Judith R. Birsh, Ed.D., was founder and director of the Multisensory Teaching of Basic
Language Skills program from 1985 until 2000 at Teachers College, Columbia University, in the Department of Curriculum and Teaching, Program in Learning Disabilities. Her primary interests are the teaching of literacy skills and the preparation of teachers who work with students with dyslexia. She is a consultant to public and private schools and is a Certified Academic Language Therapist.

Dr. Birsh was educational consultant on two videotape series for teachers and parents for Vineyard Video Productions, Teaching the Learning Disabled: Study Skills and Learning Strategies (1991) and Learning Disabilities/Learning Abilities (1997). She has served twice as president of the New York Branch of The International Dyslexia Association and was the 1995 recipient of the branch’s award for achievement in the field of dyslexia education.

About the Contributors

Kay A. Allen, M.Ed., Director, Neuhaus Education Center, 4433 Bissonnet, Bellaire, TX 77401, has taught Orton-Gillingham–based teacher courses since 1982 and has worked for more than 20 years with adult students on improving their written language skills. She is an Academic Language Therapy Association Qualified Instructor, a Certified Academic Language Therapist, Secretary of the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council, and co-author of Multisensory Reading and Spelling (Apple Core Press, 1993).

Marilyn C. Beckwith, B.A., Associate Director (Retired), Neuhaus Education Center, 4433 Bissonnet, Bellaire, TX 77401, has had a 40-year interest in the relationship of spoken language to written language, which resulted in her using multisensory structured techniques to teach basic language skills to both dyslexic and nondyslexic individuals. This interest also resulted in her following related research made possible by advancing technology, which confirms the principles taught to teachers at the Neuhaus Education Center.

Susan H. Blumenthal, Ed.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Private Practice; Founder, The Learning Difficulties Program, Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy, New York, NY, specializes in psychoeducational evaluations and cognitive remediation for adults and adolescents with learning difficulties and academic work output problems. She started an innovative program at the Institute for Contemporary Psychotherapy to train psychotherapists to work with adult patients with learning disabilities. In addition, she has trained teachers at Teachers College, Columbia University; Hunter College; and Manhattanville College.

Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan, M.A., CCC-SLP, CALT, Director, Valley Speech, Language and Learning Center, 856 West Price Road, Brownsville, TX 78520, is a bilingual speech-language pathologist and a Certified Academic Language Therapist. She is also co-principal investigator of a national longitudinal study on oracy and literacy development of Spanish-speaking children. In addition, she has worked extensively on the design of early literacy assessments in Spanish.

Joanne F. Carlisle, Ph.D., Professor of Education, University of Michigan, 610 East University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, is Professor of Education at the University of Michigan. Her research interests focus on the acquisition of language and literacy, with a special focus on children for whom such acquisition is a challenge.

Suzanne Carreker, Director of Teacher Development, Neuhaus Education Center, 4433 Bissonnet, Bellaire, TX 77401, is a Certified Academic Language Therapist and Qualified Instructor. For 17 years, she has been involved with the preparation of teachers who provide instruction in basic literacy skills. She was a classroom teacher at and consultant to The Briarwood School in Houston for 13 years. She has served as President of the Houston Branch of The International Dyslexia Association and currently is Vice President of the Academic Language Therapy Association Centers Council.

Ellen Urquhart Engstrom, M.A., Associate Professor and Assistant Director of Educational Services, National Institute at Landmark College, 1 River Road South, Putney, VT 05346. Before joining the faculty of Landmark College, Ms. Engstrom taught at Groves Academy (an independent day school for students in grades K–12 with learning and attentional difficulties in Minneapolis, Minnesota), where she was the department head of the lower/middle school. Ms. Engstrom holds a B.A. from Wellesley College and a M.A. in educational psychology from the University of Minnesota. She has a long-standing interest in language and reading disorders, as well as the assistive technologies that support students with learning and attentional difficulties.

Mary L. Farrell, Ph.D., Professor, School of Education, Fairleigh Dickinson University, Bancroft Hall, Room 310, 1000 River Road, Teaneck, NJ 07666, is Director of Fairleigh Dickinson University’s Learning Disabilities Program, which offers the Dyslexia Specialist Certificate Program that trains teachers in the Orton-Gillingham approach to teaching reading, spelling, and handwriting. Dr. Farrell also directs the Regional Center for College Students with Learning Disabilities, a comprehensive support program. She is a board member of the International Mutisensory Structured Language Education Council and the New Jersey Branch of The International Dyslexia Association and is a member of the Professional Advisory Board for the Masonic Children’s Learning Centers.

Linda Hecker, M.Ed., Director of Educational Services, National Institute at Landmark College, 1 River Road South, Putney, VT, 05346, has taught at Landmark College since its founding in 1985. Appointed Director of Educational Services for the National Institute at Landmark College in 2001, she has overseen tutorial and teacher training programs; taught English, study skills, and music classes; and served as an academic advisor and academic dean. She frequently presents workshops and teacher training programs, has published several articles, including a study of the benefits of text-to-speech software, and has served as editor for Landmark College’s Assistive Technology Manual for Educators.

Marcia K. Henry, Ph.D., Professor Emeritus and Former Director, Center for Educational Research, San Jose State University, Post Office Box 368, La Pointe, WI 54850, received her doctorate from Stanford University and was a Fulbright Lecturer/Research Scholar at the University of Trondheim, Norway, in 1991. Dr. Henry served as president of The International Dyslexia Association for 4 years. She now provides in-service training for schools and organizations across the country.

Holly Baker Hill, Ed.D., holds a doctorate in international and transcultural studies with a specialization in literacy and learning disabilities from Teachers College, Columbia University. She has worked for The International Dyslexia Association in establishing the Alliance for Accreditation and Certification of Structured Language Education. She has taught graduate and undergraduate reading and linguistics courses at the University of Texas at San Antonio and at St. Mary’s University. Her primary research interests are international preservice teacher education in reading and multisensory structured language education. She currently resides in Melbourne, Australia, with her family.

Judith C. Hochman, Ed.D., holds a doctorate of education in curriculum and instruction from Teachers College, Columbia University. Dr. Hochman was the Head of Windward School, an independent school for students with learning disabilities, and was founder and is a senior faculty member of the Windward Teacher Training Institute. She was also Superintendent of Schools for the Greenburgh-Graham Union Free School District in Hastings, New York. She has been a teacher, administrator, and consultant in both general and special education settings and has a particular interest in the teaching of expository writing. She is the author of Basic Writing Skills (GSL Publications, 1995), which is used extensively by educators throughout the country in all grades. In 1998, she received the New York Branch Award of The International Dyslexia Association for her years of leadership in advancing the needs of people with dyslexia.

Lauren A. Katz, Ph.D., CCC-SLP, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Michigan, 610 East University Avenue, Ann Arbor, MI 48109, received her master’s degree in communication sciences and disorders from the Massachusetts General Hospital Institute of Health Professions and her doctorate from the University of Michigan. Her research interests include morphological awareness, vocabulary development, and reading achievement in children with language and learning difficulties.

Betty S. Levinson, Ph.D., Licensed Clinical Psychologist, Private Practice; Founder and Former Co-director, National Institute of Dyslexia, Chevy Chase, MD, has wide clinical and teaching experience in the psychology of children and adults and in psychotherapy. Dr. Levinson has been a consultant on child abuse to local and state governments. Among other honors, she has been appointed to the Section Committee on Psychology of the American Association for the Advancement of Science, is on the Board of Directors of The International Dyslexia Association, and chairs the Committee of Children and Adolescents of the Board of Social Responsibility for the Maryland Psychological Association.

Eileen S. Marzola, Ed.D., Educational Consultant, Adjunct Professor of Education, Fordham University, New York, NY, is an independent educational consultant who received her doctorate in special education (with a focus on learning disabilities) from Teachers College, Columbia University. She has taught for more than 35 years at every level from kindergarten through graduate school and conducted numerous staff development trainings for those interested in improving instructional strategies for struggling learners. Dr. Marzola has been a keynote speaker and presented papers at many national and international conferences, and published articles in professional journals including Journal of Reading Instruction, The Journal of Learning Disabilities, and Journal of Reading, Writing, and Learning Disabilities International. Dr. Marzola was recently honored by the New York State Federation of the Council for Exceptional
Children with the New York State Teacher of the Year Award. She is currently an
adjunct professor of education at Fordham University in New York City and President of the New York Branch of The International Dyslexia Association.

Louisa C. Moats, Ed.D., Post Office Box 3941, Hailey, ID 83333, has worked as a teacher, neuropsychology technician, and specialist in learning disorders. She was a licensed psychologist in private practice for 15 years in Vermont. Specializing in reading development, reading disorders, spelling, and written language, she has written and lectured widely throughout the United States and abroad. Her publications include journal articles, book chapters, a classroom basal spelling program, Spelling: Development, Disability, and Instruction (York Press, 1995), Speech to Print: Language Essentials for Teachers (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2000), and Speech to Print: Language Exercises for Teachers (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 2003). Most recently, she completed 5 years as Clinical Associate Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Texas–Houston, co-directing a research project on reading instruction in high-risk schools.

Graham F. Neuhaus, Ph.D., University of Houston–Downtown, 1 Main Street, Houston, TX 77002, received her doctorate in individual differences from the University of Houston in 2000. She is a Licensed Psychological Associate and a Licensed Specialist in School Psychology. She is a member of the faculty at the University of Houston–Downtown, where she teaches psychology, including courses in educational psychology, child development, and memory and cognition. Dr. Neuhaus publishes in the areas of early reading processes, reading fluency, letter priming, and the role that processing speed plays in reading achievement. Although her formal training has taught her much about learning and cognition, she credits her four dyslexic children and her dyslexic husband with teaching her about courage, persistence, humility, and advocacy.

Claire Nissenbaum, M.A., Director, Atlantic Seaboard Dyslexia Education Center, Rockville, MD 20850, is a board member of the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council, which accredits professional training programs in dyslexia. She is a member of the Academic Language Therapy Association, is a Fellow of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators, and serves on the Information and Referral Committee of The International Dyslexia Association. She has been a dyslexia specialist for more than 30 years and co-founded the TRI-Services Center for Children and Adults with Learning Disabilities in Rockville, Maryland, and the National Institute of Dyslexia in Chevy Chase, Maryland, which received national recognition for its programs. She was awarded the John Dewey Award for Outstanding Service to Public Education from the American Federation of Teachers.

Jean-Fryer Schedler, Ph.D., Educational Consultant, Schedler Educational Consulting, Severna Park, MD, was a classroom teacher, reading specialist, and director of a reading program in a private school before going into private practice. She evaluates and designs individualized education programs, conducts academic evaluations, provides teacher training and mentoring, is a coach for the Sonday System, and is a Fellow of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators. Her clinical and research interests are in implementing reading comprehension intervention programs in middle and high school settings.

Margaret Jo Shepherd, Ed.D., founded the Program in Learning Disabilities and the Special Education Child Study Center at Teachers College, Columbia University, with colleague Dr. Jeannette Fleischner in 1967. In 1996, Professors Shepherd and Fleischner included a required course in multisensory instruction in the Teachers College curriculum for people preparing to teach students with learning disabilities. Since retirement from the active faculty at Teachers College, Professor Shepherd has been involved in a variety of professional activities on behalf of students with learning disabilities. Presently she is using skills acquired through experience in special education as the Program Officer for the Teachers College, Columbia University, Afghanistan Education Project. In that capacity, she works with Afghan educators to write new textbooks for primary school students and to create a new preservice teacher education curriculum for primary school teachers in Afghanistan.

Jo Anne Simon, J.D., is an attorney in private practice in Brooklyn, New York, concentrating on disability rights litigation and consultation in higher education and high-stakes testing. A former disability services provider, teacher of the deaf, and sign language interpreter, she is an adjunct professor at Fordham University School of Law and acted as lead counsel to the plaintiff in Bartlett v. New York State Board of Law Examiners from the case’s inception. She is currently a Vice President of the New York Branch of The International Dyslexia Association. She writes often about the Americans with Disabilities Act and higher education. In addition, she regularly advises faculty and administrators regarding issues pertaining to higher education and transition for students with disabilities from high school to postsecondary education.

Lydia H. Soifer, Ph.D., Language and Speech Pathologist, Director, The Soifer Center for Learning and Child Development, 333 Old Tarrytown Road, White Plains, NY 10603; Assistant Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University, Jack and Pearl Resnick Campus, 1300 Morris Park Avenue, Bronx, NY 10461, is also a faculty member of the Early Intervention Training Institute of the Rose F. Kennedy Center for Research in Mental Retardation and Human Development. As a parent educator, teacher trainer, and staff developer in both public and private schools, Dr. Soifer’s focuses have been the developmental needs of children regarding their learning, behavior, and communication and the nature of language functioning in academic performance and success. She regularly offers courses in language as it relates to learning, oral language as it relates to literacy, vocabulary development, and language assessment procedures.

Margaret B. Stern, M.Ed., Consultant in Mathematics Education to the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics and The International Dyslexia Association, is co-author of the Structural Arithmetic materials and workbooks and teachers guides I–IV (Educators Publishing Service, 1988) and Children Discover Arithmetic (HarperCollins, 1971), which earned two grants from the Carnegie Foundation. She has received awards for achievement in education from the New York Branch of The International Dyslexia Association and the Bank Street College of Education. At present, she is a math education consultant and private tutor.

Joanna K. Uhry, Ed.D., Professor of Education, Graduate School of Education, Fordham University, 113 West 60th Street, New York, NY 10023, teaches literacy education to graduate students. Her research interests include dyslexia as well as the underlying cognitive processes used by young children who are learning to read and how these processes are supported by instruction.

Barbara A. Wilson, M.S.Ed., Director, Wilson Language Training, 124 High Street, Newburyport, MA 01950, is the director of Wilson Language Training and co-founder of the Wilson Learning Center for children and adults with language learning disabilities. She is author of the Wilson Reading System (Wilson Language Training, 1988). Her experience includes being a special education teacher and consultant, team chairperson for individual education programs meetings, and reading therapist at the Language Disorders Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. Ms. Wilson is a founding fellow of the Academy of Orton-Gillingham Practitioners and Educators and was the first chair of the Teaching Standards Committee for the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council. She served as chair of the nominating committee for The International Dyslexia Association. Ms. Wilson is co-investigator of an NIH-funded research study on adult literacy. She is also chairperson of the Advisory Council for the Language and Literacy graduate program at Simmons College in Boston.

Beverly J. Wolf, M.Ed., Dean of Faculty, Slingerland Institute for Literacy; Director Emeritus, Hamlin Robinson School for Dyslexics, has worked with children and adults with language disabilities for more than 30 years. As a teacher, program administrator, school head, and dean of faculty of the Slingerland Institute for Literacy, she has provided instruction both for students and their teachers. She is a member of the adjunct faculty of Seattle Pacific University and has served on both local and national boards of The International Dyslexia Association. She is also author of independent activity and language materials for classroom use.