program

All workshops are from 8:30 am to 3:00 pm

>>Download PDF Seminar brochure (pdf)

You will learn about the relationship between the brain and reading development, from acquisition to expertise, and the effectiveness of reading interventions to help rewire the brains of struggling readers. Seminar leader Dr. Thomson will explain how readers who struggle with reading acquisition and development differ in their brain structure and function, as well as the differences and similarities between dyslexia and reading difficulty across languages. You will learn about the most recent advances in the field of neuroscience to predict who will be at the highest risk of struggling to read and who may benefit from intervention. You will examine the limitations and progress of the field of educational neuroscience as it relates to reading development, assessment and intervention. By the conclusion of the workshop, you will have had the opportunity to discuss the roles and contributions of neuroscience to understanding reading and dyslexia.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

At this seminar, you will learn information about:

  • Typical and atypical acquisition and development of reading skills in children and adults
  • Definitions and characterizations of types of reading difficulties, including dyslexia
  • Recent neuroscience research on readers with and without reading disabilities
  • How neuroscience can predict reading outcomes
  • How neuroscience informs us on reading difficulties across languages
  • Resources for reading-related research and programs
  • How to be a critical consumer of neuroscience information regarding the reading brain

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

This seminar will be applicable for professionals in education, including teachers, administrators, reading specialists, graduate students, college/university faculty training teachers and others with similar interests.


WORKSHOP LEADER

Jenny Thomson, PhD, CCC-SLP, is an Associate Professor at Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE) and an oral and written language clinician at Boston Children's Hospital. She directs an educational neuroscience research laboratory at HGSE where she studies and teaches courses on reading difficulties, the application of neuroscience to the study of learning disabilities and the use of neuroscience within education. She is co-author of "Auditory processing interventions and developmental dyslexia" (2012, Reading and Writing) and "Good practice in interventions for teaching dyslexic learners and in teacher training in English-speaking countries" (2010, Dyslexia International).