DuBard School at Southern hosts 20th Annual Symposium

HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The DuBard School for Language Disorders at The University of Southern Mississippi is hosting the 20th Annual DuBard Symposium: Dyslexia and Related Disorders Conference Wednesday and Thursday at Southern Miss.

This two-day educational and networking event touts a first-rate collection of sessions on dyslexia and topics surrounding this often-misunderstood written language disorder.

This year those working in the therapeutic field from across the state are learning to raise reading rates with kids.

Director of the DuBard school, Maureen Martin said, "Mississippi is the poorest state in the nation or close it, and we have a nation wide problem with illiteracy and even more compounded in Mississippi."

Keynote Speaker, Dr. Nancy Boyles’ array of experience and expertise provides participants with a unique perspective on the topic of “close reading.” Dr. Boyles is teaching educators special techniques to raise reading rates.

Dr. Boyles said she wants educators to leave with a goal in helping those with communicative disorders.

"I want them to leave with something they can go right back and do whatever their role in the community is, I want them to have conversations points and continue these professional conversations" said Dr. Boyles.

One attendee, Allison Webster, a Speech Pathologist in Petal said she is learning all that she can she participated in the symposium.

"So far I enjoyed Dr. Boyles talking about closed reading, we are able to use that especially informational text, that is something we do not have a lot of research on and a lot of information on, so that is fun to see how we can go back and use that" said Webster.