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'Serving our members and informing our community'
Your Newsletter for June 2019
It's Never Too Late
“Sandy and Mike were both in their fifties when they decided to give reading one last chance.”
Sandy Meade and Mike Herron are two siblings who were diagnosed with dyslexia in their 40's. They had the courage and perseverance to seek out Dr. Pamela Mears' skills as a teacher and ask her to teach them to read.

IDA - Oregon Branch premiered the documentary that describes their journey to literacy at our annual member meeting in November 2018.

We are delighted to announce that the documntary is now available for viewing via our YouTube channel . We invite you to read the background to their story and view the documentary at our website by following this link.

PDX Reading Specialist is in the spotlight
Barbara Steinberg , founder and owner of PDX Reading Specialist, started her company in 2010 after spending more than a decade as a classroom teacher. When asked why she left the classroom, Steinberg states, “every year, there were four or five students who were bright and eager to learn...yet struggled with the basics of reading, writing and spelling. I worried about these kids and was frustrated because I didn't have the appropriate knowledge or tools to help them. I started PDX Reading Specialist with the mission of inspiring individuals to become CONFIDENT & CAPABLE learners".

Since 2010, the team at PDX Reading Specialist has helped hundreds of students overcome the challenges of dyslexia. “Equally important”, Steinberg adds, “we've inspired these remarkable individuals to discover their hidden gifts and become self-advocates”.

In addition to working with individuals and families, Barbara has trained more than 1,000 educators across Oregon under Senate Bill 1003. This training has been described as “career altering,” since, like Steinberg, so many educators never received this knowledge in their pre-service preparation programs. “I am indebted to every educator who attends a training. I know I am changing the world one teacher at a time”.

This year, PDX Reading Specialist also launched a Dyslexia Toolkit to help parents and educators teach the foundational skills for reading success. Since the Toolkit launched last June, more than 1,000 have been sold in more than 6 states. The team at PDX Reading Specialist will be launching the second Dyslexia Toolkit this summer.

To learn more about Barbara and the work of PDX Reading Specialist, visit www.pdxreadingspecialist.com . Or call their offices at 503-747-3491.
Each month this year we are featuring the valuable work being done by our members.
If you would like to be "In the Spotlight", please contact Christy .
Tucker Maxon School supports families
Betsy Ramsey from IDA-OR attended Tucker Maxon School's first Pizza & Dyslexia Family Night . 

Sixteen families attended the event where parents and their children explored activities, gathered resources, had conversations, and listened to speakers share their stories. 

Tucker Maxon School in Portland has a growing focus on supporting families and students with dyslexia both in and outside of the classroom.

The explicit reading instruction and small class sizes created to support their deaf and hard-of-hearing students is also helpful to their students with dyslexia. To learn more about the school please visit their website https://www.tuckermaxon.org/  
Rebecca Archer, the Early Intervention teacher at Tucker Maxon, and Betsy Ramsey (IDA-OR Board Member)
Conference Corner

Application for the IDA - Oregon Branch, Cherida Collins Smith Scholarships, is open.
These annual scholarships, generously offered by Cherida Collins Smith, help educators and administrators from our area attend the
IDA national conference.

The deadline for scholarship applications is September 6, 2019 .

If you are interested, click here for more information.

Interested in volunteering for the upcoming conference?
E-mail Christy at secretary@orbida.org
Board members Danielle, Betsy, Jane and Anne with 2018 scholarship winners Cat and Tanya at the 2018 Conference in Connecticut
A message from one of last year's scholarship winners
Cat Monroy says : "As a recipient of the 2018 Oregon International Dyslexia Association scholarship, I was able to spend five days receiving incredible knowledge from prominent and well-respected scholars and researchers in the field of dyslexia and other reading-related fields. The keynote speakers each day gave me great insight into the nation's pulse on dyslexia. I had the pleasure of getting to know members of the Oregon Branch board of directors and become a part of the group's efforts in creating a strong foundation of members. It was an honor to be one of the 2018 scholarship winners. "

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International Dyslexia Association, Oregon Branch | 503-218-3727 | info@orbida.org | http://or.dyslexiaida.org