Fall 2010 Newsletter

E-Communicator Fall 2010 Newsletter

WABIDA E-Communicator

Fall 2010

In this Issue
President's message
WABIDA Board Elections
THANK YOU
Insurance
Fluency in Reading

Save the Date
WABIDA 2010 Fall Conference
Oct. 23, 2010
Help Your Struggling Students NOW
Click here for details and on-line registration
Would you like to be an exhibitor or vendor at our conference? There is a simple form to use.

Exhibitor Application

C. Wilson Anderson
Featured Speaker
at
Fall Conference

C. Wilson Anderson is a Fellow of the Orton-Gillingham Academy and past president of the International Dyslexia Association. He brings a wealth of information as well as a lively presentation.

With the election of new board members this fall, we must also bid farewell to four outgoing directors.
Jay Terry has served on the WABIDA board since 2004. He is a busy attorney with a young active family. We have benefited from the unique perspective and knowledge he brought to the organization.
Ruth Wilson is both a creative entrepreneur and an inspiration to WABIDA. She is the founder and director of EA2, Educational Advancement Academy, a program for highly capable, learning disabled and emotionally disturbed students.
Cheri Bortleson was major organizer for the successful Dyslexia Summit in 2005. She has continued to provide valuable leadership to WABIDA over the years.
Mark Krueger has served as WABIDA's Treasurer for the last four years. Between his career as an accountant and his adult kickball league, he has kept our books in order and provided a professional boost to our budgeting.

The WABIDA
E-Communicator
is the electronic newsletter of
The Washington Branch of the International Dyslexia Association. WABIDA welcomes your comments and suggestions. Members may submit articles for consideration. Contact us by e-mail at info@wabida.org or by calling (206) 382-1020.
Editor: Bev Wolf

WABIDA serves as a resource for individuals and groups seeking information about specific language disability/dyslexia; promotes and organizes classes and workshops to provide information for individuals with dyslexia, educators, parents, and others; encourages the development of resources for individuals with dyslexia; recognizes achievement for individuals within the field of dyslexia; and, when possible, offers monetary support for any of the stated goals.
Click here for information about the WABIDA Board of Directors.

President's Message

October is Dyslexia Awareness Month
For many of us it is ‘back to school time.’ This offers us an opportunity to redirect our attention from great weather and summer fun to education and students. This is happening at the local, the national and international level.
October is National Dyslexia Awareness Month. The Washington State Branch of the International Dyslexia Association, serving Washington, Idaho, and Montana is using this month to present our Fall Conference - Help Your Struggling Students Now: Teaching the subject matter to students who struggle with reading, written expression and spelling.
Our featured presenter will be C. Wilson Anderson. Please make plans to join us on October 23 at the Blackriver Conference Center in Renton, Washington. You can find more information in this issue of The Communicator.
At the national level, the IDA Conference, “Reading, Literacy and Learning” will be held in Phoenix, Arizona Oct. 27 – 30. As reflected in the title, the content of the event will reach beyond traditional dyslexia discussions and will include valuable information about reading, literacy and mathematics.
In addition to the workshops and presentations, this year IDA is sponsoring the Dyslexia Dash. This fundraising event will help raise funds to support programs at the national and local level. I’ll be our Washington State Branch representative in the Dash. If you would like to support our efforts please visit my fundraising page at www.firstgiving.com/bonniemeyer.
IDA branches all over the United States focus energy in October for promoting greater awareness of dyslexia as a specific learning disability and creating a broader understanding of some of the typical ‘warning signs’ of dyslexia when a child or an adult has difficulty with reading or spelling.
I encourage you to help spread the word this fall about this important issue that affects so many people among us. Talk to your colleagues, friends and family members. Post something on your Facebook page. Help administrators at your school understand best practices to work with students. And join us on Oct. 23th in Renton!
Enjoy the fall,
Bonnie Meyer
WABIDA President

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Board of Directors Elections
Each fall WABIDA elects board members and officers to help lead our organization.
There are 6 members recommended to you by the Nominating Committee. Six of the candidates would be new to our board; Bev Wolf is seeking reelection.
Below you will find a very brief description of the slate of candidates.
Incoming WABIDA Board
Catherine Adams is not a new face to WABIDA. She previously served as our Administrative Director. She is currently a 7th grade teacher at Billings Middle school.
Julie Bedell has been a classroom teacher, tutor and reading specialist for 25 years. She has recently completed her work for National Board Certification in Literacy.
Theresa Clymer hails from Renton where she has worked with students with dyslexia for many years. Her experiences both in and out of the classroom will be valuable for our board.
Kristie English comes to the WABIDA board with a particular interest in the concerns and challenges of adolescents with dyslexia. She has a private practice doing assessments as well as 1:1 tutoring.
Sue Palewicz is a classroom teacher at Lawton Elementary in Seattle. She also teacher a course through SPU "Preventing Reading Difficulties in Primary Children."
Bev Wolf is one of the stalwart pillars of dyslexia instruction in our state. Her constant enthusiasm and commitment to professional development and continued education is a inspiration to us all.
Joan Young is a member of the Board of Trustees for Hamlin Robinson School. She is the proud mother of high school son with dyslexia.
WABIDA Officers
Kay Nelson, President    For the past year, Kay has served as our Secretary and President Elect. As a classroom teacher at Hamlin Robinson School, she knows the challenges and satisfaction of working with children with dyslexia.
Christine Cassidy, Vice President    Chris brings to our board a wealth of information about non-profits at all levels. She is a current board member and past WABIDA executive director.
Sal Marino, Treasurer    Sal joined our board a year ago as Treasurer Elect. He has a strong knowledge of finances and will be a real asset as our Treasurer.

Nominating Committee
Pat Massoth and Lori Ranstrom have successfully served on the Nominating Committee for the last year and are willing to continue. If you are interested in joining our board or know someone who is, please contact them.

Fluency in Reading Instruction
by Regina Cicci

Remediation in fluency is increasingly recommended for children with dyslexia. Parents are questioning what the word means. This is another of those terms that people who hear or read about it need to be sure how it is used. In oral language we speak of fluency when a person speaks easily and comfortably. People are dysfluent when they lack ease of oral communication. Some repeat the beginnings of words or they may prolong vowels in the middle of words. Such a speech pattern is regarded as stuttering. Others struggle with beginning phrases of speech; they cannot seem to get started with what they want to say. This same pattern may be seen in writing. They write a phrase, then erase, and write it again. This pattern has been referred to as cluttering.
Click here to read the entire article.