The Sixth Annual Disability Symposium
University of Pennsylvania
Friday, March 30, 2007

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The Sixth Annual Disability Symposium will be held at the University of Pennsylvania on Friday, March 30, 2007.  The theme of this event, “BrainStorming,” will bring together points of view on a variety of current topics. 

As in past years, it will provide a forum for exchanging our own perceptions and experiences with colleagues from many other colleges and universities. 

Featured Speakers

Morning:

It’s Time for Extra Time for Dyslexic Students

Sally Shaywitz, M.D
Bennett Shaywitz, M.D.

Extraordinary progress in science has resulted in new, converging data from many sources—epidemiological, cognitive and neurobiological (brain-based)–that now provide irrefutable evidence for the need for extra time for dyslexic undergraduate, graduate, and professional students. These data and their implications will be presented and discussed. The time has come for the criteria for providing accommodations, and for the accommodations themselves, to reflect cutting-edge science rather than dogma or anecdotal hearsay. Not only would our students benefit from such informed policies and procedures, but our universities and society would benefit by not losing the precious resource that dyslexic students represent.

Sally E. Shaywitz, M.D. is Professor of Pediatrics at the Yale University School of Medicine and Co-Director of the Yale Center for the Study of Learning, Reading, and Attention. Dr. Shaywitz is the author of over 200 scientific articles, chapters and books, including the widely acclaimed national bestseller, Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at any Level (Knopf, 2003; Vintage, 2005) which received the Margo Marek Book Award and the NAMI Book Award. An elected member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, Dr. Shaywitz has been honored for her work in advancing the scientific understanding of reading and dyslexia including the Annie Glenn Award for Leadership from the Ohio State University, an honorary Doctor of Science degree by Williams College, the Townsend Harris Medal of the City College of New York, the recipient of the Achievement Award in Women’s Health of the Society for the Advancement of Women’s Health Research and the Distinguished Alumnus Award of the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

Bennett A. Shaywitz, M.D. is Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology and Chief of Pediatric Neurology at the Yale University School of Medicine.  Dr. Shaywitz’ contributions to understanding the neurobiology, specifically the brain organization for reading and dyslexia include the identification and localization of specific neural systems for reading and delineation of differences in these systems between good and poor readers. The author of over three hundred scientific papers, Dr. Shaywitz’ honors include election to membership in the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences, the Distinguished Alumnus Award from Washington University the Annie Glenn Award for Leadership from the Ohio State University, the Haggerty-Friedman Distinguished Lectureship at the University of Rochester, the Lawrence G. Crowley Distinguished Lectureship at Stanford University, the Waldo E. Nelson lectureship at St. Christopher’s Children Hospital and the Sidney Berman Award of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry. 

 
Afternoon:

Update on Diagnosis and Treatment of Adult ADHD

Lenard Adler, M.D.

This presentation will review the signs and symptoms of ADHD, focusing on issues particular to assessment of symptoms and impairments in young adults. Rating scales which can be useful in establishing the diagnosis and breadth of symptoms of ADHD will also be reviewed.  As ADHD most commonly travels with other mental health disorders, the literature on co-morbidities in ADHD will be reviewed, along with guidelines about the differential assessments of the two disorders. Finally, the latest data on pharmacologic and non-pharmacologic therapy will be assessed.

Dr. Lenard Adler, M.D. is an associate professor of psychiatry and neurology at New York University (NYU) School of Medicine specializing in attention deficit disorder, affective and anxiety disorders, general psychiatry and psychopharmacology. Dr. Adler also sits as the director of the Combined Adult Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) Program at NYU School of Medicine, and a staff psychiatrist and director of the inpatient teaching unit at New York VA Harbor Healthcare System. He is an attending psychiatrist at Tisch-University Hospital, Hospital for Joint Diseases and Bellevue Hospital. Dr. Adler is the recipient of several prestigious honors, including the Burroughs Wellcome Fellowship from the American Psychiatric Association and a Travel Award from the American College of Neuropsychopharmacology.

A graduate of Cornell University with a B.A. in economics, Dr. Adler received his M.D. from Emory University School of Medicine. As a current member of several professional societies, including the American Medical Association, American Psychiatric Association, Association for Research in Nervous and Mental Disease, and American Society for Clinical Psychopharmacology, Dr. Adler lends his expertise in mental health as a peer reviewer for numerous scientific journals, including Biological Psychiatry, Journal of Clinical Psychiatry, Pediatrics, Archives of General Psychiatry and Journal of Clinical Psychopharmacology. Dr. Adler also has published over 50 original peer-reviewed manuscripts in more than 15 well-respected publications.

Dr. Adler has been has been interviewed numerous times in national media venues, including 60 Minutes, Oprah Radio (Dr. Mehmet Oz) and the Today Show, as well as The New York Times, USA Today and U.S. News & World Report. In these interviews, he discussed his treatment methods for adults with ADHD. He is also the author of the book Scattered Minds: Hope and Help for Adults with ADHD for the general public, published by G.P. Putnam’s Sons in May 2006.