Dr. Matthews is the founder and Director of Academic Success Associates, a private practice specializing in the diagnosis and treatment of dyslexia and other language-based learning disabilities located in Westfield, NJ.
Matthews’ presentation will be The Oral Language-Reading Connection. Her talk relates how students with reading disabilities present a range of oral language difficulties that impact higher level reading skills. This session presents case histories of children with reading disabilities who differ in their oral language profiles and explores ways to adapt higher level reading instruction to meet individual student’s needs.
“My educational and clinical experience has explored the relationship of language skills and reading. By considering this relationship and using a focused range of prescriptive programs, I have been able to help many children overcome their reading challenges. Nothing is better than to see a child or adult regain their confidence and find joy in reading,” remarked Matthews.
Dr. Matthews will present insights from her recently published book, Ready to Read: A Multisensory Approach to Language-Based Comprehension Instruction, co-authored with Mary Farrell, Ph.D. This concise, reader-friendly book is the first to provide guidelines for basing comprehension instruction on students' language ability. The highly accessible text helps educators use the popular multisensory teaching approach to teach comprehension skills in ways that complement each child's learning styles.
Dr. Farrell, who will co-present with Dr. Matthews, is a professor at Fairleigh Dickinson University and currently directs the university’s Center for Dyslexia Studies. Farrell also serves as university director of the Regional Center for College Students, a comprehensive support program for undergraduates with learning disabilities.
This conference is open to teachers, psychologists, learning disabilities specialists, speech and language specialists, as well as parents of students with dyslexia. To learn more about the event, or to register, please visit www.nybida.org.
About Francie Matthews, Ph.D.
Dr. Matthews has worked extensively with children and adults with language learning differences for 25 years through her center, public schools, and clinical settings and has a long-standing interest in the relationship of oral language abilities to literacy. She is a recent past president of the New Jersey Branch of The International Dyslexia Association.
Her team of highly-skilled and certified learning specialists has instructed and mentored students of all ages from Westfield and surrounding communities for years. Their fields of study and expertise include dyslexia and other reading issues, oral and written language delays, attention deficit disorder and more. Academic Success Associates can be found on the web at http://www.academicsuccessnj.com.
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Academic Success Associates, located in Westfield, New Jersey, was founded by Dr.Francie Matthews. Dr. Matthews and her colleagues provide educational services to children and adults with language, reading and learning differences. Their fields of study and expertise include dyslexia and other reading issues, oral and written language delays, attention deficit disorder and more. Academic Success Associates can be found on the web at http://www.academicsuccessnj.com.
