Sally Shaywitz

Sally E. Shaywitz, M.D., is the Audrey G. Ratner Professor in Learning Development at Yale University and co-founder and co-director of the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity. Shaywitz is a physician-scientist recognized for her research advancing the understanding of dyslexia and for her commitment to translating scientific findings into practical resources for individuals with dyslexia, their families, and educators.

Shaywitz is the creator and principal investigator of the Connecticut Longitudinal Study, which has followed a random sample of 445 boys and girls from kindergarten entry at age 5 through adulthood. The study continues to monitor a significant portion of the original participants, examining domains such as life satisfaction, purpose, happiness, and resilience. Data from this research have shaped contemporary knowledge of dyslexia, including its prevalence, its occurrence in both boys and girls, and its unexpected nature relative to intelligence. This work contributed to the definition of dyslexia codified in federal law as an unexpected difficulty in reading for individuals with the intelligence to be better readers.

Findings from the Connecticut Longitudinal Study revealed that the achievement gap between typical and dyslexic readers emerges as early as first grade and persists. This led to the development of the Shaywitz DyslexiaScreen, an evidence-based screening tool published by Pearson, designed for universal screening of kindergarten through third-grade students. An adult version of the Shaywitz DyslexiaScreen is also available.

Shaywitz developed the Sea of Strengths conceptual model of dyslexia, which describes dyslexia as a specific weakness in connecting letters to sounds, surrounded by strengths in higher-order cognitive processes such as reasoning, big-picture thinking, problem solving, empathy, and concept formation.

She is the author of more than 350 scientific papers and chapters on dyslexia, as well as the book "Overcoming Dyslexia." Shaywitz created a comprehensive online course on dyslexia offered through Coursera, aimed at sharing scientific knowledge with parents, educators, and policymakers.

Shaywitz has received numerous awards, including election to the National Academy of Medicine within the National Academies, the Honorary CDC Health Literacy Hero Award from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the Liberty Science Center Genius Award. Her work has been featured in New York Times, CBS Sunday Morning, and at conferences such as GoogleX and the World Economic Forum in Davos.

She has held leadership roles with the National Research Council, including co-chairing the Committee on Gender Differences in the Careers of Science, Engineering and Mathematics Faculty, and serving on committees focused on women in science and engineering. Shaywitz has served on advisory boards for the National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke, the March of Dimes, and other organizations.

Shaywitz has contributed to national policy as a member of the National Reading Panel, the Committee to Prevent Reading Difficulties in Young Children, and by presidential appointment to the National Board of the Institute for Education Sciences. She is a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.

Her policy advocacy includes keynote addresses to the Congressional Roundtable introducing the 21st Century Dyslexia Act, testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions, and presentations to the U.S. House Committee on Science, Space and Technology. Shaywitz emphasizes the importance of translating scientific knowledge about dyslexia into policy and practice.

She serves on the New York City Literacy Council, is a trustee of the Park Century School, and serves on the boards of the Louisiana Key Academy Dyslexia Resource Center and Ibis. Shaywitz has also contributed to advisory panels and commissions focused on literacy and dyslexia guidelines.

Shaywitz received her B.A. with honors from City University of New York and her M.D. from Albert Einstein College of Medicine, completing her pediatric training and a fellowship in developmental-behavioral pediatrics at Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

She has been recognized with the International Dyslexia Association's Samuel Torrey Orton Award for her contributions to dyslexia research and advocacy. Shaywitz continues to be an active keynote speaker at major conferences and advises on policy initiatives related to universal dyslexia screening in public schools.