Major Sponsors

William Larrick Trevathan Fund

20th Annual Central Coast
Learning Disabilities Conference

Learning Differences and Student Success

November 21, 2008

Speaker: G. Reid Lyon, Ph.D.

About Dr. G. Reid Lyon

Over the past 30 years, Dr. Lyon has had a wide range of professional responsibilities including his contributions as a researcher, professor, classroom teacher, special education teacher, school psychologist, and leader in the development of evidence-based education policy at the federal and state levels. Dr. Lyon founded Synergistic Education Solutions, an educational resource that provides consulting services to improve educational research, instruction and policies at national and state levels in January, 2008. He held the position of the Executive Vice President for Research and Evaluation at Higher Ed Holdings in Dallas, Texas from 2005 to 2008. From 1992 until 2005, Dr. Lyon served as a research psychologist and the Chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch within the National Institute of Child health and Human Development (NICHD) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) where he was responsible for the direction, development and management of research programs in developmental and cognitive neuroscience, developmental psychology, behavioral pediatrics, reading development and disabilities, learning disabilities, early childhood development, and school readiness.

While at the NIH, Dr. Lyon also worked closely with the White House, the U.S. Department of Education, and Congress on the development of the Reading First program, and he co-authored that legislation WITH Robert Sweet. He also served as an advisor on education research and policies to President George W. Bush and First Lady Laura Bush from 2001 until 2005. He was a member of the President's Commission on Excellence in Special Education. Dr. Lyon has also testified numerous times before U.S. Senate and House committees, addressing such issues as the role of neuroscience in education, the critical need for scientific research to guide educational practices and policies, evidence-based teacher education, early childhood development, learning disabilities, reading development and reading disorders, the re-authorization of Head Start, and the re-authorization of the Individuals with Disabilities Education (IDEA) Act. In 2006, Dr. Lyon was named one of the ten most influential people in American education during the last decade by the Editorial Projects in Education Research Center (Education Week) for his work in ensuring that scientific research occupies a central role in educational practices and policy.

Dr. Lyon received his Ph.D. from the University of New Mexico in 1978 with a dual concentration in Special Education (learning disabilities and disorders) and psychology (developmental neuropsychology). He served on the faculties of the University of Alabama - Birmingham (Special Education and Educational Psychology), Northwestern University (Communication Science and Disorders) and the University of Vermont School Of Medicine (Neurology). He also taught in the public schools as a third grade classroom teacher, a special education teacher and a school psychologist in several states. He authored, co-authored and edited more than 130 peer reviewed journal articles, books, and book chapters addressing educational policy and learning differences and disabilities in children and adolescents.

Dr. Lyon has appeared on NBC, CBS, ABC, CNN, and National Public Radio to discuss issues relevant to education, child development, and educational research and policies.

From 1967 until 1970, Dr. Lyon served as a United States Army paratrooper with the 82nd and 101st Airborne Divisions in Vietnam from February 1968 to May, 1969. He participated in several major campaigns and combat operations and received the Combat Infantry Badge, the Bronze Star, the Army Commendation Medal, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry (Unit), among other decorations.

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Speaker: Sam Goldstein, Ph.D.

Sam Goldstein

About Dr. Sam Goldstein

Sam Goldstein, Ph.D. is a doctoral level psychologist with areas of study in school psychology, child development and neuropsychology. He is licensed as a psychologist and certified as a developmental disabilities evaluator in the State of Utah. He has also been nationally certified as a school psychologist by the National Association of School Psychologists. Dr. Goldstein is listed in the Council for the National Register of Health Service Providers in Psychology. Dr. Goldstein is an Assistant Clinical Instructor in the Department of Psychiatry, University of Utah School of Medicine and Affiliate Research Professor at George Mason University.

Dr. Goldstein is the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Attention Disorders and Contributing Editor to Attention Magazine . He serves as Co-Editor for the Guilford Press Series, Risk and Resilience . He has authored, co-edited or co-authored twenty-three clinical and trade publications, including eleven textbooks. He has also authored two dozen book chapters and nearly two dozen peer reviewed scientific studies. His recent books with Robert Brooks include Raising A Self-Disciplined Child (McGraw-Hill, 2007) and Understanding and Managing Children's Classroom Behavior: Creating Sustainable, Resilient Classrooms (Wiley, 2007) and with Nancy Mather, Learning Disabilities and Challenging Behaviors (Brookes, 2008). He is currently completing books on topics including impairment, assessment of autism, intelligence and achievement. With Dr. Jack Naglieri he is co-editing the Encyclopedia of Child Development (Springer Publishers). Additionally, he and Dr. Naglieri are developing three new assessment measures evaluating autism, impairment and learning disabilities. Dr. Goldstein has served as Executive Producer for a number of film and training video projects, including the award winning documentary Tough Times/Resilient Kids . He speaks nationally and internationally on topics ranging from resilience, child development, autism, neuropsychological disorders and Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.

Dr. Goldstein holds Diplomate status in Medical Psychotherapy awarded by the American Board of Medical Psychotherapists, General Psychotherapy awarded by the American Psychotherapy Association, Pain Management awarded by the American Academy of Pain Management and Disability awarded by the American Board of Professional Disability Consultants. He holds both Fellow and Diplomate status in Forensics awarded by the American Board of Forensic Examiners. He is a Fellow in the National Academy of Neuropsychology and the American Academy of Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine. Since 1982, Dr. Goldstein has worked in a private practice setting as part of a multi-disciplinary team, providing evaluation, case management and treatment services for children and adults with histories of neurological disease and trauma, learning disability, adjustment difficulties and attention deficit disorder. Dr. Goldstein is on staff at the University Neuropsychiatric Institute. He has served as a member of the Children's Hospital Craniofacial Team. He has also been a member of the Developmental Disabilities Clinic in the Department of Psychiatry.

Dr. Goldstein is a past Chairman of the National Professional Advisory Board for the parents' support group Children with Attention Deficit Disorder (CH.A.D.D.) and serves as a member of the Professional Advisory Board for the Attention Deficit Disorder Association (ADDA). He has served as member of the Board of Directors for Rowland Hall St. Mark's School, Guadalupe School and the Children's Center. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors for the Rowland Hall School and the Utah Ronald McDonald House Charities.