T h e S a m u e l T. O r t o n A w a r d f o r 1 9 7 6

P r e s e n t e d b y T h e O r t o n S o c i e t y t o

R o g e r E. Saunde r s .

Presentation by Betty Wells

There are members more deserving of this privilege, but none more

delighted than I to have been asked to present the Samuel T. Orton Award to

Roger Saunders.

It is fitting that Roger receive this award in New York. It was here, at the

Princeton Club, nine years ago that he accepted the presidency of The Orton

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Society with its membership c o u n t - s o dear to d y s l e x i c s - o f 303. It has been

with deep affection that many of you from that 1967 charmed circle have

offered your memories for sharing with the 4,297 of us who joined The

Orton Society under Roger's reign.

If as has been said, "The child is father to the man," Roger 's two and

one-half dollar GOLD COIN, awarded to him at age six in rural North

Carolina for being "The Best All- ' round Boy in School ," was prophetic. For a

similar superlative was to be his award as a graduate from Pfeiffer Junior

College.

After junior college, his education was interrupted but furthered by

Government "Greetings" which brought him to the Air Force and the rank of

Sergeant Major in a regional hospital. Back in college in Louisiana, he

balanced his psychology major with student activities which led to his being

chosen as "Best All- ' round Senior Man" and selected by the faculty for

citation in "Who's Who in American Colleges and Universities."

Exploring the field of clinical psychology, Roger spent a year at the

Insti tute of Living in Hartford, Connecticut, before receiving his degree in

psychology from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. This pre-

pared him for an internship in clinical psychology at the Bowman-Gray

School of Medicine of Wake Forest University, Winston-Salem, North Caro-

lina. Here he came to know and appreciate Mrs. June L. Orton, Dr. Lloyd J.

Thompson, and Dr. Richard Masland.

St imulated there by a visiting lecturer, Helene Durbrow, Roger requested

a summer's leave of absence to be a counselor in her camp for children with

specific language disabilities in Underhill, Vermont. There he worked with

dyslexic teen-agers and this experience strengthened his desire to learn further

not only how to diagnose, but also how to teach children with this learning

problem. He became an advocate for the whole child, and these goals were

enhanced back in North Carolina by June Orton.

He moved to Baltimore, Maryland as clinical psychologist to the Board of

Education, became active in local professional organizations and in The Orton

Society. The lectures at the annual Orton meetings in New York gave insights

and strength, and Roger began intensive part icipation in the work of the

Society.

As President of The Orton Society, Roger devoted almost a third of his

time to its programs and its management. During his terms of office he joined

the graduate faculty of Loyola College as a full t ime associate professor, was

senior author of LINCS and developed programs in public and private schools

SAMUEL T, ORTON AWARD

in Maryland and other states. But no matter which project had priority, he

was always available for consultation and concerned with the problems of

others.

This concern for others is the genius of Roger. His legacy to us is not

programs dedicated in his name, but people dedicated to his goals.

And now is the time for The Orton Society, with this citation, to honor

Roger S a u n d e r s . . . Psychologist, Counselor, Teacher and F r i end"

• For his recognition of and credit given to the Society's pioneers

who built slowly and solidly the goodly heritage that is ours;

• For his ability to nurture raw zeal into talent by supplying the

necessary knowledge, the excellent example and warm support for

novices;

• For his calming influence on parents whose fears block their

perceptions;

• For his devotion to and compassion for those who are the Soci-

ety's reason for b e i n g . . , the children and young adults with

Specific Language Disabi l i t ies . . . and for his gift to them of faith

and the courage to go on,

THE SAMUEL TORREY ORTON AWARD for 1976

is presented to ROGER EARL SAUNDERS.

Response by Roger E. Saunders

Thank you, Mrs. Wells. It is indeed both an humbling and an exalting

experience to be honored by The Orton Society, and particularly to have this

Award presented through such a distinguished volunteer and professional

worker as yourself.

When one receives such an honor as this, there are many persons to

whom appreciation should be expressed: first, to one's parents, who contrib-

uted from their genetic pool and nurtured the product in an environment of

love, understanding, and direction; next, to teachers, whose patience and

challenge lent the positiveness and courage to fulfill academic aspirations; to

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clients, whose trust enhances a sense of professional responsibility and a

desire to learn more; to students, who always teach their teacher by con-

stantly challenging his concepts; and, finally, to professional colleagues whose

freely-shared knowledge and insights contribute immeasurably to one's con-

tinued growth, especially through our association in The Orton Society.

For my life, and for the Society, all of the above are true partners, and

more. Each of you has given freely of your time, energy and inspiration to

this volunteer organization, and your devotion has been the real reason it has

grown to international influence. Indeed, it is not the Society, but rather you

as individuals working effectively with individuals and sharing your ideas

about their nature and needs which has made the organization strong. Each of

you truly shares in the Samuel T. Orton Award.

As I reminisce about the early years of my involvement in this Society

there comes to mind first one very special person with whom I would always

check the validity of a new idea. It was Robert Hall, in particular, who gave

me the personal courage to forge ahead,, for in those days when we had no

money in the treasury to back up new ventures. He would always say, "Try

it, Roger, and if it doesn't work, I will pick up the tab." Fortunately, he

never had to, but it was good to have an "angel" in reserve!

All of the former presidents of the Society are here tonight. Thanks go to

them from all of us, for without their leadership the Society would have

foundered. Now that it is rounding out its 26th year, we can borrow a

quotation from Proverbs and admit to its early leaders that we know that we

" . . . reap where (we) have not sown"! Their harvest is growing riper, and it is

for us to be loyal laborers in the field. In the 1920's there was a small group

of teachers and other professionals who said, "Some children learn differ-

ently." Their challenge was to learn how and why this was so, and to develop

educational strategies for teaching them appropriately. Observations similar

to theirs were being made in England, Denmark, Czechoslovakia, and other

countries. Our present worldwide interest and development of new knowl-

edge about persons with dyslexia is enjoying a strong spotlight; this would

not have been possible without the work of the early pioneers. We in 1976

are enjoying their harvest and we are grateful.

The first president of the Orton Society was June Orton. Her favorite

expression is, "The past is prologue to the future." With the help of a small

group of persons, she established the Society on a firmly-organized founda-

tion. She continued to remind us of Dr. Orton's warm personal qualities, his

modesty, and his scientific accuracy when he said, "No two dyslexics are ever

alike," " . . . this is a condition, not a disease," " . . . we are dealing with the

SAMUEL T. ORTON AWARD

total language function, not just poor reading," and " . . . the diagnosis is

clinical; the t reatment is educat ional ."

Sally Childs was our second president. She had been the inspired student

of Anna Gillingham. Sally continues to remind us to "teach through the

intellect," to be aware of the high level of reasoning which most dyslexics

seem to have, and to teach them to " th ink and do ," for both are important .

Margaret Rawson was the next president. She will be remembered for her

scholarly writing and willingness to give unreservedly. She gave us the all-en-

compassing theme, "Teach the language as it is to the child as he is," which

has been the mot to of many conferences. It is she who bears in upon us that,

"Diagnosis wi thout t reatment is cruel ty," and reminds us late-comers that,

" I f we see further, it is because we stand on the shoulders of giants."

And now, Dale Bryant is capping his term as fifth president by leading us

through this most excellent International Conference.

Reminiscing further, when Dr. Lloyd Thompson received the Samuel T.

Orton Award in 1970, he used the oppor tuni ty to challenge his audience with

what he called "an old chestnut ." During the 5O's and 60's the term "brain

damage" had become popular. Dr. Thompson, harking back to the original

hypothesis of Dr. Orton, restated from his experience in the 30's and 40's

that we are not dealing with brain damage, but rather with a variation of

developmental delay. Following Dr. Thompson's lead, my primary thought tonight is to

remind us that whatever else dyslexia is, it is a problem with the memory. How does one make memory work, whether for input, storage, or retrieval? The memory must be serviceable, stable, reliable, and appropriate. Perhaps I

am overly sensitive to this, for it is one of the obvious and most puzzling

symptoms known to the dyslexic person. I think perhaps Lucy (from the

comic strip "Peanuts") was right, for when Charlie Brown complained about

his poor memory, she retorted, "Maybe you don ' t have such a bad remem-

berer. You've just got a very good forget ter ." Life is like that for the

dys l ex i c - a struggle to keep fresh a consistently reliable " rememberer , " all the

while combatt ing the forces of the "good forgetter ." Emotional devastation

can follow this lack of recall, for "I 've forgot ten" is more damaging to the

child's feelings about himself than, "Gee, I never knew that ." The idea of

instability of memory is not a new concept in learning theory, but refreshing

our thoughts about it may give new insights into the human, emotional ,

interpersonal relationships which are easily destroyed by the return of old

anxieties from early classroom failure.

Again let us thank June Orton for making "The past is prologue to the

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future" come true, Sally Childs for "Keep the intellect at work while you

teach," Margaret Rawson for reminding us of our distinct heritage and

commitment to treat children as unique human individuals, and Dale Bryant

for his arduous efforts in helping to bring us together on this occasion of

fellowship and re-dedication. Most especially, I thank you for the personal

inspiration you give me by your attendance here tonight as you present me

with this most appreciated honor.