Vita

Pat Sekel is a Certified Academic Language Therapist and Qualified Instructor, special educator, and a well-known and respected expert on dyslexia, its related disorders, and practical modifications/accommodations in the classroom. She specializes in working with educators and parents to develop the best learning environment possible for learning different children nationwide, using both one-to-one and seminar formats. In addition, she is in demand as a valuable liaison in specific case situations with school districts. Her clients view Dr. Sekel as a person of experience who brings practicality and a sense of humor in dealing with individuals with dyslexia, but she is also considered by parents to be a very caring ally and supporter. With over thirty years of elementary and secondary experience, she has a deep appreciation of the difficult issues and decisions faced by parents and educators of students with dyslexia.

Dr. Sekel served as a public school and private practice speech pathologist for twelve years before becoming a special educator in Texas schools, piloting an innovative reading program for the Alief Independent School District. Soon after moving to Austin, she was selected to become Austin ISD’s first Dyslexia Coordinator and later the first Director for Section 504 and Dyslexia Services for the Round Rock ISD. She was the first Director for the Scottish Rite Learning Center of Austin, where she set up Central Texas’s first nationally accredited teacher training center through the Academic Language Therapy Association and the International Multisensory Structured Language Education Council. As the first Executive Director of the Rawson-Saunders School for Dyslexics, this full-curricular school for professionally diagnosed dyslexics in first through eighth grades, as well as an evaluation and resource center for parents and educators reached capacity within three years as it became a premier educational resource in Texas. Dr. Sekel is twice past President of the Austin Branch of The International Dyslexia Association and has served on several national boards and advisory councils as well as numerous Texas Education Agency and Governor’s literacy committees.

Examples of Dr. Sekel’s many experiences and rewards working with clients are:

Dr. Sekel has a Master of Arts degree in Speech Pathology from Ohio University, and a Ph.D. in Language and Literacy (Reading) from The University of Texas at Austin with a dissertation studying investigating the phonological awareness knowledge and skills of first grade teachers. In addition to being certified in special education, speech therapy, reading, reading specialist, and mid-management, she is a Certified Academic Language Therapist and Qualified Instructor through the Academic Language Therapy Association, as well as a Master Instructor in Basic Language Skills [Alphabetic Phonics] through the Neuhaus Education Center, Houston. Dr. Sekel is a national trainer for Language Education for Teachers of Reading and Spelling [LETRS], primary author Louisa Moats, Ed.D. Her professional and board affiliations include The International Dyslexia Association, the Academic Language Therapy Association, Council for Educators of Students with Disabilities, and many more. She is twice listed in Who’s Who in Human Resource Services, Outstanding Professionals, and four times named to Who’s Who in American Education.