Fi Rangers to 36 school districts in Georgia. This gift continues to assist the school districts (many of them in rural areas of the state) as they work so purposefully toward closing the state's connectivity gap.

CLICK HERE to read the Impact Report released in December 2020.

Dear Parent and Educator Advocates and Community Partners,

Dyslexia Day at the Capitol 2021 sadly won't be at the Capitol! We are instead coming up with ideas to reach our legislators virtually about the need for early identification and elevating academic outcomes for all students on Tuesday, February 23rd. There will be House and Senate resolutions on that day.

Follow the DDGA Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/decodingdyslexiaga for updates as they become available.

We will plan to tweet up a storm using the following hashtags: #saydyslexia #screentointervene #GADyslexiaAlly and #gapol We are on Twitter @DDGA13.

We look forward to this great day of advocacy from families across the state.

Tina Engberg

State Leader, DDGA

Dr. Elsa Hagan

(Register now.)

(Register now.)

PaTTAN

(Register now.)

DDGA

(Get updates.)

Dr. Devin Kearns

(Register now.)

CLICK HERE to view the full calendar of events and to register for individual events. Check back for frequent updates!

IDA has launched its Digital Dyslexia Library. The Library is free for individuals, families, educators, researchers, and other professionals in the dyslexia community. It contains a wealth of articles, information and videos, including our Motivational Monday webinars.

The February 1 Motivational Monday webinar “College Transition and Accommodations for Students with Dyslexia and Other Disabilities - What's Really True?” will be posted in the library soon. You will have the opportunity to hear Janet Thibeau, IDA Branch Council Chair and founder and president of BTA Education, a special education advocacy, parent coaching, and school/college consulting firm in Massachusetts, as she asks Elizabeth C. Hamblet, college learning disabilities specialist and author of From High School To College: Steps to Success for Students with Disabilities to address questions we frequently hear from parents and students. Check it out and more at DyslexiaLibrary.org

We also invite you also to visit the new page on the IDA Georgia website entitled Topics of Interest Library - The Science of Dyslexia and Literacy. Here you will learn more from IDA and other trusted sources. Look for frequent updates!

In addition, we've added Resources for Decodable Texts.

Funds raised from the IDA's annual Dyslexia Dash 5K enable IDA-GA to provide scholarships and grants for teacher training and dyslexia awareness initiatives.

Visit ga.DyslexiaIDA.org for details about how to apply.

Mark your calendars for October 16. Join us then - in-person or virtually - for the 2021 Dyslexia Dash.

IDA-GA is offering the Wednesday Webinars at no cost to registrants. Thank you to our schools and educational organizations for their donations and support. It is with the continued support of our sponsors that we are able to offer not only scholarship and grant opportunities but also events like this that are free and open to all those interested in learning more about dyslexia and effective interventions.

If you are a past sponsor of an IDA-GA event, you should have received a letter about how you can support this event. Please contact Mary McPherson at drmaryemcpherson@gmail.com if you did not receive that email or if you have any questions.