"I like to tell people I started the company in fifth grade. That's a lie. But, I was diagnosed with a bunch of learning disabilities as a kid and I really struggled in school. I had this teacher that totally changed my life, named Miss Whitefield. My parents were...
The Remarkable Maya Hawke
Maya was recently interviewed by Scott Simon for NPR and we loved that she pushed back on the phrase "suffer with dyslexia": "SIMON: I have read that your - that you suffer from dyslexia. HAWKE: I wouldn't say suffer. I would say it is, like, one of the great...
Tips From Hannah: College Junior with a 4.0 [Premium]
KNOW YOUR STRENGTHS – SELF-ADVOCATE – Early in group work, let your fellow students know that you’re dyslexic. Say, “I’m dyslexic, so I can’t read or write well, but I’m creative and can come up with ideas.” – Don’t be afraid of asking students to read things for you. You can help more if people read things aloud to you. – Research on RateMyProfessor ahead of time to find teachers that will work with you re: dyslexia. Are there any warning signs? I like choosing professors who like a lot of class participation. ASK FOR SUBSITUTIONS IF YOU NEED THEM When snow days upset the schedule at school, Hannah had to face learning material and putting together an assignment over Thanksgiving break without the help […]
Resilience with Entrepreneur Rob Law
Across the pond, there's an entrepreneur who has a lot of grit and resilience. It might be because he was faced with adversity from day 1, because he was also born with cystic fibrosis and never expected to have a full life span. He is dyslexic, and also faced shaming...
Managing Worry When There’s So Much To Worry About
Every day, it seems as if we are being presented with something new — increased COVID cases, businesses closing, schools maybe opening — as well as having to deal with our new normal: wearing masks, keeping distance, not going...
STEM / STEAM: Dr. Doresa Jennings, Steam Chasers
Dr. Doresa Jennings is the author of an exciting book series that has positive role models for dyslexia and underrepresented minorities, and it's an exciting book with humor and amazing facts. From Doresa's successful Kickstarter: "Middle Grade readers (9-12 year...
Becoming More Resilient [Premium]
In one recent study of gifted students with LDs, the most common characteristic was FRUSTRATION. Gifted dyslexics and dyslexic students in general are more frustrated than lower IQ peers with low reading achievement and it is easy to see why. Despite high intelligence and creativity, they may have little opportunity to showcase their strengths and have trouble with the most basic building blocks of education – reading, writing, and math. Strengths that may potentially help their situation include things such an ability to reflection on oneself (metacognition), ability to problem solving, and strong verbal comprehension skills. 1. Talk to Yourself in the Third Person Talking to yourself by your name instead of saying “I ” or “you” has been shown to have more powerful positive […]
How to Become More Resilient
"Do you conceptualize an event as traumatic, or as an opportunity to learn and grow?..." Resilience is a topic that's one of our favorites because although people may temperamentally vary in how much they have of it, science shows that it is trainable, it helps people...
USING STRENGTHS TO FOSTER RESILIENCE
Recently we discovered a wonderful table in an article by Angela Shaw in Exceptional Parent. Angela began her article by talking about the daily challenges that dyslexic students face because of the potential for repeated failure in the classroom. One way to battle...
RESILIENCE
Resilience is a popular topic among today's educational leaders, and for good reason. If you grow up with significant academic, social, or socio-economic stress, you're more likely to still grow up as a happy, successful, and adaptive adult if you are resilient. Many...
Never Give Up [PREMIUM]
“Throw your soldiers into positions whence there is no escape, and they will prefer death to flight. If they will face death, there is nothing they may not achieve. Officers and men alike will put forth their uttermost strength.” – Sun Tzu, The Art of War Ancient Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu recognized that extraordinary feats of courage and bravery can happen when it seems as if there is no escape. Battles are not all of the military kind, of course. Recently, real estate mogul Barbara Corcoran shared her experience when she first got contacted for starring on Shark Tank: After she had shared the news with everyone she knew, she got a call that said they had changed their mind and invited another […]
Dyslexia = Grit
A Penn Professor's book is currently winging its way around the Internet: Grit - the Power of Passion and Perseverance - with its talented author Angela Duckworth making the rounds around popular media outlets. With interest, I looked clicked on a link to a popular...