✦ ABOUT US ✦

Learn about our organization!

SWIDA is a non-profit organization dedicated to promoting literacy through research, education and advocacy in New Mexico and the El Paso area. It is a branch of the International Dyslexia Association (UDA). Founded in 1987, the Southwest Branch joins over 42 national branches of The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) and numerous international affiliations in striving to pursue and provide the most comprehensive range of information and services that address the full scope of dyslexia and related difficulties in learning to read and write . . . in a way that creates hope, possibility, and partnership. The Southwest Branch hosts an annual conference for professionals and a student/parent event called Dyslexia Justice League. Upon request, SWIDA can also provide regional workshops, such as the popular “Experience Dyslexia” simulations that increase public awareness of dyslexia. We also provide scholarships for teachers who desire advanced study in dyslexia intervention, and scholarships for students with dyslexia attending post-secondary programs.

SWIDA News

NewSWIDA is Published Quarterly

Click here for our latest newsletter.

SWIDA Events

SWIDA LEADERSHIP

CLICK HERE FOR OUR BOARD OF DIRECTORS
CLICK HERE FOR OUR ADVISORY COUNCIL

THE INTERNATIONAL DYSLEXIA ASSOCIATION

IDA is the oldest such organization in the U.S. serving individuals with dyslexia, their families, and professionals in the field. We number some 8,500 members – 68% in the field of education and 30% are individuals with dyslexia or parents of children who are dyslexic.

IDA is national & global:

We operate 42 branches throughout the U.S. and Canada, and have 21 Global Partners in 18 countries including Brazil, Czech Republic, Israel, and The Philippines.

IDA funding and board of directors:

Our annual budget is funded by private donations, membership dues, foundation grants, sale of publications, conferences, and other development efforts. IDA receives no government funding. IDA has an all-volunteer Board of Directors. ADD LINK

IDA focuses resources in four essential areas:

  • Information & Referral Services
  • Research
  • Advocacy & Public Policy
  • Professional Development

IDA as an information provider:

  • 30,000-40,000 direct inquiries to our headquarters office and 42 branches conducting local conferences, workshops and support groups.
  • 1.5 million website visitors annually
  • An annual conference bringing 200-300 experts in the field together with approximately 3,000 individuals who are concerned with the issue of dyslexia and other learning disabilities
  • A content distributor to Global Partners for dissemination in their countries.

IDA as a world-wide publisher:

  • Our peer-reviewed journal, Annals of Dyslexia , is available both in print and online for all members. In addition, archived issues of Annals are available online.
  • Our subject-related quarterly publication, Perspectives on Language and Literacy, is distributed to members quarterly (past topics have included: teacher training, legal issues, parent issues, etc.) View the article: needs name and link to article.
  • Other topic-related publications are available for purchase by the public.
  • Fact Sheets are IDA’s topic-related publications which are free to the public.

In addition, we fund research on neurological, educational and developmental issues as they relate to dyslexia. We advocate for the rights of individuals with dyslexia both through the legal and Federal legislative systems. And based upon models in place in our New Jersey Branch, we are developing programs to provide services (testing, tutoring, remedial instruction, etc.) throughout our branch network directly to individuals with dyslexia.

IDA'S MISSION

We believe that all individuals have the right to achieve their potential that individual learning abilities can be strengthened and that social, educational, and cultural barriers to language acquisition and use must be removed.


The International Dyslexia Association actively promotes effective teaching approaches and related clinical education intervention strategies for dyslexics. We support and encourage interdisciplinary study and research. We facilitate exploration of the causes and early identification of dyslexia and are committed to the responsible and wide dissemination of research-based knowledge.

IDA'S PURPOSE

The purpose of IDA is to pursue and provide the most comprehensive range of information and services that address the full scope of dyslexia and related difficulties in learning to read and write . . . in a way that creates hope, possibility, and partnership. So that every individual has the opportunity to lead a productive and fulfilling life, and society benefits from the resource that is liberated.


The International Dyslexia Association (IDA) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit, scientific, and educational organization dedicated to the study and treatment of the learning disability.

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A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE IDA & ITS SOUTHWEST BRANCH

Formation of The International Dyslexia Association

Formerly known as the Orton Dyslexia Society The first Orton memorial dinner-meeting was held in 1949 to commemorate the death of Samuel T. Orton and plan the formation of The Orton Society. The first annual meeting took place in New York in 1950. Early meetings of The Society were small, made-up of Dr. Orton’s former colleagues and their associates. Mrs. Orton served as the first president of The Orton Society until 1960. She was followed by Sally Childs, Margaret Rawson (1964) and Roger Saunders (1968). In The Many Faces of Dyslexia, a book by Roger Saunders and Margaret Rawson, they sum up the Orton Dyslexia Society as follows: “The differences are personal; the diagnosis is clinical; the treatment is educational; the understanding is scientific; and the Orton Dyslexia Society serves the united whole.” In 1997, the name of the Orton Dyslexia Society was changed to The International Dyslexia Association. This name change reflected the growing international influence of the explicit, systematic Orton methods of teaching reading which used multisensory structured language education (MSLE) strategies. The wide dissemination of research-based knowledge on the nature of dyslexia and the accompanying scientifically based teaching strategies used for the effective remediation of dyslexia is central to the mission of The International Dyslexia Society (IDA). During the past 60 years, IDA has been instrumental in promoting the use of effective teaching and intervention strategies for dyslexics for over 60 years. IDA facilitates the exploration of the causes and early identification of dyslexia. It supports and encourages interdisciplinary study and research and is committed to the responsible and wide dissemination of research-based knowledge. The annual IDA Conference is renowned for its dissemination of international, scientifically-based research in the fields of reading, spelling, and learning disabilities.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE IDA & ITS SOUTHWEST BRANCH

Formation of The Southwest Branch

On May 9, 1984, the first meeting of the unofficial New Mexico Branch of The Orton Dyslexia Society met, and a steering committee was formed that included Sandra Dillon, Patricia Tomlan, and Betty Lansdowne. A second meeting was held on September 15, 1984 at Sandra Dillon’s home and plans were made to become an official branch of The Orton Dyslexia Society. Approximately twenty-five people attended that meeting, and officers were elected. A bylaws committee was formed, and Southern Arizona and West Texas joined our membership in the spring of 1985. In January, 1985, we officially became the New Mexico Branch-in-Formation of the Orton Dyslexia Society. During that first year, the branch had six officers, six members of the Board of Directors, and 49 members. The first branch conference was held in March of 1986 at the Marriott Hotel in Albuquerque. The Curtis Blake Foundation funded it, and 101 people attended. Over the two and a half decades that followed, the branch has expanded its membership and its outreach. Today the Southwest Branch of The International Dyslexia Association serves New Mexico and West Texas, and has approximately 175 members. Over 400 people attend our annual conferences. We are able to provide several outreach and training activities each year for teachers and parents of dyslexic students.

Download a PDF of the complete history of the IDA Southwest branch from 1984 to 2016:

SWIDA HISTORY PDF

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE IDA & ITS SOUTHWEST BRANCH

Who were Orton and Gillingham?

Samuel Torrey Orton (1879 – 1948) was a neurospsychiatrist and pathologist, and a pioneer in focusing attention on reading failure and related language processing difficulties. He brought together neuroscientific information and principles of remediation. As early as the 1920s, he had extensively studied children with the kind of language processing difficulties now commonly associated with dyslexia and had formulated a set of teaching principles and practices for such children.


Anna Gillingham (1878 – 1963) was a gifted educator and psychologist with a superb mastery of the language. Working with Dr. Orton, she trained teachers and compiled and published instructional materials. Over the last half century the Orton-Gillingham approach has been the seminal and most influential intervention designed expressly for remediating the language processing problems of children and adults with dyslexia.

THE COMPLETE HISTORY OF THE IDA SOUTHWEST BRANCH FROM 1984 TO 2016 PDF

We’d love to hear from you

Whether you're eager to discover more about our endeavors in supporting the dyslexia community or interested in collaborating with us we're here and ready to connect. We welcome your inquiries and look forward to engaging with you.

Location

PO Box 14190 Albuquerque, NM 87191

Phone

1-505-255-8234

Email

swida@southwestida.org

Don’t be a stranger — say hello!

© 2024 The Southwest Branch of the International Dyslexia Association