Note from our President
Welcome to the International Dyslexia Association of Northern California. We are committed to providing you with information about dyslexia through our website resources. IDA Northern California is notable for our powerful dyslexia simulation, Experience Dyslexia™. This simulation has led to greater awareness of dyslexia across the country and around the world. Please browse our website to learn more!Grace Sharma
President
IDA NorCal
2025 Literacy Legislation in California
Assembly Bill 1454 is a comprehensive literacy bill jointly authored by Speaker Rivas, Assemblymember Rubio, and Assemblymember Muratsuchi. It represents a compromise between earlier bills AB 1121 and AB 1194 and aims to improve early literacy outcomes for California students.
AB 1454 passed the full Assembly with unanimous bipartisan support (75–0) and now heads to the Senate. If enacted and fully funded, the bill will require the use of evidence-based reading materials in all elementary classrooms, provide paid professional development in structured literacy for TK–5 educators, and update administrator preparation standards to include training in effective literacy instruction.
Governor Newsom has voiced strong support for the bill and confirmed that the state budget will include hundreds of millions of dollars to implement its provisions. During a June 5 press conference at Clinton Elementary School in Compton, Newsom shared his personal experiences with dyslexia and introduced the Golden State Literacy Plan, a roadmap to improving literacy outcomes across California. Read the article summarizing Newsom’s literacy push and watch the full press conference for more details.
For more background, visit the AB 1454 information page or explore recent media coverage.
Save the Date for Hopeville!
Join us on September 13th for a showing of Hopeville- How to win the Reading Wars. This powerful documentary follows Harvey Hubbell’s journey to change how reading is taught in the US, and to give a voice to the many people who are working to change literacy outcomes. More information can be found at Hopeville documentary.
Registration is coming soon! Click here for the downloadable flyer.
DyslexiaCon25!
Registration is now open for DyslexiaCon25! Our annual conference for Reading, Literacy, and Learning will be held in Atlanta, Georgia, October 23-25. Join us for three days of inspiring speakers, breakout sessions, and engaging discussions. To register and find more information, go to DyslexiaCon25.
Infographic of the Month
Overcoming Dyslexia
Dyslexia is everywhere, touching so many children and adults, and while science has made extraordinary progress in understanding and clarifying the condition, this incredibly powerful knowledge rarely reaches those who most need to know and would greatly benefit from it. Our goal is to change all this with the Coursera you are about to view, produced by Dr. Sally Shaywitz, the Audrey G. Ratner Professor in Learning Development, both the leading scientist studying dyslexia and the most devoted advocate for helping those who are dyslexic.
NEW FACT SHEET!
Dyslexia Devoted Podcast
IDA Dyslexia Handbook: What Every Family Should Know
In addition to offering valuable information about dyslexia and its characteristics, this handbook provides information on assessments, effective teaching approaches, self-advocacy ideas, and a vast array of resources.
Further, the handbook contains information that will be useful throughout a child’s life, from elementary school through college. The degree of difficulty a child with dyslexia has with reading, spelling, and/or speaking varies from person to person due to inherited differences in brain development, as well as the type of teaching the child receives.
It is crucial to be able to recognize the signs and symptoms of dyslexia so that a child can be evaluated early and obtain the appropriate instruction and accommodations he or she needs to succeed in school.
We encourage you to share this handbook. The more families we can inform, the more children we can help!
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Dyslexia is the most common learning disability with 15-20% of the population showing symptoms of dyslexia. Learn More
- It is a language-based learning disability and is not related to intelligence– plenty of very bright people have dyslexia.
- There are many successful people with dyslexia such as Henry Winkler, Caitlyn Jenner (previously known as Bruce Jenner), Whoopi Goldberg and Charles Schwab.
- IDA has established standards for teachers of reading. These research-based standards are helpful for all and critical for students with dyslexia.
Black Lives Matter
IDA NorCal believes that learning to read is a civil right. We stand in solidarity with Black Lives Matter and pledge to work towards erasing racial disparities that impede the quality of literacy instruction our children deserve. We are committed to advocating for all students, especially those who have dyslexia. until everyone can read. IDA NorCal will do more to contribute to a community where racism has no place and where Black lives, education and opportunities matter. #Blacklivesmatter #Untileveryonecanread
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