Advantages of Dyslexia Presentation Monday

The Framingham Special Education Parent Advisory Council (F-SEPAC) will host a special presentation on helping dyslexic students with computerized tools, including e-readers on Monday, Oct. 27 at 7 p.m.

To attend please RSVP at https://fsepac.wufoo.com/forms/workshop-the-advantages-of-dyslexia/

The free event will be held at the King Administration Build and feature the founding director of the Laboratory for Visual Learning, Professor of Computer Science at UMass Boston Dr. Matthew H. Schneps.

• Dyslexia is the name for specific learning disabilities in reading, according to the National Center for Learning Disabilities.
  
• Dyslexia is often characterized by difficulties with accurate word recognition, decoding and spelling.
• Dyslexia may cause problems with reading comprehension and slow down vocabulary growth.
• Dyslexia may result in poor reading fluency and reading out loud.
• Dyslexia is neurological and often genetic.

Although dyslexia presents difficulties when it comes to reading, research has shown that there are advantages associated with dyslexia, and that these may be linked to the difficulties with reading.

Monday night, Schneps will discuss the research on the advantages in dyslexia, and talk about how to turn these advantages into useful assets by using computer tools such as e-readers.

A scientist with dyslexia, Schneps received his PhD in physics from MIT in 1979.

For 35 years he carried out research in STEM education at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, where he led close to $40 million in funded science education programs. There, he produced hundreds of hours of award-winning television programs on STEM education, including the widely acclaimed video A PRIVATE UNIVERSE (famous for scenes of Harvard graduates struggling with the concept of seasons).

In recent years Schneps has focused on research in neuroscience, examining how smartphones and other emerging computer devices can be used to manage attention, to help people with dyslexia.

He is the recipient of the George E. Burch Fellowship in Theoretic Medicine at the Smithsonian Institution, and winner of the Science Prize for Online Resources in Education from the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

F-SEPAC is run by parents who are concerned about the special needs of children in the Framingham schools. The organization is a district-wide resource to parents or guardians of children with special needs - offering them information, support, and meetings throughout the school year. As a group the F-SEPAC is mandated and supported by Massachusetts law.

F-SEPAC’s mission is to work for the understanding, respect, and support of all children with special needs in Framingham. We provide opportunities for parents to share experiences and information and come together to learn more about challenges facing children with special needs.

F-SEPAC membership is open to any resident of Framingham or person affiliated with the Framingham Public Schools. All meetings are open to the general public. To become member, click here.

Photo credit: courtesy