WELCOME Welcome to the 2021 Virtual IDA Conference! As you all know, this is not the conference we were expecting. We still believe the conference will give you the tools and knowledge you need to increase the achievement of students with and at-risk for dyslexia. Especially exciting is that we will be live-streaming the same exciting featured sessions we had already planned! This year’s theme is “Envisioning a Future with Structured Literacy: Reading Instruction That Works.” We have selected sessions that address structured literacy: best practices for practitioners, how leaders can implement structured literacy, and ways families can assure their children receive the best structured literacy instruction. In addition, one hallmark of the IDA conference is that attendees can learn from researchers doing the very latest research on reading and dyslexia and discuss how the research can ultimately improve structured literacy now and in the future. We present the latest research in two of our featured sessions: • This year’s recipient of the Orton Prize, Dr. John Gabrieli, will share what cutting-edge neuroscientific data reveal about the nature of dyslexia and how structured literacy can change the brain. • In this year’s Sherman Symposium, researchers explain how executive function affects reading comprehension and link this research to the classroom. You will also find sessions related to pandemic recovery and equity, both important to our international community. For recovery, all sessions on structured literacy will aid teachers in accelerating student learning. We have also selected sessions focused on how educators might use technology to help their students. The pandemic has changed the way we interact with technology, and we hope these sessions will continue to expand your technological repertoire. For equity, we present sessions to increase the success of students from historically marginalized groups. These students are overrepresented in the population of children with reading difficulty, so symposia across all three days will address their needs: • This year’s Geschwind Lecturer, Dr. Julie Washington, will address why the students are over-represented and what we can do about it.
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• At the Sylvia Richardson Symposium, the presenters describe how teachers must consider language diversity to maximize the value of structured literacy. • In the first symposium of the conference on Thursday, the presenters issue to us “A Call to Action for Diverse Vulnerable Learners with Reading Disabilities” to frame all three days of learning. • The last symposium of the conference, titled “Literacy: A Social Justice Issue,” tells the story how one community collaborated to make strides toward equity. Other great news is that the magic of technology makes it possible for you to have access to the many great sessions not just for three days, but for a year or even longer. Details about accessing the conference on IDA TV appear elsewhere in the program book. Finally, we are excited for this year’s unique poster sessions, where poster presenters will film short videos to give attendees a tour of their content.
One goal of the 2021 conference is to make the IDA tent bigger. We are excited to welcome new friends and colleagues, especially educators who are unfamiliar with structured literacy for students with dyslexia. If you are new to IDA, we are thrilled you are attending. We hope the practical and cutting-edge sessions will teach you a great deal and get you excited to implement structured literacy in your classroom. We are just as excited for IDA friends and colleagues we have long known to join us. The IDA conference can only bring together some of the best researchers and practitioners because you have supported this tradition. We hope that the conference will have a direct meaningful impact on instruction, that what you learn here will improve instruction for students who need structured literacy, wherever you are in the world. IDA’s mission is to create a future for all individuals who struggle with dyslexia and other related reading differences so that they have richer, more robust lives and access to the tools and resources they need. We know that this program leads our field in that direction. Be well and safe. We will see you. . . on the internet.
#DyslexiaCon21
