Dyslexia Awareness Rally in OH

Join us in Columbus for

Dyslexia Awareness Day Rally!

What: 2nd Annual Dyslexia Awareness Day Rally

When: Wednesday, October 6, 2010; 10 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Where: State House South Lawn, Columbus, Ohio

Next Wednesday, three Ohio Branches of the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) are hosting a rally to raise public awareness about dyslexia and spur legislation that will serve and protect dyslexic children in Ohio. Come and join us at the State House in Columbus, where an array of speakers will sound the call for supportive policies on behalf of thousands of citizens with this "invisible learning difference."

You'll also listen in on powerful testimonials from people with dyslexia, enjoy original artwork and poetry, hear a music performance by Kelly Fine & Company (a dyslexic college student band), watch a dyslexia simulation, and much more!

Special note: Janet Milkovich, Vice President of Public Policy and Advocacy at RFB&D, Recording For the Blind & Dyslexic, will speak at the rally. Be sure to look for Janet between 10:30 and 11:30 near the podium at the stairs of the State House South Lawn; introduce yourself, take photos and submit stories that we can share with the wider RFB&D community nationwide.

View the Event Poster Online from COBIDA.

Email Janet Milkovich or call (312) 660-1982

Call or email your State Representatives to let them know that you support dyslexia legislation in OH.

Rep. Ted Celeste: (614) 644-6005 district24@ohr.state.oh.us

Rep. William Batchelder: (614) 466-8140 district69@ohr.state.oh.us

We look forward to meeting you in Columbus for a great show of solidarity between RFB&D, the Ohio Branches of IDA, as well as dyslexics, their families, and special educators from all over the state.

A Walk in the Life of a Dyslexic Teen

Living "Lexi." A Walk in the Life of a Dyslexic Teen, written by Shelley Trammel and her daughter, who is dyslexic, takes the reader through the challenges and victories of a teenage girl with dyslexia.

Written in first person, Isabella describes her disbelief at not passing tests when she studied and studied, her frustration with feeling "less than normal," the strategies she uses to compensate in her daily life, and finally how she embraces her learning differences with the support of good friends and loving parents.

A quick read, Living Lexi, offers humorous insight for anyone with a pre-teen or teenage child with dyslexia.

OH Dyslexia Law Update

OH representative Ted Celeste (D-Grandview Heights) and Minority Leader Bill Batchelder (R-Medina) recently introduced a bill (HB 572) that would create a pilot project to demonstrate the effectiveness of dyslexia identification and research-based intervention programs.

The Bill would define dyslexia as a developmental disability recognized under state law and create a pilot program to determine if early identification and intervention can reduce costs down the road. The goal of the program is to demonstrate the impact these methods have on reducing future special education costs for those students. Funding would be drawn from existing state resources (Department of Education).

The bill will undergo committee hearings this fall, but hopefully with bipartisan support, it will be enacted quickly.

To help gain support for HB 572, contact your local state representative here.

To read the Columbus Dispatch article about HB 572, click here.