Time to Register
The Mississippi College Dyslexia Education and Evaluation Center with ALTA, MS Chapter Fall Dyslexia Conference
September 26 and 27, 2024
The Mississippi College Dyslexia Education and Evaluation Center will be conducting their fifth joint two-day dyslexia conference with the MS Chapter of ALTA (Academic Language Therapy Association), “Knowledge is Power!”, on September 26 and 27, 2024. The Center will also be celebrating the 20th year of the MC Dyslexia Therapy Program.
Registration time is here!
Don’t delay as space may be limited.
As in years past, the conference will be held in Anderson Hall of the BC Rogers Building on the Mississippi College campus. Registration will begin at 7:15 am with the program to begin at 8 am each day. The conference is open to all interested individuals: academic language therapists, educators, administrators, college students, and parents to learn about best practices when working with students who have language learning differences and other learning disabilities.
Thursday, September 26, 2024, the Mississippi College Dyslexia Education and Evaluation Center welcomes keynote speakers Dr. Andrew Magers and Dr. Coretta Doss.
Dr.Magers is a Clinton native who graduated from Clinton High School in 2007 and Mississippi College in 2011. He completed his doctorate of psychology at Wheaton College in 2016, and then he and his family moved back to Mississippi last year to open the Renewal Health Group in Madison. This outpatient clinic focuses on the holistic treatment of all things psychology, and currently provides therapy, testing, medication management, and dietary counseling to the public. His areas of specialty include psychological testing, the holistic treatment of trauma, and the integration of psychology and spirituality. Dr. Magers will be speaking on the topic "Why a Diagnosis Matters". In regards to mental health concerns, it is common to hear the expression, "I'm not interested in getting a diagnosis, but...". In this lecture, Dr. Magers will explain the what, why, and how of differential diagnostics and argue for the benefit of diagnostic categories in our everyday lives.
Dr. Doss, originally from Brooksville, Mississippi, began her journey in education and service by joining the military through the delayed entry program while still in high school. She earned an undergraduate degree from Texas State University and a graduate degree from the University of Michigan. She taught in the Oxford and Jackson Public Schools and has worked with the Mississippi Department of Education under federal and state grants and with the Reading-Based Promotion Act Initiative as a regional literacy coordinator and literacy coach. Her commitment to advancing literacy led to her being awarded an Office of Special Education R2D2 fellowship training grant, which enabled her to pursue a PhD in Curriculum and Instruction at Florida State University, specializing in reading disabilities and dyslexia. She has advanced training in dyslexia therapy from the Mississippi College Dyslexia Program and is also a Certified Academic Language Therapist. Dr. Doss will speak on the topic “The Power of Knowledge Stewardship”. This presentation will explore the power of knowledge in our various roles. The knowledge that can support individuals to flourish as readers is a sacred gift. How we steward it is important. One should never underestimate how one can add value and influence others when knowledge is stewarded responsibly on the road to helping develop readers.
Additional sessions on Thursday will cover topics about math, writing, movement activities for student success, transition/maintenance plans for MC Dyslexia Therapy program and students, a dyslexia simulation, working memory activities, multi-sensory activities for middle and high school students, Dyslexia 101, writing instruction that works, expressive/receptive language, and other sessions.
Friday, September 27, 2024, the MS Chapter of ALTA welcomes keynote speaker Ben Foss, JD/MBA. After years of battling with a school system that did not understand his dyslexia and the shame that accompanied it, renowned activist and entrepreneur Ben Foss is not only open about his dyslexia, he is proud of it. He will be speaking on the topic “The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan” for the morning keynote address and on the topic “Choosing Strength Not Shame” during the afternoon keynote address. Ben Foss is the founder of Headstrong Nation, a national organization for dyslexic adults and parents of dyslexic kids. He earned a JD/MBA from Stanford University and invented the Intel Reader, a mobile device that takes photos of text and recites it aloud on the spot. He is the author of The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan: A Blueprint for Renewing Your Child’s Confidence and Love of Learning.
Additional sessions on Friday will include an update from the Mississippi Department of Education and a presentation on “AI and You, Keeping True in an Algorithm World” by Sarah Willis.
For this two-day conference, all registration and payment will be made online through Mississippi College. Cost of the conference is $150 for Thursday, September 26; $150 for Friday, September 27; and $275 for both conference days. Registration includes meal tickets for lunch in the MC cafeteria directly below the meeting rooms.
Registration ends on September 18, 2024.
If you have questions, you may contact Jan Hankins at hankin00@mc.edu or 601.925.7766 or Brooke Maier at bmaier@mc.edu or 601.925.7667. We hope to see you at the conference.