Annual conference to focus on dyslexia

Wednesday, March 13, 2019

Oklahoma State University’s Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders is hosting its annual conference to help speech-language pathologists better assist clients. The Cimarron Conference on Communication Disorders will be from 8:30 a.m.-4 p.m. April 12 at the Wes Watkins Center on the Oklahoma State University-Stillwater campus. This year’s topic is, “The Anatomy of a Dyslexia Diagnosis: How Can Informal and Formal Assessment Help.”

“The Cimarron Conference is a perfect opportunity to recharge my career batteries and allow me to focus on the latest research in our field,” said Leslie Baldwin, the conference’s coordinator and Communication Sciences and Disorders lecturer. “It always covers a timely and relevant topic.”

Wendy Stacy, director and lead dyslexia therapist for ReadWrite Center in Oklahoma City, is the featured speaker. She will discuss the definition, characteristics, assessment and neurology behind children with dyslexia.

Stacy is the author of the “Tier Tools for Teachers” structured literacy program. She is certified by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, the Academic Language Therapy Association and the International Dyslexia Association. Stacy, who is licensed in Texas, is a popular public speaker and often presents at conferences across the United States.

The role of the speech-language pathologist in identifying and treating children with dyslexia has expanded significantly over the years. In 2001, ASHA stated, “The scope and practice for SLPs includes literacy assessment and intervention for children and adolescents. ... The reciprocal and multiple relationships between spoken and written language make it appropriate for SLPs to play an integral role in helping children become literate."

For speech-language pathologists to play an integral role in identifying and treating children with dyslexia, they must have extensive knowledge and understanding of the nature of the disability. They must also be able to identify the core language skills that correlate with dyslexia and understand the process of reading development.

Participants will attend the all-day conference to further educate themselves on effective dyslexia assessment and screening. They will also work together to make diagnostic determinations from existing case studies.

The American Speech-Language-Hearing Association states the connections between spoken and written language build on each other to result in general language and literacy competence, starting early and continuing through childhood into adulthood.

For more information or to register, visit cccd.okstate.edu. Students pay $20, OSU faculty and off-campus supervisors $40, and professionals pay $90. Prices increase by $30 after March 16.