Essential Tech: Favorites for Work/Life [Premium]

Essential Tech: Favorites for Work/Life [Premium]

by | Jul 11, 2021 | , , , , , ,

Every year technology gets better and better and it’s clear that finally it’s catching up with dyslexic minds.   Major technology companies have finally responded to calls to optimize their text-to-speech, speech-to-text, and spell and grammar checkers to the dyslexic community. If you tried and then gave up on technology in the past, now is the time to check again.     VIRTUAL ASSISTANTS Phones, tablets, laptops, and smart watches all have virtual assistants.   Siri will send and read texts, set alarms and timers, make calls / start facetime, set reminders and check calendar, do translations and conversion, solve math equations, navigate on apple maps, search and create notes, play voicemails, check the weather, find files on the Mac, check stocks, even fill out […]

To access this post, you must be a Premium supporter.

read more
Dyslexic Talents in STEM: Chemistry [Premium]

Dyslexic Talents in STEM: Chemistry [Premium]

by | Jul 11, 2021 | , , , , , , , , , , ,

“Through most of high school, I hated math and science. It wasn’t until my senior year when I took AP statistics and AP chemistry that I discovered that I enjoyed solving challenging analytical problems. After I graduate in May, I plan to pursue a graduate degree in Electrical Engineering.” – Leah Harper   Although chemistry may present dyslexic students with challenges, once the initial difficulty of notation and the periodic chart are mastered, the spatial and analytical aspects of chemistry can become life-long endeavors. In a video (that’s now unavailable on YouTube), Dr. Blake Charlton talked about how he discovered the narrative intelligence associated with dyslexia and how he used it to help him learn the periodic chart. Instead of memorizing columns of elements by […]

To access this post, you must be a Premium supporter.

read more
Managing Information with Concept Maps [Premium]

Managing Information with Concept Maps [Premium]

by | Jul 11, 2021 | , , , , , , , , , , ,

Although many people may use the terms “concept map” and “mind map” interchangeably, mind maps tend to be simpler, relating information to a central topic, whereas concept maps seek to cover more complex subjects, relating different parts to each other. Concept maps can be used to simplify material because different information can be grouped together and in the making of the map it can be easier to see how new knowledge builds on old. The process of making a concept map also transforms learning into an active process and students who are strong personal and experiential learners may remember the process better than reading through notes again and again. For students who say that they get lost in class, doing a concept map can help […]

To access this post, you must be a Premium supporter.

read more
Hands-on Math and Games with Ronit Bird [Premium]

Hands-on Math and Games with Ronit Bird [Premium]

by | Jul 11, 2021 | , , , , , , , ,

Recently, I discovered the math activities of Ronit Bird.   Ronit Bird is the author of several books about Dyscalculia. She has helpful tips for parents and teachers about concrete manipulatives and building up a sense of number through activities more than worksheets. I confess, I wish I had had this more when I was a kid. The tricky thing about math and activities even if you’re home schooling or home-enriching is that students who are weak in an area will often not want to do it, even if it’s something that would be beneficial for them to do. In our family, we had one child who was very, very good at all types of speed-based computer games, and another who was decidedly not good […]

To access this post, you must be a Premium supporter.

read more
Cognitive Overload [Premium]

Cognitive Overload [Premium]

by | Jul 4, 2021 | , , , , , ,

Here is a nice overview of cognitive load theory – the only downside is due to some ads, but that’s YouTube for you.   Everyone is susceptible to cognitive overload, but overload increases with stress (pandemic anyone?), younger age, and dyslexia. Some people have small working memory capacities which may make them more prone to cognitive overload. As a group, dyslexics tend to be more susceptible to cognitive overload, meaning that they are more dependent on how information is taught.     If you’re dyslexic yourself, it’s good to periodically do a productivity check. If you’re a college student, chances are you already know what it means to have memory overload. Students can prepare for tough subjects by reviewing in advance (finding a relevant video […]

To access this post, you must be a Premium supporter.

read more
Tech Executive Justin Johnson [Premium]

Tech Executive Justin Johnson [Premium]

by | Jul 4, 2021 | , , , , , ,

“One of the things I love about startups is I get to engage the strategic thinking part of my brain across a broad set of things…”   John Edgar introduced me to Justin from Macrometa and he shared his career and dyslexia story with me: “What I do now is, I work in a very early stage startup. So I do a lot of different things. Part of it’s visual, I manage user experience. With UX UI, or Developer Console, our company is kind of like cloud computing, like Amazon Web Services. We just have a little different play on it, where we do a lot of similar things to what Amazon does, we just do it all distributed across multiple locations, and we manage […]

To access this post, you must be a Premium supporter.

read more
Why Many Dyslexics Thrive in Technology [Premium]

Why Many Dyslexics Thrive in Technology [Premium]

by | Jun 27, 2021 | , , , , , ,

In every year that we’ve had our college scholarships program, technology majors have been among the winners. Dyslexic innovators are also often tech innovators themselves or innovators at the boundaries of technology and people. But why is this?   There are many reasons, but certainly one central reason is that technology is a particularly adept at compensating for the greatest challenges that dyslexics face, while requiring the strengths that creative human problem solvers bring. The net result is a dyslexic innovator who can solve real human needs, while recognizing how they must leverage their own strengths. Thomas G. West, author of In the Mind’s Eye: Creative Visual Thinkers, Gifted Dyslexics, and the Rise of Technology, has lamented the fact that much of the education today […]

To access this post, you must be a Premium supporter.

read more
Starting from the Positive Side of Dyslexia [Premium]

Starting from the Positive Side of Dyslexia [Premium]

by | Jun 20, 2021 | , , , , , , , ,

Last week I had a chance to talk with Aillie McKeever of the Schwab Learning Center at Stanford. In 2019, before COVID pandemic had fully taken hold here in the US, Stanford’s Schwab Center had decided to prioritize strengths in their approach to each and every student. They announced a “paradigm shift” to a strength’s based model of education. Every student would have a folder with a strengths section included in their assessment. Neurolearning shared its MIND Strengths Questionnaire with the center to examine the impact on students there. From Aillie: “In 2019, the MIND Strengths questions were included in this interview for every new student. Doing this seems to amplify students’ recognition of their strengths. As Learning Specialists leading the interviews, we noticed that […]

To access this post, you must be a Premium supporter.

read more
The Double Whammy: Dyscalculia and Dysgraphia [Premium]

The Double Whammy: Dyscalculia and Dysgraphia [Premium]

by | Jun 20, 2021 | , , , , , , , ,

What happens when a student has both dyscalculia and dysgraphia? Be prepared for an educational path that has a timing of its own. Dysgraphia often accompanies dyslexia, but dyscalculia too. If you or your student has two or three out of these 3 “d’s” be prepared for a challenging course and a need for individualization for many years. The most typical presentation for dyscalculia relates to students who have trouble mastering the sequence of numbers and recall of basic math facts. When dysgraphia gets added to the mix, you can imagine how it may swamp working memory, causing students to lose track when they work through math problems. In a very real sense having both dyscalculia and dysgraphia also robs students of being able to […]

To access this post, you must be a Premium supporter.

read more

LEARN MORE AS A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER

Dyslexia and Gifted: Course for Psychologists

Dyslexia for Teachers Course

Categories

SPONSORS

    Discover Your Dyslexic MIND Strengths
                                    Free

 

 

 


Amazon Affiliate Notice

Dyslexic Advantage is an Amazon Affiliate. If you click on a link that takes you to the Amazon store, Dyslexic Advantage may earn money on qualifying purchases. Clicking HERE to enter Amazon and making a purchase may support Dyslexic Advantage. Thank you!

LEARN MORE AS A PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER

Dyslexia | Dyslexic Advantage