LAKELAND, Fla. (March 13, 2008) — Internationally recognized experts Drs. Sally and Bennett Shaywitz, co-directors of the Yale Center for the Study of Learning, Reading, and Attention, will visit Florida Southern College on March 27 to speak on “Why Some Smart People Have Trouble Reading: The Science of Reading and Dyslexia.” The event, which is free and open to the public, is hosted by the College’s Roberts Center for Learning and Literacy. A reception will take place at 5:30 p.m. in the Honeyman Pavilion at the College’s Branscomb Auditorium and will be followed by the lecture at 6:30 p.m. in the adjacent Anne McGregor Jenkins Recital Hall. A book signing will follow the address; Dr. Sally Shaywitz’s book, “Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at any Level,” will be available for purchase.

“Overcoming Dyslexia” explains dyslexia, a neurologically-based reading difficulty affecting one in five children, and offers effective training programs for parents and educators to help children with reading problems. The comprehensive book covers topics such as diagnosing dyslexia in children and adults, choosing a school, and helping adults to become better readers.

Sally E. Shaywitz, M.D., professor of pediatrics at the Yale University School of Medicine, and her husband, Bennett A. Shaywitz, M.D., professor of pediatrics and neurology and chief of pediatric neurology, also at Yale, conceptualized and established the Yale Center for the Study of Learning, Reading, and Attention. The Drs. Shaywitz have devoted their careers to better understanding the nature of reading difficulties and improving teaching strategies for overcoming dyslexia and are recognized internationally for their contributions to their field.

Both doctors have garnered many awards and honors and have written hundreds of articles and scientific papers. Among the awards, Sally Shaywitz received the Achievement Award in Women’s Health of the Society for the Advancement of Women’s Health Research and the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She was awarded an honorary doctor of science degree by Williams College in recognition of her work in advancing the scientific understanding of reading and dyslexia. Bennett Shaywitz has received many honors for his contributions to the understanding of the basic neurobiology of reading and dyslexia, including election to membership in the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, receiving the 2003 Distinguished Alumnus Award from Washington University and selection to deliver the 2005 New York University Medical Scientist Training Program Honors Lecture. Both doctors were selected as recipients of the 2005 Haggerty-Friedman Distinguished Lectureship at the University of Rochester; the 2004 Lawrence G. Crowley Distinguished Lectureship at Stanford University, the 2004 Waldo E. Nelson lectureship at St. Christopher’s Children Hospital and the 2001 Leonard Apt Lectureship of the American Academy of Pediatrics and to receive the Sidney Berman Award for the Study and Treatment of Learning Disabilities presented by the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. As well, both have been chosen one of the “Best Doctors in America,” one of “America’s Top Doctors,” and one of “New York’s Top Doctors.”

The Roberts Center for Learning and Literacy, established in 2006 by Hal and Marjorie Hollis Roberts, provides resources for recognizing and assessing learning and literacy differences. The Center was established to enhance the College’s exceptional teacher education program by providing students with specialized instruction in diagnostics and intervention protocol related to learning and literacy challenges. Through coursework with highly credentialed faculty, and an annual lecture series, graduates will be even better prepared for the challenge of educating students with learning differences.

Complimentary on-site child care will be provided during the event by the Student Council for Exceptional Children. In-Service units and nursing Continuing Education units are available.

For further information, contact David Wood, Ph.D., Director, Roberts Center for Learning and Literacy, Florida Southern College, (863) 680-3741, dwood@flsouthern.edu.