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• Jessica Byington was crowned Miss Teen Ohio International
• Jessica was crowned Miss Teen International 2009
• Jessica received The Remy-Johnston Award from IDA!!!
• Jessica is dyslexic.
• Jessica is on a mission...
How often do we get a message on our helpline:
I want to join IDA? Not too often!!!
How often do we get a message on our helpline:
I am in the Miss Teen Ohio International pageant and I am dyslexic. This was a first!!!
That’s how our association with Jessica Byington began. In June, 2009 she won the Miss Teen Ohio International pageant. Her platform is dyslexia. When she was informed she needed a topic for her platform, she immediately knew what it would be….dyslexia. The judges were impressed with her knowledge of and passion for dyslexia.
After winning, she and her mother went to IDA’s website and found out that we had Global Partners. They got in touch with National IDA and our Ohio Valley Branch to find out more about the Global Partners. She contacted several of them.
Jessica is a gifted dyslexic. Her gift and talent is public speaking with a genuine, delightful ease in meeting people. She knows first hand about what it’s like to be dyslexic. She wants to learn more about dyslexia, how it is being treated. She wants to know how she can raise public awareness of dyslexia. She wants to know how she can help in these areas.
In her search to learn more, Jessica has:
• visited Springer School, a school for Learning Disabled children, in Cincinnati
• contacted the National IDA
• contacted the Ohio Valley Branch
• contacted our Global Partners
• visited Dr. Guinevere Eden, President of IDA, at Georgetown University
• visited with a Senator from Ohio
• attended an Awards ceremony
• contacted Kurzweil
• visited the Branch in the United Kingdom
Mr. Kurzweil was so impressed with her from a phone conversation, he invited her to visit him at his company in Boston. He has asked Jessica to be an intern with his company. In his generosity he gave Jessica a Kurzweil Machine. He also gave her one to give to someone in need. She is already making plans to do a fundraiser to supply a school in Cincinnati with the Kurzweil technology for their Learning Disabilities population.
Jessica visited with Dr. Guinevere Eden, President of IDA, at Georgetown University.
She got to see first hand what's happening in the field of research.
Jessica has had wonderful opportunities to meet the amazing staff of the BDA (British Dyslexia Association). She spoke at their conference in Leeds, England regarding her experience with dyslexia from a students perspective. She also got to join Judi Stewart (CEO of BDA) and a panel of experts at the House of Lords/Parliament Building regarding the newly passed legislation built on the Jim Rose Report. They will be receiving millions of dollars to train 4,000 teachers specifically in dyslexia identification and proper classroom intervention. The bill was passed on the Monday while Jessica and her mother were there!
Jessica has been doing a lot of self esteem/confidence talks with many area schools, has met with congressman, senators and governors and has gotten a chance to have discussions about the forthcoming dyslexia bill.
The most impressive thing we can say about Jessica is….she is for real! She is not doing all of these things to help herself. She is doing this to help others. She realizes that she is in a position to do this. She does not want others to have to go through all the “misfortunes” of having dyslexia that she has experienced.
The three Ohio Branches of IDA have joined forces with other groups in Ohio in an effort to get Dyslexia Legislation passed in our state. Jessica will be one of the speakers at our Dyslexia Awareness Day at the state capitol on October 1, 2009. We feel so fortunate to have such an avid representative for dyslexia in our state!
For the reasons mentioned above and much, much more, the Ohio Valley Branch of the IDA nominated Jessica Byington for the Remy Johnston Award of Merit.
The Award recognizes a young student with dyslexia who:
• is a worthy role model for others, and
• refuses to be limited by the challenges of learning differences, and
• strives for excellence, choosing to live as an achiever, and
• continues to enrich the lives of families, friends, employers and the communities in which s/he lives through service. 
Jessica won the award and was presented with the award at the IDA National Conference in Orlando, Florida, November, 2009!!! (refer to the article below)
Jessica and Jeanne Anderson, our Ohio Valley Branch President, at the award ceremony at the National IDA Conference in Florida.
Learn more and visit Jessica at her website: 
Jessica has begun a Petition to send to Ohio Representatives and Senators to support the Dyslexia Legislation that is in the process of being written. She needs lots of names. Visit her website and click on Petitions.
www.jessicabyington.com Enter your name and address.
or.....send us your name and address and we will enter it for you. Title your email: Petitions
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http://jessicabyington.com/index.php?menukey=1
Jessica Paige Byington, Miss Teen International and an Ohio Valley Branch member, was awarded the Remy Johnston Award at the International Dyslexia Association’s annual conference in Disney World in November. The award is given in honor of the memory of Remy Johnston, the son of Joyce and Ronald Johnston, a college student with dyslexia majoring in philosophy at Wooster College in Ohio, who died tragically in 1989 just prior to graduation. This award is presented each year to a student who “refuses to be limited by the challenges of learning differences, strives for excellence, chooses to live life as an achiever and a role model for others, and continues to enrich the lives of families, friends, employers and the communities in which s/he lives through service.” Jessica certainly fits that description.
The OVB has enjoyed a long-standing relationship with Jessica that began when her parents first called the hotline in 1999. Jessica was a first grader then and was struggling to learn to read. They were put in contact with Marcia Hollmeyer, an OVB member and Orton/Gillingham trained tutor. That was the beginning of Jessica’s remarkable journey to overcome her challenges with dyslexia. In the spring of 2009, Jessica herself, a freshman at Miami University, called the OVB hotline. She explained how OVB/IDA had changed her life and that she, too, wanted to make a difference in the lives of other dyslexic people. At that time, we couldn’t have dreamed that she would go on to win the title of Miss Teen Ohio, and then be crowned Miss Teen International 2009 in July. When asked what platform issue she would choose to officially represent during her reigns, Jessica chose dyslexia and the IDA.
Being chosen Miss Teen International is remarkable, but it is just one of Jessica’s accomplishments. She maintained a perfect 4.0 grade point average during her freshman year at Miami, with a dual major in nursing and business. She has networked with many of IDA’s global partners and traveled to Great Britain to meet representatives of the British Dyslexia Association. She’s met personally with U.S. congressmen, senators and governors to promote dyslexia awareness and legislation. In October, Jessica spoke at Ohio’s first Dyslexia Awareness Rally at the State Capitol in Columbus. She is a key dyslexia consultant and spokesperson for Kurzweil Technologies, helping the company design computer software to assist struggling readers. Jessica is an ambassador for the American Heart Association’s Go Red for Women and the Young at Heart Movement. Through the U Give Foundation, Jessica was in charge of designing relevant community service projects for high school students. She has formed her own non-profit organization and has raised $20,000 for computer assistive technology for use by dyslexic students at the University of Cincinnati.
Jessica has never let her dyslexia stand in the way of setting and achieving her goals. She has always been willing to give the extra effort it takes to achieve success. What an outstanding young woman! OVB was extremely honored to nominate Jessica for the Remy Johnston Award. Jessica’s proud parents, Brian and Dawn Byington, her brother and her grandmother, Penny Dixon joined her in Disney World for the presentation of the award.
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