Pennsylvania Branch of the IDA

Research Based Interventions for the Three R's

Pennsylvania Branch of the IDA
Co-Sponsors: Delaware Valley Friends School, The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Stratford Friends School, Widener University

MORNING SESSIONS

AM 1: Enhancing the Mathematical Problem Solving of Students with Mathematics Disabilities, With and Without Disabilities
Lynn S. Fuchs, Ph.D., Nicholas Hobbs Professor of Special Education and Human Development; Co-Director, Kennedy Center Reading Clinic; Vanderbilt University
This presentation will describe research designed to enhance the calculations and mathematical problem-solving performance of students with mathematics disability for students with and without concurrent reading disability. The rationale for this framework for subtyping math disability (with and without concurrent reading disability) will be presented. Then, two treatments will be described: one for remediating calculations difficulty and the other for remediating word-problem deficits. Effects of the two treatment, as a function math disability subtype, will be presented and implications for understanding learning disability for remediating mathematics deficits will be discussed.
Chair: Brenda Kabler, Ph.D., Coordinator of Psychological Services in the Upper Darby School District; PA School Psychologist of the Year 2007-2008.
Level: Advanced
Audience: All

AM 2: Word Smarts: Morphology Development & Advanced Decoding
William Van Cleave, M.A. Private Practice, Teacher Trainer, Educational Consultant
Recognizing that most schooling provides decoding at only the primary level, this workshop picks up where basic word attack leaves off. Even with a foundation in basic phonics, students in middle and high school are often unable to handle both the increased quantity of text and its complexity. Participants briefly examine the origins of our language, learn about characteristics of the major languages of influence, look over basic word parts, and study some effective tools for instructing students in this valuable area. Tools such as these help the student whose word decoding abilities have plateaued to move to the next level -- for decoding, vocabulary development, and ultimately comprehension.
Chair: John M. Murray, M.S. Head of School, Woodlynde School, Strafford

Level: Advanced

Audience: All

AM 3: A Road Map to Overcoming Dyslexia One Word at a Time

Linda Tessler, Ph.D., Private Practice, Bryn Mawr, PA

A workshop for all interested in learning more about dyslexia from a professional who successfully manages her learning difference. Dyslexia’s complexities are demystified via a “road map” with strategies for meeting the ongoing challenges, including preserving self-esteem, presented by this disability. Dr. Tessler’s new book on overcoming the barriers of a reading disability, “One Word at a Time,” will be available for further discussion at a lunch presentation followed by a book signing.

Chair: Allison Weber, Parent

Level: General

Audience: All

AM 4: Breaking Barriers with Technology

Elizabeth Beam, CSPD Chester County Intermediate Unit, Downingtown, PA

Learn how to use technology to differentiate instruction for ALL learners in your classroom, including struggling learners. Find out how to use specialized features built-into your operating system, and to make learning engaging for ALL students. Explore on-line resources such as the PA Power Library. Participants will also learn how to use specialized features of Microsoft Word to meet diverse learner needs.

Chair: Joseph T. Devlin. M.A., Head of School, The Center School, Abingdon, PA

Level: General

Audience: All

AM 5: Beyond Decoding, Impacting Fluency

Kathleen Carlsen, M.Ed., CALT, QI, Director, 32° Masonic Learning Center, Philadelphia

In her book, Overcoming Dyslexia, Dr. Sally Shaywitz defines fluency as reading a word quickly, smoothly, and with good expression.” Most students with appropriate intervention for their dyslexia make great strides in reading accuracy. However, they may continue to demonstrate a significant deficit in reading fluency.

Readers that process text with ease and good speed correlate highly with readers that comprehend, making reading fluency a key skill of effective readers. The Texas Scottish Rite Hospital staff set about creating “Rite Flight” a Classroom Reading Rate Program to promote quick, effortless, accurate, prosodic reading with the goal of attaining a level of fluency that will ultimately transfer to comprehension of connected text.

The presentation includes the background and research behind the fluency program and implementation with demonstrations of the “Rite Flight” Classroom Reading Rate Program.

Chair: Ruth S. Joray, M.S., Head of School, The Quaker School in Horsham

Level: Advanced

Audience: Educators, Psychologists, Tutors

AM 6: Anxiety: The Additional Hurdle - Strategies to Help Students Understand and Overcome their Fears and Worries

Tamar Chansky, Ph.D., Director, Children's Center for OCD and Anxiety

Children with learning differences face the hurdle of navigating their education given their special needs. Anxiety creates an additional hurdle when fears of trying, failing, or simply not knowing interfere with their fully engaging in the learning process. In this workshop, I will present a model for how to talk to kids about how their anxiety, as well as creative strategies for addressing the cognitive, physiological and behavioral dimensions of the anxious response.

Chair: Thomas Needham, M.Ed. Head of School, The Hill Top Preparatory School, Rosemont, PA

Level: Advanced

Audience: All

PM 1: From Words To Works: Developing Writing Skills
William Van Cleave, M.A., Private Practice,Teacher Trainer, Educational Consultant
This hands-on workshop explores useful strategies for developing students’ writing skills. This presentation includes list generation, grammar, sentence creation, paragraph development, and proofreading techniques. Participants learn a structured, sequential approach to developing students’ writing skills. They practice with the various teaching strategies introduced and learn techniques they can apply the very next day in their classrooms!

Chair: Beth Marvin, Ph.D. Director of Middle School Special Services, Norristown School District

PM 2: Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder: School-Based Intervention Strategies.

George DuPaul, Ph.D., Professor of School Psychology and Chair, Department of Education and Human Services, Lehigh University

This presentation will explain the role ADHD and poor executive functioning play in children’s learning problems (e.g., reading comprehension, writing). Specific intervention strategies will be presented.

Chair: Martha Benoff, Ph.D., Private Practice, Philadelphia

Audience: Educators, Psychologists, Physicians, Social Workers

PM 3: Strategies for Comprehension Skills Workshop

M. Therese Kelly, M.L.A. Educational Therapist,Director, New Heights Center, Towson, Maryland

The Strategies for Comprehension Skill Development Workshop facilitates the development of reading and language comprehension skill building through the stimulation of concept imagery. The workshop provides some strategy development and practice in the New Heights Center’s program for reading comprehension. This program, which is based on the Nanci Bell Visualizing/Verbalizing™ text along with Keene/Zimmerman’s text Mosaic of Thought helps students develop concept imagery: the ability to form mental images from oral or written language. Concept imagery has been found to enhance language comprehension, oral and written expression, following directions, and critical thinking. Students begin by describing personal experiences, pictures, and words. Reading comprehension is enhanced as they progress to visualizing and describing sentences, paragraphs, and longer text. This program can facilitate dramatic growth in receptive and expressive language usage for students of all age and ability levels.

Chair: Wendell McConnaha, Ph.D. Director, The Falk School, Pittsburgh

Audience: Educators, Psychologists, Tutors

PM 4: Group Orton Gillingham Instruction at the Masonic Learning Centers

Judy Shapiro, M.S., Adjunct Professor, Fairleigh Dickinson University; Masonic Children’s Learning Center, Scotch Plains, NJ and Amy A.M. Martin. M.A., Group Instruction Teacher, Masonic Children’s Learning Center

A model for delivering Orton Gillingham lessons to groups of children was developed at the Masonic Children's Learning Centers. Now in their second year, these group lessons include all strands of OG, strategies for providing individualized needs within a group setting and effective methods of enhancing attentive levels of all children. Presenters will demonstrate effective ways to provide OG lessons to several students at one time; thereby addressing the realistic needs facing instructors in public school settings and meeting the needs of more children.

Chair: Amy McCann, M.A., Faculty, Friends Select School, Philadelphia

PM 5: Preschoolers and Kindergartners at Risk: How can we identify them, and what can we do?

Nancy D. Rassiga. M.S. CCC-SLP, Director of the Language Enrichment Preschool and Kindergarten Programs at the Phebe Anna Thorne School, Department of Psychology, Bryn Mawr College

This session will describe early identification of children with specific speech and language delays that put them at risk for learning disabilities, strategies that can help them, including information on how two local school-based programs have been designed to specifically address these needs.

Chair: Shawn Crowder, Senior Vice President Human Resources, The School District of Philadelphia

PM 6: A Simulation: Put Yourself in the Shoes of a Person with Dyslexia

Jeffory T. Adams, SVP Bank of America, Adult with Dyslexia; Elizabeth Boston, Parent; Cindy Brickley, M.Ed., Wilson Tutor; Judie Caroleo, Director of Instruction, Reading Assist, Wilmington; Ellen Coulston, Parent, Board President, Parent Information Center of Delaware.; Wendy Demchik-Alloy, Esq., Parent, Founder Montgomery Child Advocacy Project; Patrick Dorsey, MSEd, Reading Specialist, Chester County Intermediate Unit; Marianne Glanzman, M.D., Developmental Pediatrician, The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia and Center for Management of ADHD; Lia Gorman, Parent, Philadelphia Childhood Apraxia of Speech Network; Curt Grogan, parent; Helen Mannion, Private Tutor; Karen Martini, M.A., Lower School Supervisor, The Crossroads School; Maria Paluselli, M.S.Ed., Consultant, Winsor System, Director, Masonic Learning Center for Children, Pittsburgh IDA Regional Group Chair.

Through a series of six stations participants will experience the challenges and frustrations a person with a language-based learning disability encounters daily. This hands-on workshop is designed to improve understanding and encourage use of effective teaching techniques.

This session will last two hours.

Chair: Eugenie Walsh Flaherty, Ph.D. Bryn Mawr College Child Study Institute