Teachable Moment

Assessment and treatment of developmental dyslexia based on the phonological model have recently come under criticism for neglecting other important causative factors, particularly orthographic processing. Dr. Jeffrey Black discusses what Orthographic Processing is, its importance and the role it plays in the classroom.

Expert Speaker: Dr. Jeffrey Black is the medical director of the Luke Waites Center for Dyslexia and Learning Disorders at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children and clinical professor of pediatrics at The University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He currently serves as Chairman of the Research Advisory Panel at Texas Scottish Rite Hospital. He has held faculty positions with the departments of pediatrics at the University of Maryland, the Medical University of South Carolina and the University of California at San Diego. He has received awards for service from the Academic Language Therapy Association and the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council.

He has been a member of the editorial board of the Journal of School Health and is a reviewer of publications for Pediatrics, the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics and the Annals of Dyslexia. His publications cover topics ranging from children’s reaction to divorce, AIDS education, pediatric residency training, learning disorders, academic achievement, school readiness, subtypes of arithmetic disabilities, and dyslexia intervention efficacy. He has been an invited speaker at professional society meetings and conferences for physicians, educators, speech-language pathologists and parents.