Posted in Education Issues and Ideas, Personal Stories on Jun 25th, 2014 No Comments »
“Dr. Collin Diedrich has a Ph.D in Molecular Virology and Microbiology from the University of Pittsburgh. He is currently a 2nd year postdoctoral fellow at the University of Cape Town in South Africa. His research focuses on how HIV increases individuals susceptibility to tuberculosis. Collin has aspirations to become an advocate for people with learning [...]
Posted in Education Issues and Ideas, Learning Disabilities and Mental Health, Personal Stories on Aug 21st, 2013 No Comments »
Recently, the National Center for Learning Disabilities website published an interview with new high school freshman, Jack. NCLD interviews Jack, who is dyslexic, as a real success story. And while that’s true, there’s a story and history to Jack becoming so well-spoken and such a good self-advocate. I was Jack’s literacy specialist during his 3rd [...]
Posted in Discussion Topics, Learning Disabilities and Mental Health, Personal Stories on Jul 29th, 2013 2 Comments »
A few weeks ago my mom passed away and I haven’t felt much like writing or blogging. However that’s changed now. I want to connect the dots from something she emphasized to me a while back, and the whole idea of thinking it’s a good idea to cart out images and stories of celebrities who [...]
Posted in Discussion Topics, Personal Stories on Jan 16th, 2013 14 Comments »
In response to an earlier post and video by Dr. Russell Barkley called ADHD is Not a Gift, Katarina, a mother of a teenaged son with dyslexia, sent in a comment that I thought was so good I asked her permission to put it here (below) as a separate post . …If it is, what’s [...]
Posted in Learning Disabilities and Mental Health, News, Personal Stories on Dec 11th, 2012 No Comments »
Over the years, an increasing amount of attention has been given to celebrities and successful people in general who happen to have dyslexia and/or other learning disabilities. This is a good thing. I do it myself. So do other excellent sites such as the Yale Center of Dyslexia and Creativity. Young (and older) people who [...]
Posted in Education Issues and Ideas, LD Support Sites, News, Personal Stories on Sep 29th, 2012 8 Comments »
Quinn Bradlee, a fascinating young man and worthy of interest in and of himself, interviewed filmmaker and director Steven Spielberg about learning disabilities, dyslexia, teasing, and the ways to cope. Watch the video here. It turns out that Mr. Speilberg was diagnosed with his lifelong dyslexia about five years ago. In spite of being one [...]
Posted in Books and Videos, Discussion Topics, Learning Disabilities and Mental Health, Personal Stories on Aug 13th, 2012 No Comments »
Posted in Education Issues and Ideas, LD Support Professionals, Learning Disabilities and Mental Health, Personal Stories on Jul 12th, 2012 7 Comments »
Today, I was part of the beautiful impact a diagnosis of dyslexia can have for a young teenage girl. It doesn’t always work out this well. But today it did. Going into high school next year, this teenage girl’s parents sought my help in pouring through a big pile of school documents, language evaluations, IEPs [...]
Posted in Books and Videos, Personal Stories on Jul 10th, 2012 No Comments »
Luis Macias is the father of Alejandro. Alejandro, now nine years old, struggled in school due to his undiagnosed dyslexia. After finally getting the correct diagnosis of dyslexia, Alejandro and his family are changed for the better. Luis is producing a documentary film called “Embracing Dyslexia.” I believe that a majority of people do not [...]
Posted in News, Personal Stories on Jun 4th, 2012 2 Comments »
Nice images on wood. He says in effect, that he never thought of having art and printmaking as a future career, it was just “…something I always did.” Dyslexia got in his way, but not impossibly so. [via Dyslexia Help]
Posted in LD Support Organizations, Learning Disabilities and Mental Health, Personal Stories on Apr 6th, 2012 No Comments »
I’ve been writing a speaking around the country on the connection between LD and mental health issues. With upwards of 60% of kids in treatment centers having learning disabilities, the consequences are devastating. While it’s great for kids to have positive role models and public awareness is brightened by our attention on celebrities who’ve “overcome” [...]
Posted in LD Support Organizations, LD Support Sites, News, Personal Stories on Feb 2nd, 2012 No Comments »
. A Dyslexic Wonder This is about Jennifer Smith, a finalist in 2010 for an Ann and Allegra Ford Scholarship, and her story of growth and pain. Terribly and typically teased, she persevered through language training and to the growth of her self-confidence. She enters college in the fall, speaks to students about dyslexia, has [...]