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.
Sally E. Shaywitz | |
|---|---|
 Shaywitz in 2016 | |
| Born | 1942 (age 81–82) |
| Alma mater | City University of New York Albert Einstein College of Medicine |
| Scientific career | |
| Institutions | Yale University |
Early life and education
editShaywitz 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
editShaywitz 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
edit- 1995 Albert Einstein College of Medicine Distinguished Alumnus Award[10]
- 1998 Elected member of the National Academy of Medicine[11]
- 1998 Society for Women's Health Research Achievement Award in Women's Health[3]
- 1999 American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Sidney Berman Award[12]
- 2003 Margot Marek Book Award[13]
- 2004 City College of New York Townsend Harris Medal[14]
- 2005 Williams College Honorary Doctor of Science degree[15]
- 2012 Samuel Torrey Orton Award (jointly with Bennett Shaywitz)[16]
- 2017 Liberty Science Center Genius Award[17]
- 2020 Elected Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science[18]
Selected publications
editAs 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
editShaywitz 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
edit- ^ a b c "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.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i "Latest from Tech Tonics: Dr. Sally Shaywitz: Advancing Science, Driving Policy, Overcoming Dyslexia". venturevalkyrie.com. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
- ^ a b c d "0604bri1". www.regents.nysed.gov. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
- ^ "Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities Presents The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia: Documentary Will Be Followed by a Panel Discussion Featuring Dr. Sally Shaywitz". PRWeb. Archived from the original on August 15, 2020. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ Sally E. Shaywitz. OCLC 4779763538.
- ^ a b "Sally E. Shaywitz, MD". www.pearsonassessments.com. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
- ^ a b c d Hafner, Katie (2018-09-21). "The Couple Who Helped Decode Dyslexia (Published 2018)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
- ^ "Overcoming Dyslexia". Yale Dyslexia. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
- ^ Navarrette, Ruben Jr. "Navarrette: Test early to detect dyslexia; our children deserve nothing less". Longview News-Journal. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ "Alumni Awards | Alumni | Albert Einstein College of Medicine". www.einstein.yu.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
- ^ "Sally Shaywitz, MD". medicine.yale.edu. Retrieved 2022-01-25.
- ^ "Marine Biological Laboratory". comm.archive.mbl.edu. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "The Townsend Harris Medalists". www.ccnyalumni.org. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
- ^ "Seven to Receive Honorary Degrees". Office of Communications. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
- ^ "Award Recipients". International Dyslexia Association. 12 August 2014. Retrieved 2021-01-05.
- ^ 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.
- ^ "AAAS Announces Leading Scientists Elected as 2020 Fellows | American Association for the Advancement of Science". www.aaas.org. Retrieved 2020-12-27.
- ^ "The Yale Outcome Study: Outcomes for Graduates with and without Dyslexia". Yale Dyslexia. Retrieved 2021-02-16.
- ^ "Child Neurology: Its Origins, Founders, Growth and Evolution - Stephen Ashwal; | Foyles Bookstore". Foyles. Retrieved 2021-02-16.