Sally E. Shaywitz
Shaywitz in 2016
Born1942 (age 81–82)
The Bronx
Alma materCity University of New York
Albert Einstein College of Medicine
Scientific career
InstitutionsYale University

Sally Shaywitz (born 1942) is an American physician-scientist who is the Audrey G. Ratner Professor in Learning Development at Yale University. She is the co-founder and co-director of the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity.[1] Her research provides the framework for modern understanding of dyslexia.

Early life and education

Shaywitz was born and raised in The Bronx.[2] She is the daughter of two Eastern European immigrants.[2] Her father was a dressmaker and her mother a homemaker.[2] She earned her undergraduate degree at City College of New York, and originally considered a career in law.[3] She was accepted early to the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.[3] That year her mother was diagnosed with endometrial cancer, and died just before Shaywitz started her medical studies.[2] When Shaywitz joined medical school, she was one of four women in a class of one hundred students.[2] Shaywitz completed her residency in pediatrics and developmental pediatrics.[2] Alongside completing her training, Shaywitz had three children, whom she raised in Westport, Connecticut.[4]

Research and career

Shaywitz started her medical career seeing patients out of her home in suburban Connecticut.[2] She was eventually recruited by Yale University to look after patients with learning disorders, including dyslexia.[2] In 1979 she was recruited by Yale University to see patients with learning disorders, including dyslexia.[5] Her research involves longitudinal epidemiological and neurobiological studies. In 1983 she started tracking a random cohort of children continuously from kindergarten to their current age in their 40s.[1] The longitudinal study data also showed that the achievement gap in reading between typical and dyslexic students occurs early – in first grade and persists. This finding impelled her to develop an evidence-based efficient screener to identify at risk beginning in kindergarten.[1]

In 1983 she started tracking a cohort of people from kindergarten to adulthood, a study which became known as The Connecticut Longitudinal Study.[6] She showed that boys and girls were equally as likely to be affected by dyslexia.[7] These studies allowed Shaywitz to identify a neural signature of dyslexia, as well as demonstrating that dyslexia is not simply a reading disorder young people 'outgrow'.[6] According to Shaywitz, dyslexia arises due to inefficient function in the neural systems responsible for skilled reading.[7] Shaywitz developed the "Sea of Strengths" model, which explains that dyslexia is a deficit in language processing.[2] Her research identified that there is no connection between dyslexia and intelligence so that you can be very smart and still read very slowly.[7]

In 2003 Shaywitz published Overcoming Dyslexia, a book which helps people identify, understand and overcome challenges in reading.[8] In 2020 she, together with her son, psychiatrist, Jonathan Shaywitz, published the much updated Overcoming Dyslexia 2nd edition.[9]

Awards and honors

Selected publications

As of 2018, the definition of dyslexia as unexpected is codified in U.S. federal law (U.S. Public Law 115-391): The term “dyslexia” means an unexpected difficulty in reading for an individual who has the intelligence to be a much better reader, most commonly caused by a difficulty in the phonological processing (the appreciation of the individual sounds of spoken language), which affects the ability of an individual to speak, read, and spell.[19]

  • Sally E. Shaywitz; Bennett A. Shaywitz; Jack M. Fletcher; Michael D. Escobar (22 August 1990). "Prevalence of Reading Disability in Boys and Girls". JAMA. 264 (8): 998. doi:10.1001/JAMA.1990.03450080084036. ISSN 0098-7484. Wikidata Q105531840.
  • Sally E Shaywitz; Bennett A Shaywitz (1 June 2005). "Dyslexia (specific reading disability)". Biological Psychiatry. list of psychiatry journals. 57 (11): 1301–1309. doi:10.1016/J.BIOPSYCH.2005.01.043. ISSN 0006-3223. PMID 15950002. Wikidata Q30991872.

Personal life

Shaywitz is married to Bennett Shaywitz, a pediatric neurologist who headed that section at Yale from 1976 to 2015 and with whom she co-founded the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity.[3][20] They met and were married in 1963.[7]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Sally Shaywitz, 2020 AAAS Fellow, Has Worked to Unravel the Mysteries of Dyslexia | American Association for the Advancement of Science". www.aaas.org. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 "Latest from Tech Tonics: Dr. Sally Shaywitz: Advancing Science, Driving Policy, Overcoming Dyslexia". venturevalkyrie.com. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "0604bri1". www.regents.nysed.gov. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  4. ↑ "Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities Presents The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia: Documentary Will Be Followed by a Panel Discussion Featuring Dr. Sally Shaywitz". PRWeb. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  5. ↑ Sally E. Shaywitz. OCLC 4779763538.
  6. 1 2 "Sally E. Shaywitz, MD". www.pearsonassessments.com. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  7. 1 2 3 4 Hafner, Katie (2018-09-21). "The Couple Who Helped Decode Dyslexia (Published 2018)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  8. ↑ "Overcoming Dyslexia". Yale Dyslexia. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  9. ↑ Navarrette, Ruben Jr. "Navarrette: Test early to detect dyslexia; our children deserve nothing less". Longview News-Journal. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  10. ↑ "Alumni Awards | Alumni | Albert Einstein College of Medicine". www.einstein.yu.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  11. ↑ "Sally Shaywitz, MD". medicine.yale.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
  12. ↑ "Marine Biological Laboratory". comm.archive.mbl.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  13. ↑ Shaywitz, Sally E. (2003). Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level. A.A. Knopf. ISBN 978-0-679-78159-2.
  14. ↑ "The Townsend Harris Medalists". www.ccnyalumni.org. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  15. ↑ "Seven to Receive Honorary Degrees". Office of Communications. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  16. ↑ "Award Recipients". International Dyslexia Association. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
  17. ↑ Center, Liberty Science. "Liberty Science Center Genius Gala To Honor Chris Messina, Hashtag Inventor; Martine Rothblatt, Biotech And Satellite Radio Pioneer; And Drs. Sally And Bennett Shaywitz, The World's Leading Experts On Dyslexia". www.prnewswire.com. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  18. ↑ "AAAS Announces Leading Scientists Elected as 2020 Fellows | American Association for the Advancement of Science". www.aaas.org. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
  19. ↑ "The Yale Outcome Study: Outcomes for Graduates with and without Dyslexia". Yale Dyslexia. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
  20. ↑ "Child Neurology: Its Origins, Founders, Growth and Evolution - Stephen Ashwal; | Foyles Bookstore". Foyles. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
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