Each year, the International Dyslexia Association (IDA) acknowledges the achievements of leading researchers and practitioners in the dyslexia field, as well as those of individuals with dyslexia who exhibit leadership and serve as role models in their communities. Read below for descriptions of each award and lists of award recipients. These award recipients have done so much to advance the mission of helping all those who struggle to read.
Samuel Torrey Orton Award
Margaret Byrd Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award
Remy Johnston Certificate of Merit
Pinnacle Award
Excellence in Leadership Award
Early Career Award for Contributions to Research
Norman Geschwind Memorial Lecture
Samuel Torrey Orton Award
The Samuel Torrey Orton Award is the International Dyslexia Association’s highest honor. The Award recognizes a person or persons who have:
- Made a vital contribution to our scientific understanding of dyslexia, or
- Significantly enhanced and advanced our capacity to successfully intervene and assist people with dyslexia, or
- Expanded national and international awareness of dyslexia, or
- Demonstrated unusual competence and dedication in service to people with dyslexia
Recipients:
2020… R. Malatesha Joshi
2019… Mark S. Seidenberg
2018… Richard Wagner
2017… Maureen Lovett
2016… Albert Galaburda
2015… Virginia W. Berninger
2014… Kate Cain
2013… Louisa Moats
2012… Sally & Bennett Shaywitz
2011… Maryanne Wolf
2010… Marilyn Jager Adams
2009… Susan Brady & Hollis Scarborough
2008… Hugh W. Catts
2007… Uta Frith
2006… Joseph Torgesen
2005… Margaret Snowling
2004… Martha Bridge Denckla
2003… Jack M. Fletcher
2002… Bruce F. Pennington
2001… Gordon F. Sherman & Disability Rights Advocates
2000… G. Reid Lyon
1999… Howard G. Gardner
1998… Priscilla L. Vail
1997… C. Wilson Anderson, Jr.
1996… Jeanne S. Chall
1995… Jeanette Jansky
1994… Rosa Hagin
1993… Lucia R. Karnes
1992… Sylvia O. Richardson
1991… Dorothy B. Whitehead & Carolyn and Carl Kline
1990… Diana H. King
1989… Regina Cicci
1988… William Ellis & Isabelle Liberman
1987… Lucius Waites & Alice Gardside
1986… Che Kan Leong & John Bigelow
1985… Alice Koontz & Norman Geschwind-(posthumously)
1984… Robert G. Hall
1983… Eleanor T. Hall
1982… Drake D. Duane
1981… Arthur Benton
1980… Helene Durbrow & Leon Eisenberg
1979… J. Roswell Gallagher
1978… Paula D. Rome
1977… Aylett R. Cox
1976… Roger E. Saunders
1975… Richard Masland
1974… Macdonald Critchley
1973… Sally Child
1972… Beth Slingerland
1971… Margaret Byrd Rawson
1970… Lloyd J. Thompson
1969… June Lyday Orton
1968… Katrina deHirsh
1967… Edwin Cole
Margaret Byrd Rawson Lifetime Achievement Award
The Margaret Byrd Rawson Award recognizes the work of an individual to advance the mission of the International Dyslexia Association (IDA). The Award shall be given to a member of IDA whose work on behalf of IDA embodies Margaret Rawson’s:
- Compassion,
- Leadership,
- Commitment to excellence,
- Fervent advocacy for people with dyslexia,
- And whose work is nationally recognized as furthering the mission of IDA
Recipients:
2020… Linda Siegel
2019… Elsa Cárdenas-Hagan
2018… Suzanne Carreker
2017… Eric Tridas
2016… Lenox Reed
2015… Karen E. Dakin
2014… Charles W. Haynes
2013… Diana Hanbury King
2012… G. Emerson & Georgette Dickman
2011… Nancy Hennessy
2010… Joyce Pickering
2009… Arlene W. Sonday
2008… Judith R. Birsh
2007… Nancy Cushen White
2006… C. K. Leong
2005… Betty S. Levinson
2004… Roger E. Saunders
2003… Martha W. Renner
2002… Jean S. Osman
2001… Betty Sheffield
2000… Marcia K. Henry
1999… Sylvia O. Richardson
Remy Johnston Certificate of Merit
This recognition program was established to honor the memory of Remy Johnston, a student with dyslexia whose promising life was tragically cut short in February 1989, a few months prior to graduating from Wooster College. Remy Johnston was a special person to his family and friends and to the staff and members of The Orton Dyslexia Society (now IDA). His mother, Joyce Johnston was the first person hired here and she retired in 2000 after 29 years of dedicated service. Read Remy Johnston’s paper about dyslexia and how it affected his life. The Remy Johnston Certificate of Merit recognizes students with dyslexia who:
- Are worthy role models
- Refuse to use their learning difference as an excuse
- Strive for excellence
- Enrich their community
Recipients:
2019… Mika Bardin
2018… Ainsley Proctor
2017… Olivia Amante
2016… Aidan Colvin
2015… Will Marsh
2014… Tyler Lentz
2013… Thomas Hircock
2012… Selene Jones
2011… Alex Malchow
2010… Jessica Dupiche
2009… Jennifer Smith & Jessica Byington
2008… Michael Guggenheim
2007… Anthony Levenson
2006… Dean Abbey
2001… Julia Bowsher, Michelle Carroll, Jeffrey R. Drake, Jeffrey Gurwin, Caroline (Carly) Russell
Pinnacle Award
The Pinnacle Award was created to recognize an individual who has faced reading challenges, has made significant achievements in his or her field, is leading a successful life, and is a role model for others with learning differences. The Award is given annually; more than one person may receive this recognition in any given year; and the honoree does not have to be a member of the Association. The award is presented at IDA’s Annual Reading, Literacy and Learning Conference each fall.
Recipients:
2019… John Hoke
2018… Jared Blank
2017… Malcolm Mitchell
2016… Patrick Whaley
2015… Scoot McNairy
2014… Cameron Herold
2013… Blake Charlton
2012… Phillip Shultz
2011… Steve Walker
2010… Danny Aiello, III
2009… Colin Poole
2008… Stephen J. Cannell
2007… Hunt Lowry
2006… The Honorable Kendrick B. Meek
2005… David Boies
2004… Barbara Corcoran
2003… Bruce Jenner
Excellence in Leadership Award
IDA created this Award in 2013 to honor an individual who, through their profession, tirelessly aims to improve the lives of those with dyslexia. This Award is given in recognition of excellence in service to individuals with dyslexia, their families, and the greater community. The Award is presented at IDA’s Annual Reading, Literacy and Learning Conference each fall.
Recipients:
2020… Lee Siang
2019… Carrie Thomas Beck
2018… Sir Richard Branson
2017… Martin McKay
2016… Rick Fiery & Tom Bergeron (co-recipients)
2015… Tincy Miller
2014… Gavin Newsom
2013… Alice Thomas
Early Career Award for Contributions to Research
This award is given to an early-career researcher and conference speaker whose innovative research has had a positive impact on the lives of individuals with dyslexia.
Recipients:
2020… Mercedes Spencer
2019… Ola Ozernov-Palchik
2018… Peng Peng
2017… Sunjung Kim
The Norman Geschwind Memorial Lecture
When Norman Geschwind died of cardiac arrest on November 4, 1984, the Orton Society, (now the International Dyslexia Association; IDA), lost a member of its Board of Directors, a speaker of great note, the scientific mind behind the society’s Neuroanatomy Study, and a dear friend. Dr. Geschwind was Chief of Neurology at Beth Israel Hospital and was James Jackson Putnam Professor of Neurology at Harvard Medical School. He also held professorships at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Psychology and the School of Health Sciences and Technology. His interest in the work of the Orton Society stemmed from his research on the relationship between brain anatomy and behavior. To honor Dr. Geschwind’s memory, in 1985 the Orton Society established a Norman Geschwind Memorial Lecture Fund that is used to provide a speaker at the IDA Annual Conference. The speaker is to represent the broad nature of Dr. Geschwind’s interests in dyslexia and related disabilities and abilities. The legacy of his curiosity lives on. (Perspectives on Dyslexia, Winter 1985)
Lecturers:
2020… Nadine Gaab
2019… Sharon Vaughn
2018… Simon Fisher
2017… Stanislas Dehaene
2016… Guinevere Eden
2015… John Gabrieli
2014… Fumiko Hoeft
2013… Laurie E. Cutting
2012… Donald Shankweiler
2011… Kenneth R. Pugh
2010… Kurt Fischer
2009… Charles Perfetti
2008… Daniel H. Geschwind
2007… Ursula Bellugi
2006… Doris Johnson
2005… Richard K. Olson
2004… Albert M. Galaburda
2003… Patricia K. Kuhl
2002… Ingvar Lundberg
2001… Drake D. Duane
2000… Frank B. Wood
1999… G. Reid Lyon
1998… Maryanne Wolf
1997… George W. Hynd
1996… Bruce F. Pennington
1995… Gordon F. Sherman
1994… Peter T. Fox
1993… Marcus E. Raichle
1992… Margaret S. Livingston
1991… George A. Ojemann
1990… Eran Zaidel
1989… Albert M. Galaburda
1988… Jerome Y. Lettvin
1987… Antonio R. Damasio
1986… Martha Bridge Denckla
1985… Peter Behan
The IDA Branch Excellence Award
The IDA Branch Excellence Awards were established to recognize branches that have made exceptional contributions and outstanding achievements in promoting IDA’s mission and vision in their local area.
Award recipients are selected by a committee that includes Home Office staff, the branch council chair, regional representatives, and other IDA volunteers.
These awards are given during the annual IDA conference.
Recipients:
2019… Arizona, Georgia, New Jersey, Oregon