Press Release

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Wednesday, March 13, 2009

 (Baltimore, MD)  The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) has elected four new Directors to its national Board, including Colorado Springs resident Lynne Fitzhugh, Ph.D. IDA is a non-profit, scientific, and educational organization dedicated to the study and treatment of dyslexia and related language-based learning differences. The association has some 11,000 members worldwide, 48 Branches in the U.S. and Canada, and global partnerships in thirteen countries.

“We are delighted to have Dr. Fitzhugh join our distinguished board,” commented Dr. Guinevere Eden, President of IDA.  “The field of dyslexia interfaces with many professional disciplines and Dr. Fitzhugh represents many of these as a result of her broad career experiences, including her involvement in instruction, treatment, teaching, professional development, research, community outreach and more.”

Fitzhugh is the Founding Director of The Dyslexia Center at Penrose-St. Francis, a non-profit organization in Colorado Springs providing direct services to individuals with dyslexia, professional development in reading instruction, and community services related to dyslexia. She is creator and instructor of The Dyslexia Institute for Educators at Colorado College, and Adjunct Faculty in the Department of Psychology at the University of Colorado-Colorado Springs. Dr. Fitzhugh serves on the board of the Academic Language Therapy Association.

Dr. Fitzhugh has an extensive background in dyslexia and related disabilities, and has been a featured speaker at both local and national conferences. Fitzhugh currently serves on the Colorado Special Education Advisory Committee, the LEAD Foundation Board of Directors, and Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic-Rocky Mountain Unit, and is a member of the American Psychological Association.

“Dr. Fitzhugh will be taking the lead in developing our IDA Youth Outreach initiative, which will seek to address the needs of today’s dyslexic students” reported Eden.

Other Directors named to IDA’s national board with Fitzhugh include:  Carolyn Blackwood of Southeastern Louisiana University, Dr. Hugh Catts of the University of Kansas, and Ben Shifrin, head of the Jemicy School in Baltimore.  IDA was first established in Baltimore to continue the pioneering work of Dr. Samuel T. Orton, M.D., in the study and treatment of dyslexia.  Its members include individuals with dyslexia and their families, educators, diagnosticians, physicians, researchers and other professionals in the field of dyslexia and learning differences.

For further information on the International Dyslexia Association visit www.interdys.org or call (410) 296-0232.

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Contact:  Michael Hayes, Director of Marketing

Phone: (410) 561-6400    mhayes@interdys.org