Editor:

A huge “thank you” to Jackie Blake and Elissa Aten of PC READS for bringing Dyslexia for a Day to Park City. Thanks also to Ty & Karen Hall whose Foundation funded this enlightening and encouraging program presented by the co- founders of the Dyslexia Training Institute of San Diego.

As a person who has advocated for family members with dyslexia, I also appreciate the many teachers and school personnel who gave their time to learn more about the varied ways dyslexia presents in the classroom. With 15-20 percent of students having some form of dyslexia, these teachers recognize that they are the first line of defense to identify a need for intervention. Specific remedial intervention for dyslexia in the first years of learning to read has been shown to increase needed neural pathways in the verbal processing area of the brain of students with dyslexia. Students become able to read which increases love of learning, performance and self-worth.

I hope that Park City Schools will use the advances in early intervention reading programs to both address the unique learning needs of dyslexic students and as an opportunity to be a leading example in dyslexia intervention. If you have concerns about your child’s reading, more information and support can be found at parkcityreads.org.

Ethel Preston
Park City