The Dyslexia Duo: Inside Ireland’s Right to Read Conference: Building a Global Movement for Dyslexia and Literacy
The Dyslexia Duo hosts, Melissa Dean and Aimee Rodenroth, interview Deirdre “Dee” O’Toole, chairperson of Right to Read Ireland and organizer of Ireland’s inaugural Right to Read Conference, along with U.S. literacy advocates Missy Purcell and Elise Lovejoy. Dee describes moving from primary teaching into literacy research, beginning a PhD, and leading a team of nine to plan a March conference for 400 attendees that sold out in 90 minutes with a 300+ waiting list. The guests discuss why the event felt uniquely mission-driven and practitioner-focused, the value of global collaboration for dyslexia and literacy, Ireland’s bilingual English/Irish context, and gaps affecting disadvantaged and dyslexic learners despite high national reading scores. They highlight advocacy strategies, teacher autonomy and hunger for evidence-based learning, concerns about U.S. implementation barriers, and plans for a larger, possibly expanded conference next year.
00:50 Meet Dee and Right to Read
02:41 Conference Growth Story
03:42 Meet Missy Purcell, the Advocate
05:03 Meet Elise Lovejoy of Express Readers
06:34 Why the Conference Felt Different
09:18 Global Dyslexia Collaboration
12:26 Advocacy Steps for Change
19:00 Ireland Literacy Reality Check
22:24 Inside the Conference Lineup
28:15 Decodables Go International
39:59 Conference Design Takeaways
41:49 Bilingual Dyslexia Testing
42:43 Irish Reading Challenges
43:35 Etymology Rabbit Holes
44:27 Dysgraphia and Dyscalculia
46:06 Second Language Anxiety
47:50 Morphology and Latin
51:24 Teacher Support Strategies
56:57 Funding and Teacher Pay
01:01:03 Next Year Conference Plans
01:03:52 Where to Find Them
01:05:23 Accents and Ireland Stories
01:10:14 Lightning Round Wrap Up
Ireland