In Milwaukee, our public school system, despite its many dedicated
teachers and staff, is performing dismally. I teach the adults who were
failed by that system. Many of them have children who have the same
learning difficulties their parents have and are not having their needs
met any better.

Several educators have pointed to the absence of resources and support
services for families and teachers of people with learning differences
in our area. I am among those who believe that a center offering
diagnosis, support, teacher and family education, research
dissemination, and product exposure could make a  big difference in our
community.

Do these four centers provide these things? If so, is there any data to
demonstrate a positive effect on their communities?
Christy Breihan
ABE Instructor


>>> <RKenyon721 at aol.com> 09/19/08 10:42 AM >>>

 
 
Hi all, 
 
This is a reminder  about our List's next guest discussion scheduled 
for 
Monday, September 22 and Tuesday, September 23, 2008.  The title of the 
discussion will be The Dyslexia Research Registry: Making the 
Difference in Reading  
Research!  Dr. Megan (Dixon) Bakan, Research Associate, Florida State 
University, will be our guest  speaker.   
If you have any questions to ask  the speaker in advance based on the
outline 
below, please post them either  before Monday or at any time on Monday
and  
Tuesday. 
The discussion information  follows:  
 
Outline for the  Discussion 
 
I. What are the 4  regional Learning Disability Centers (see below) 
funded by the National  Institutes of Health and what are they funded to
do? 
 
Florida Learning Disabilities Research Center 
Richard  Wagner, PhD, Florida State  University 



Northeast  Learning Disabilities Research Center 
    Laurie  Cutting, PhD, Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, MD   


 
Colorado Learning Disabilities Research Center                          
     
                        Richard Olson,  PhD, University of  Colorado   
 
Texas Learning Disabilities Research Center                             
     
                               Jack Fletcher,  PhD, University of 
Houston 
Questions  for Consideration Leading Up to the Discussion 
 
A.  What is the purpose of the regional Learning Disabilities  Centers? 
B. How  do they function? 
C. What  specific services are offered to adults and children with 
undiagnosed or  diagnosed dyslexia through the  Learning Disabilities
Centers?
 

II. What is the Dyslexia  Research Registry (DRR)? 
 
Questions  for Consideration Leading Up to the Discussion 
 
A.  What is the DRR’s relationship to the LD Center at Florida State 
University? 
B. How  does the DRR facilitate research in the understanding of 
dyslexia? 
C. How  does the DRR recruit families who have a child with severe 
reading disabilities and who would like to  participate in studies of  
dyslexia? 
D. What  opportunities do families receive to learn about each research 
project and then to  participate? 
E. What  opportunities are there for educators and other professionals
to be 
involved in reading research and assessing  individual’s reading related
 
skills? 
F. What assessments are  used by the DRR? 
 
III. What past  research has come out of the Dr. Richard Wagner’s  Lab?
 
Questions Leading Up to  the Discussion 
 
A.  Who is Dr. Richard K. Wagner and what is his role with the  DRR? 
B. Why  is more research needed to understand  dyslexia? 
C. What  aspects of reading development have been the focus for 
research? 
D. What  aspects of reading have been researched by Dr. Wagner’s  lab? 
E. What tests have been  developed to assess  dyslexia? 
F. What  intensive remedial instruction for children with severe reading

disabilities is being  provided? 
G. In  the past decade, why has there been a greater understanding of 
how 
children and adults learn  to read and why some individuals have  the 
difficulty learning to  read? 
 
IV. What are the  current research projects underway on gA.  What genetics research is now being  done? 
B. How  do the family environment and heredity each play roles in 
genetics? 
C. Is  research looking for a ‘dyslexia gene?” 
 
V. What resources  are available for your information? 
 
VI. Conclusion 
 
Please share this  announcement with your colleagues and those
interested in 
this important topic. In order  to benefit and participate in the
discussion, 
subscription to our free Learning Disabilities  Discussion List is
required. 
Subscription can be completed at 
_http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Learningdisabilities__ 
(http://www.nifl.gov/mailman/listinfo/Learningdisabilities_)  
 

 
Thank you, 
 
Rochelle Kenyon,  Ed.D. 
Moderator, NIFL/LINCS Learning  Disabilities Discussion List 
Center for Literacy Studies at  the University of  Tennessee 
_RKenyon721 at aol.com_ (mailto:RKenyon721 at aol.com)  
321.637.1319 





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