What About Audiobooks? Interview with Dyslexia Kit’s Yvonna Graham

What About Audiobooks? Interview with Dyslexia Kit’s Yvonna Graham

by | Oct 2, 2023 | , , , , , , ,

  “Audio books, turned out to be the most powerful tool I had in my toolkit.” – Yvonna Graham, MEd., author Dyslexia Toolkit Despite the widespread availability of text-to-speech and audiobooks, it’s only a small percentage of people who discover and use these tools. Parents and teachers may feel ambivalent about the use of audiobooks, especially if they believe that students need to practice reading, but the downside of withholding audiobooks or assistive technology in general is that they may deny individuals a tool that could really accelerate their reading progress. Recently, I sat down with author and dyslexia tutor Yvonna Graham to learn how she uses audiobooks and how they can accelerate reading progress rather than hamper it. Audiobooks are not a replacement for […]

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The Mind Map in Your Brain [Premium]

The Mind Map in Your Brain [Premium]

by | Jun 17, 2023 | , , , , , , , ,

Among professionals who work with dyslexic students, there have long been recommendations to mind map ideas. In recent basic neuroscience research, there’s been a growing understanding why. Neuroscientists have long studied how knowledge seems to work in the brain with schemas -or patterns that can form a flexible reference base that helps us understand new or existing knowledge or make decisions for how to act. But these schemas have largely been studied in a context of verbal memory – with only more recent insights into “the other schemas.” As it turns out there are a lot of other schemas and processes involving schema-making. They are non-verbal and spatial – and that is where the implications for dyslexic people may come into play. If you are […]

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Question: Advice for Jobs Good for Dyslexic Creatives? [Premium]

Question: Advice for Jobs Good for Dyslexic Creatives? [Premium]

by | Jun 8, 2023 | , , , , , , , ,

Someone recently asked this question because his previous job came to an end and he wanted find a job that better matched his dyslexic strengths. It’s hard to answer that question specifically for any one person because a great deal of variation from person-to person can exist within the strengths associated with dyslexia. INTERESTS AND STRENGTHS That being said, it is a good idea to take stock of your interests and strengths  and to ask people who know you well for their opinions. Sometimes it’s hard to identify your strengths yourself. Are there things you love doing, whether inside your career or out, that give you ‘ “flow” and great satisfaction? If there is more than one activity, can you think of any factors in […]

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What I Know Now About Learning a Foreign Language [Premium]

What I Know Now About Learning a Foreign Language [Premium]

by | May 14, 2023 | , , , , , ,

  When I came across a remarkable article titled, “Dyslexia and Learning a Foreign Language: A Personal Experience,” I knew that I wanted to talk to the author. Charlann had the unique perspective of being both dyslexic and a speech language pathologist. She dodged the college level foreign language requirement by getting a bachelor’s degree in speech and theater and master’s degree in speech language pathology. “I no longer tell the truth about how long I have studied French because people cannot comprehend how I could have studied (for seven years) and…still struggle so severely with spoken and written language. I could not fluently retrieve basic structures or pronunciation patterns to communicate my thoughts in classroom discussions, so I tended to speak in sentence fragments […]

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Dyslexia in Popular Culture… Great or Cringe-Worthy?

Dyslexia in Popular Culture… Great or Cringe-Worthy?

by | May 12, 2023 | , , , , , , ,

With so much dyslexia in creative communities, it’s not surprising that more authors and screenwriters are including dyslexic characters in their works. The strength side is appearing more commonly, but is it great or will it make you cringe? The answer is, probably a little bit of both. First the GREAT – dyslexia has been in entertainment news lately as Kelly Clarkson has been sharing her interest in dyslexia after her 8 year old daughter was found to be dyslexic. In the YouTube clip below, Kelly asks Captain America Anthony Mackie about the latest script for his Avengers movie and he shares how he must log onto a site to read the top secret material. He has to read under the supervision of an intern […]

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Dyslexia and College [Premium]

Dyslexia and College [Premium]

by | May 6, 2023 | , , , ,

It’s becoming increasingly common for dyslexic students to attend college, university and graduate school; some careers require these degrees. IS IT EASIER TO ATTEND COLLEGE? Compared to past decades, it is generally easier for dyslexic students to attend college because more colleges and universities have specifically designated academic support centers and tutors to help manage school loads successfully. Institutions of higher education aren’t allowed to discriminate against students (learn more about ADA regulations here); therefore, teachers and departments try to tread carefully once students disclose their dyslexia and request specific accommodations. That said, there are still wide differences between schools that are well-informed and support their students. See our survey results for the Best and Worst Colleges for Dyslexia     FINDING THE SCHOOL THAT […]

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Qona Rankin from the Royal College of Art: Creative [Premium]

Qona Rankin from the Royal College of Art: Creative [Premium]

by | Apr 4, 2023 | , , , , ,

“…instead of reading perhaps 240 words a minute, the Dyslexic brain may read 150 words a minute, but at the same time, it could be making all sorts of fascinating connections and links through dipping into other processing centers in the brain.” – Qona Rankin   Qona Rankin is dyslexia specialist at the Royal College of Art (RCA), one of the premier institutions for art and design in the world. She is also dyslexic. Qona’s expertise was in three-dimension design, whether furniture, consumer products, or jewelry. After Qona earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees, she began working part-time at a university. A visiting lecturer from another university was a dyslexia support specialist and she told the group that there were likely to be many dyslexic […]

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Schools Missing the Boat on Dyslexia and Math [Premium]

Schools Missing the Boat on Dyslexia and Math [Premium]

by | Mar 4, 2023 | , , , , , ,

Forty-four percent of dyslexic students also meet diagnostic criteria for math disability, according to researchers, but math rarely receives specific designations on students’ individualized education plans. What is the result? Dyslexic students with math disabilities underperform, fail, get held back, and find themselves excluded from certain academic tracks and majors (like science, technology, and engineering). What they really need though are informed teachers and school programs that understand their specific needs and teach them based on their strengths. CHALLENGES AND STRENGTHS IN MATH In a review of 50 consecutive dyslexic students seen in our clinic, the following patterns were seen in their WISCIV IQ and WIAT-III achievement scores. Our practice was unusual because we had many gifted referrals from the Silicon Valley and many students […]

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Embracing the Spiky* Profile [Premium]

Embracing the Spiky* Profile [Premium]

by | Mar 3, 2023 | , , , , , ,

It can be a challenge reconciling dyslexia stories in a publication such as this because the topics may zoom from the highest highs (innovators, explorers, paradigm-shifters) to what seem to be early school frustrations – like spelling homonyms or forming letters correctly – but such is the life of the spiky profile person. That is also why if you look at what seems to be a well-organized program of remediation, and have your student signed up for it, progress may not be as orderly as hoped. A core part of the trouble trying to communicate what dyslexia may look like to those who are unfamiliar is that many existing definitions fall wide of the mark. Dyslexia is better understood as a broad learning difference – […]

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People Power Strengths

People Power Strengths

by | Mar 3, 2023 | , , ,

Over the years, we’ve met many dyslexic adults with people strengths that span the full range of careers. Sometimes people with strong empathy are drawn to jobs that really need the human touch – whether it’s counseling, nursing or other health professions, or in business, user design, employee or customer relations, sales, or management. Now there’s a little trickle of research to suggest why dyslexics may excel in people professions. EMPATHY Empathy has been defined as an ability to understand and feel with the perspective of another person. The understanding and feeling sides are different things – and it’s possible to be better at one than the other.

Cognitive Empathy Understanding other people’s thinking from various perspectives is sometimes referred to as cognitive […]

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