Dyslexia Duo Podcast Episode 87 - Deirdre O'Toole, Missy Purcell, & Elise Lovejoy

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