Label

Don M. Winn

DonWinn.com
Educational Keynote Speaker, Award-winning Author, and Dyslexia Advocate
round-rock, texas, united-states
advocacy, author, blogger, speaker
advocacy, literacy
dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyslexia, dyspraxia

Summary

A dyslexia advocate and educational keynote speaker with a lifetime of experience living with dyslexia, Don M. Winn is the award-winning author of the nonfiction book for parents and educators, Raising a Child with Dyslexia: What Every Parent Needs to Know. Don has written thirteen picture books and the Sir Kaye the Boy Knight series—an award-winning four-book series of chapter books for independent readers, which includes The Knighting of Sir Kaye, The Lost Castle Treasure, Legend of the Forest Beast, and The Eldridge Conspiracy. The books include many topics for parents and kids to talk about—including how a character named Reggie struggles with dyslexia but learns that he is a talented person of great value.

Don has published articles about dyslexia and reading in the Costco Connection Magazine, TODAY Parenting, MD Monthly, Latin Times, Fostering Families Today, and many others.

 

ACHIEVEMENTS
  • From a severely dyslexic, dyscalculic, dysgraphic, and dyspraxic child to eventually becoming a successful book publisher, award-winning author, blogger, keynote speaker, and dyslexia advocate.

Qualifications

Education

  • 1978 Durham's Business College: Business, accounting, computer programming
  • 1980 Bryan Institute: Computer Programming/accounting

Certifications

  • 2004 Certified ASP Developer
  • 2004 Certified HTML Developer
  • 2013 St. Edwards University: ITIL Foundation in IT Service Management
  • PEOPLECERT: ITIL Foundation Certification in IT Service Management

Training & Professional Development

Don has completed 35 advanced training courses in computer science, neuroscience, communication, project management, and facilitation.

Professional Memberships/ Associations

  • Member: Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA)  2017--Present

Awards & Honors

  • 2020 Top Shelf Book Awards Finalist: Raising a Child with Dyslexia
  • 2020 Readers’ Favorite Silver Book Award Winner: Raising a Child with Dyslexia
  • 2020 Eric Hoffer Book Award Honorable Mention: Raising a Child with Dyslexia
  • 2019 Wishing Shelf Book Award Finalist: Raising a Child with Dyslexia
  • 2019 NYC Big Book Award Winner: Raising a Child with Dyslexia (Parenting & Family)
  • 2019 NYC Big Book Award Distinguish Favorite: There’s a Monkey in My Backpack! (Children’s-Motivational)
  • 2018 Wishing Shelf Book Awards Finalist: The Lost Treasure of Zandor
  • 2018 Wishing Shelf Book Awards Finalist: Failing Students or Failing Schools
  • 2018 Wishing Shelf Book Awards Finalist: The Lost Treasure of Zandor
  • 2018 Wishing Shelf Book Awards Finalist: Failing Students or Failing Schools?
  • 2017 UK Wishing Shelf Book Awards Silver Medal Winner: GARG’s Secret Mission
  • 2017 Bloggers Choice Award Second Place: The Eldridge Conspiracy
  • 2017 Royal Dragonfly Book Awards First Place Win for Best Series: Sir Kaye series
  • 2017 Readers’ Favorite Book Award Bronze Medal: The Eldridge Conspiracy
  • 2016 UK Wishing Shelf Book Awards Finalist: Legend of the Forest Beast
  • 2016 Silver Moonbeam Children’s Book Award: Legend of the Forest Beast
  • 2015 Foreword Reviews IndieFab Book Awards Finalist: The Lost Castle Treasure
  • 2015 Readers’ Favorite International Book Award Finalist: The Lost Castle Treasure
  • 2014 Wishing Shelf Book Awards Finalist: The Lost Castle Treasure
  • 2015 UK Wishing Shelf Book Awards Gold Medal: Space Cop Zack
  • 2015 Family Review Center Book Awards: Superhero (Gold and Best of the Year Award):
  • 2014 Voyager Marble Award: The Knighting of Sir Kaye
  • 2013 The Wishing Shelf Silver Book Award (UK): The Knighting of Sir Kaye
  • 2013 First Place Royal Dragonfly Book Award: The Knighting of Sir Kaye
  • 2013 IndieReader Discovery Award: The Knighting of Sir Kaye
  • 2013 Silver Moonbeam Children’s Book Award: The Knighting of Sir Kaye

Professional Experience

Author, Keynote Speaker, Publisher | Cardboard Box Adventures Publishing | June 2009 - Present · 13+ years

Manager, Facility Applications, Enterprise IT | Texas Health and Human Services Commission | Jan 1991 - Dec 2015 · 25 years (retired)

Independent Contractor/Other (1980-1989)

  • IBM Corporation (Industrial Engineering)
  • City of Kerrville
  • Sid Peterson Memorial Hospital

Credits

Books

Chapter Books:

  • The Knighting of Sir Kaye (9/2012)
  • The Lost Castle Treasure (11/2014)
  • Legend of the Forest Beast (7/2016)
  • The Eldridge Conspiracy (6/2017)
  • The Mystery of the White Knight (1/2018)
  • Study Guide for the Sir Kaye the Boy Knight Series (3/2017)
  • Raising a Child with Dyslexia: What Every Parent Needs to Know (10/2019)
  • Raising a Child with Dyslexia: What Every Parent Needs to Know 2nd Ed. (9/2021)

Picture Books

  • There's a Monkey in My Backpack! (9/2019)
  • The Don M. Winn Cardboard Box Adventures Picture Book Collection Vol One (3/2015)
  • The Don M. Winn Cardboard Box Adventures Picture Book Collection Vol Two (5/2015)
  • Twitch the Squirrel and the Forbidden Bridge (1/2012)
  • The Higgledy-Piggledy Pigeon (2011)
  • The Tortoise and the Hairpiece (6/2009)
  • Shelby the Cat (5/2010)
  • Superhero: Everyone Needs a Hero (3/2010)
  • The Incredible Martin O'Shea (12/2009)
  • Chipper the Clown (10/2011)
  • Chipper and the Unicycle (6/2011)
  • The Watch Cat (3/2011)
  • Space Cop Zack, Protector of the Galaxy (7/2013)
  • Space Cop Zack: GARGs Secret Mission (1/2018)
  • Space Cop Zack: The Lost Treasure of Zandor (8/2018)

Book Chapters

Raising a Child with Dyslexia: What Every Parent Needs to Know, Cardboard Box Adventures Publishing 2nd Edition, (9/2021)

Chapters

  • Foreword
  • Introduction
  • 1 What Every Parent Needs to Know about Dyslexia
  • 2 Having Your Child Evaluated
  • 3 Identifying Your Child’s Learning Style
  • 4 Parents Are the First Teachers
  • 5 How to Raise Readers
  • 6 The Far-Reaching Effects of Early Vocabulary Enrichment
  • 7 Taking Full Advantage of Children’s Brain Malleability
  • 8 Why Ask Questions?
  • 9 Social and Emotional Learning
  • 10 Self-Esteem: Finding the Right Balance
  • 11 Self-Concept
  • 12 Decoding Behavioral Symptoms
  • 13 Self-Compassion
  • 14 Perseverance and Passion
  • 15 Developing a Strong Work Ethic and Patience
  • 16 Seeing Yourself in Your Child’s Struggle
  • 17 Explicit Multisensory Reading Instruction
  • 18 Understanding the School Lingo
  • 19 When Your Child Is Also Gifted
  • 20 Working with Your Child’s Teacher
  • 21 Advocating for Your Child
  • 22 Getting a Late Start with Intervention
  • 23 When It’s as Good as It Gets
  • About the Author
  • Bibliography
  • Index

Papers, Workshops & Webinars Presented

Keynote Speaker:

  • Central Texas Dyslexia Conference (2019):
  • Dyslexia: Embracing the Process of Discover and Your Child's Path to Success

 

  • Hays CISD Dyslexia Conference (2020):
  • Raising a Child with Dyslexia

 

Other Professional Presentations:

  • Emotionally Supporting Your Dyslexic Student During Virtual Learning (2020)
  • Getting Diagnosed as Dyslexic as an Adult (2021)
  • Texas ALTA Summit (Academic Language Therapy Association) (2022)
  • From Shame to Possibility: The Dyslexia Equation
  • Yes You Can! The Path to Success (2022)
  • And more...

 

Parents and Educators (2012-present):

  • Discuss, Understand, Grow!
  • Dyslexic Readers: Meeting Challenges, Reaping Rewards
  • And more…

 

School Presentations (2010-2018):

  • Sir Kaye the Boy Knight Medieval History Presentation
  • Bringing Great Stories to Life--How to be and author
  • How To Write and Animal Fable
  • How a Book is Made
  • And more...

 

Webinars:

  • Creativity: A Doorway to Finding a Dyslexic Child's Potential (2022)
  • And more to come…

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