Posted in Discussion Topics, Personal Stories, Social Issues and Ideas on Feb 1st, 2018 No Comments »
Working with kids is about the best thing I could ever do and I’ve been lucky to do just that for my whole work life. Starting out working with kids in Australia, I began to see that children and teenagers were pretty much the same no matter where. Now that we’re living in Cuenca Ecuador […]
Posted in Education Issues and Ideas, Personal Stories, Reading, Writing, and Math on Jan 24th, 2018 No Comments »
I’ve been working in the field of literacy and learning differences for a long time. And over the course of these years I became so good at helping students improve their weaknesses that it took a while for me to remember that for most people, success and happiness in life comes from developing strengths. Here’s […]
Posted in Discussion Topics, Education Issues and Ideas, Learning Disabilities and Mental Health, Personal Stories, Social Issues and Ideas on Dec 28th, 2017 No Comments »
This is a post from a few year back that remains highly relevant, so I thought I’d repost: Teenagers and young adults with Asperger’s Syndrome or with High Functioning Autism need some targeted and extra help understanding and negotiating romantic and sexual relationships. Moving from Social Skills or Social Thinking/Cognition curriculums to dating, sex, love, […]
Posted in Discussion Topics, News, Personal Stories on Dec 7th, 2017 No Comments »
Sitting at a desk alongside two of his grandchildren, Kimani Maruge first attended school in 2004 at the age of 84. Great examples of older people living joyfully and with purpose. In this article from Positive.News featuring ballet dancing, athletics, art, and going to […]
Posted in Discussion Topics, Learning Disabilities and Mental Health, Personal Stories on Dec 6th, 2017 No Comments »
Lost in My Mind This article (link above) hit home, and is one of the best and most honest accounts of the reality that many kids, teens, and adults with dyslexia face. Even a successful athlete, reaching the pinnacle of his sport (a Stanley Cup winner) Brent Sobel wasn’t immune from feeling “not good enough” […]
Posted in Discussion Topics, Personal Stories on Dec 3rd, 2017 2 Comments »
Feeling and knowing something experientially is different than hearing about it or only understanding it intellectually. You could be super bright and intelligent, but when your reading is marked by slow and inefficient decoding of single words, its hard to comprehend what you’re reading. Makes sense, right? It’s […]
Posted in News, Personal Stories on Dec 2nd, 2017 No Comments »
Nike Runner and Chief Designer on his sense of dyslexia and design. Nike designer says dyslexia is a gift YOU HAVE A LOT OF LOOSE BITS OF PAPER AND SKETCHES IN THIS OFFICE. WHAT DO YOU LIKE TO DRAW? Sneakers, body sketches, architectural retail spaces. I’m dyslexic, so my first real language was drawing. I […]
Posted in Colleges, Discussion Topics, News, Personal Stories on Dec 1st, 2017 No Comments »
From NPR Series “Been There” Adjusting to college campus life can be particularly challenging when you struggle with the mechanics of social life because of underlying social thinking challenges endemic to students on the Autism Spectrum. Life On Campus When You’re On The Autism Spectrum
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 […]