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The Dyslexia Guild Annual Summer Conference will be held at Aston University, Birmingham on Thursday 28 June 2018.

There is also an opportunity to book for a seminar, dinner and accommodation on Wednesday 27 June.

We welcome all those with a professional interest in dyslexia and SpLD (you do not need to be a guild member but will receive a discounted rate if you are), including specialist teachers and assessors, psychologists, learning support tutors and assistants.  Guild members enjoy a preferential rate and we welcome new members to our community from all settings.

Our conference aims to provide a great opportunity to meet and network with dyslexia/SpLD specialists. It enables practitioners to hear expert views and examine current topical issues relating to literacy and dyslexia/SpLD in a warm and vibrant conference setting:

• Receive a discount on your place at the conference as a Guild member.
• Hear about research and current topics from our expert speakers
• Network with others from around the world of SpLD
• Visit our Dyslexia Action Shop
• Take time out of your busy schedule to learn and reflect
• Take home a certificate for your Continuing Professional Development (5 hours)

Conference programme and useful information

Our programme includes, but is not limited to:

• Keynote Speaker: Professor Judit Kormos PhD, SFHEA
  National Teaching Fellow Professor of Second Language Acquisition
  and Director of Research, Lancaster University
  Dyslexia in the multilingual classroom
  Classroom teachers are often unsure how to identify multilingual learners who might have dyslexia, especially if they have recently arrived in the country. Dyslexic students are also frequently exempted from learning modern foreign languages because it can prove to be particularly challenging for them.  This talk will aim to assist teachers to recognize signs of dyslexia among multilingual speakers and help them understand how dyslexia influences processes of learning additional languages. The presentation will also include suggestions for creating an inclusive teaching environment that ensures high level of attainment in literacy and modern foreign languages for dyslexic students.
• Keynote Speaker: Professor Clare Wood
  School of Social Sciences, Nottingham University
  Speech Rhythm and Reading Development: Potential for Intervention?
  In this presentation Clare will talk about the links between speech rhythm and children’s reading development.  In this talk she will  also talk about the Leverhulme Trust funded project she conducted which explored whether it is possible to train children to become more aware of speech rhythm, and whether such training can impact reading ability. The talk will give examples of the types of activities used in the research, and other approaches that may be used to develop children’s awareness of speech rhythm.
• Session Speaker: Dr Adrian J. Wallbank
  Re-Thinking Academic Writing for Dyslexic Students in Higher Education
  This session Dr Adrian Wallbank will be sharing insights from his most recent publication, Academic Writing and Dyslexia: A Visual Guide to Writing at University (Routledge, January 2018) and present some of the bespoke visual strategies he has developed for helping dyslexic writers process, structure and articulate their thoughts. Developed by a dyslexic, for dyslexics, the session will examine how a system of meaningful visual templates, icons and prompts can be used to harness the ‘big picture’ strengths, multidimensional thought processing and visual learning preferences of dyslexics so that students can play to their strengths and write with confidence.

• Session Speakers: Dr Karisa Krcmar and Mrs Tina Horsman
  Mindfulness for Study: From Procrastination to Action
  It is widely established there are many pressures and distractions for those studying in today’s education environments. Over the last four years, as part of their work with students, the presenters developed a programme of mindfulness workshops, combining study techniques and practical mindful practice; thereby supporting the maintenance of good physical, emotional and mental health. The book ‘Mindfulness for Study: From Procrastination to Action’ was the culmination of this work. This presentation examines the structure of the programme, evaluates its success and suggests how it may be applied in other institutions and contexts.

Conference Fees

• Wednesday and Thursday – £247.00 inclusive of VAT
  (includes speaker, conference dinner and accommodation on Wednesday. Thursday full conference programme, lunch and refreshments)
• Thursday 10am-4.15pm
  (includes full conference, lunch and refreshments)
  £125 inclusive of VAT* member price
  £150 inclusive of VAT* non-member price
  

** non-members join the guild today before signing up for the conference and book the conference at the member rate.
*payments not made online by debit or credit card at time of online registration are subject to a £25 plus VAT charge.