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For the second year, Millersville University (MU) hosted the Demystifying Dyslexia Conference. It took place on Feb. 8 and provided dyslexia resources for teachers, students, administration, parents and people with dyslexia.
“At the college level, many professors don’t know how to adapt their course materials and presentations for students with dyslexia. Some professors erroneously believe that dyslexia would only affect English classes, but it affects every class,” explains Dr. Jill Craven, chair of the English department at Millersville and conference organizer. “The Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity estimates one in five people are on the dyslexia spectrum. That’s a lot of students to ignore. When we are looking at how to help students succeed in our courses, we must evaluate their challenges and help students navigate them.”
The Demystifying Dyslexia Conference is sponsored by Millersville University’s Department of English, the College of Education and Human Services, the School of Social work and the Department of Early, Middle, and Exceptional Education. The day’s program featured several presentations by Millersville faculty and students.
Millersville student Sara Page Stinchcomb gave a presentation title “A Teacher’s Influence” that focused on a student perspective. As a student with dyslexia, Stinchcomb emphasizes the importance of this conference for other students. “Growing up as a student with dyslexia I wasn’t able to inform my teachers of the help I needed. Last year, I found out that my story isn’t unique, if fact, it’s pretty much the standard story for any child with dyslexia,” Stinchcomb states. “The Demystifying Dyslexia Conference aims to inform teachers, students and members of the community about what dyslexia is, how dyslexia affect a person’s schooling, the diagnosing process, laws for students with learning differences and simply what it’s like to have dyslexia.”
Additional information and photos from the conference can be found on the Facebook page for “Demystifying Dyslexia Conference-Millersville University of PA” – https://www.facebook.com/DDMU20/.
