Innehållsförteckning för September 2022 från Dystinct Magazine

Words mean things… choose wisely! This quote from Krista Gauthier’s article published in this issue resonated with me. Every day our children are exposed to words; words that will leave a lasting impact on their impressionable young minds, words that will shape their self-image, and words that will remain their inner talk as they become adults in charge of their own lives. It is our responsibility as parents, educators, and therapists of children to make sure that the words they hear and carry with them into the future are positive words. In my note, I like to write about what I’ve enjoyed while compiling this issue. I loved getting to know Caleb Braswell and his mum Connie Braswell. Connie, an Air Force veteran, changed her career path, went to university…

BILL'S STORY I work with a profoundly dyslexic, 76-year-old man named Bill. This man is my father, and we’ve been on quite a journey together over the last year. He has spent 70 years working nearly every day to become a better reader. Yet, he refused to give up. When we began working together, he struggled to read 4th-grade words. He was absolutely devastated by the news that he’d worked 7 decades to read at the level of a 9-year-old. He cried, and I will openly admit that I didn’t have the heart to re-evaluate him for the next 12 months. For the first 9 months, we used an Orton Gillingham (OG) program called Barton’s Reading and Spelling. We worked together three hours weekly, and he did homework every day.…

Over ten years of job searching, 11 short-term contracts, approximately 135 interviews and being unemployed several times, I've acquired something of a knack for applying to jobs. Through this, I've developed several strategies that I have found helpful, and I hope others will find them useful too: Ask yourself, "What am I best at?" Business graduates will be aware of Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threat Analysis (SWOT Analysis). Do an internal review of yourself to understand what you are best at and the areas you need to improve. It is also likely to indicate industries that you may thrive in or industries to avoid. Create a spreadsheet of companies you'd like to work for. If you want to work in business, download the 1000 top-performing companies in your country. Add…

Spending an hour talking to Subash gave me a new outlook on life. This 19-year-old from Tamil Nadu, India, is wise beyond his years. As the saying goes, "Maturity doesn't come with age; it comes with the acceptance of responsibility." Subash has had to accept a lot of responsibility early in his life. Subash grew up struggling to read and write in a competitive environment where any sort of difference in ability was looked down upon. His late father, a state government medical practitioner, knew right from the beginning that his twins were dyslexic and supported them in every way he could until he passed away during Subash's end-of-school public board exams. Acceptance from the family is only half of the equation where Subash comes from. He felt cornered and…

Illustrator Alessandra Rodas Age 12 Dyslexia Virginia, USA Alessandra lives in Springfield, Virginia. She cares about helping other kids and adults in whatever way she can. That is her drive to one day be a doctor. She enjoys modelling, acting, volleyball, and spending time with family and friends. She believes dyslexia is a superpower that makes her unique and fabulous! Illustrator Amber Brutus Age 10 Dyslexia, Dysgraphia Harrisonburg, Virginia, USA Amber lives in Harrisonburg, VA. She loves playing games, being silly, and going on adventures with her family. One day she would like to visit the country Japan. Amber also loves to draw and enjoys reading books that are graphic novels, mysteries, science fiction, or fantasy/magical realism. She writes and illustrates her own graphic novels. Science is her favorite subject…

When I was a high school English teacher, one of my favorite lessons to teach was "Words Mean Things." I often would get snide comments and sideways glances as students thought I was stating the obvious. The lesson would begin with a list of words on the board, words like friendship, love, conservative and liberal. Students would then look them up in a dictionary, the eye rolls and whispers reaching a crescendo as they felt I was asking them to do something meant for elementary students. I would then say that all of those definitions are denotations - the literal or primary meaning of the word. Then I asked them to take those same words and write down the emotions or thoughts they provoked. Students then took the task more…

Caleb Braswell from Bonaire, Georgia, USA, is a vivacious 10-year-old with an infectious smile, a positive attitude, and many talents. Talking to Caleb, you would hardly guess that this perky kid had a rough start to his life with a traumatic birth where his heart stopped, thereby losing oxygen supply to his brain, and he had to spend the first 14 days of his life in the NICU. When Connie Braswell's third child Caleb was born, his heart stopped beating. She shares that his first three days in the NICU were touch and go. The doctors in charge had to use ice treatment where they laid tiny Caleb on an ice pack to drop his body temperature to stop his brain and body from further damage. As a result of…

Virtual learning remains a common practice even as we transition back to in-person learning. The pandemic changed the way we teach and forced teachers, parents and students to adapt to teaching and learning through technology. Virtual learning remains a common practice even as we transition back to in-person learning. However, parents of students with learning differences still have trepidation around virtual learning. Parents often come to me saying, "My child hates online school. He/she just doesn't do well online." While this may be accurate in some cases, it is important to differentiate how online educational support differs from virtual school learning. Special education instructors and educational therapists found creative ways to engage with students who already struggled. What makes virtual special education instruction different is that we are not trying…

Many learning differences, such as dyslexia/dysgraphia/dyscalculia and ADHD, are highly heritable at a rate of at least 50%. This means that many parents who are watching their kids struggle have themselves struggled in the same way in the past. When they watch their kids struggle, in a way they did as children, parents often reexperience their own history and the feelings that came along with their own academic challenges. This is somewhat complicated by the fact that many parents of kids today grew up in the 1980s, or the 90s, when learning differences were usually not recognized and kids just kind of had to get by. Many parents who are watching their kids struggle have themselves struggled in the same way in the past. When a parent who struggled in…

Having been diagnosed with dyslexia and dyspraxia at an early age, I went through all of school with supports in place. I qualified from college with a degree in marketing and a master's in advertising. I then began my career in advertising before moving to the charity sector and recruitment public sectors in Ireland. In 2016, I began working for ThinkBusiness.ie, which has everything you need to start, run or grow a business in Ireland, and I have been freelancing for them ever since. I specialise in doing case studies on diversity and inclusion in companies that operate in Ireland, particularly in neurodiversity. I have assisted in creating Dell Technologies' Neurodiversity Awareness Training and work as a job coach for autistic people in social enterprises. Dyslexia is estimated to affect…

Radioisotope Power Systems, also known as RPS, provide electricity and heat that help spacecrafts complete scientific missions and objectives. One of the features that inspired me was the spacecraft's ability to endure; dark, dusty, or harsh environments in the Solar System. NASA's goal is to develop more RPS technologies that will help us in the future. My superpower is courage. I think courage is important because it can help me overcome my fears and face challenges. One challenge that I have that takes a lot of courage is learning with dyslexia. When I read, my words look like they are having an earthquake. Just like RPS systems have the ability to function in extreme environments, I am learning that I can function through challenges too. It is important to have…

The 1980s… The early primary school years as I remember them was fun, scary, and exciting. At preschool, hearing a teacher's admiration for a painting of mine sparked a creative light in me at a young age. She noted that my painting was very worldly. We had to paint the outside garden area. I had filled the white page with blue paint and added grass, trees, and sun rays, whereas my schoolmates painted a thin blue line and a yellow sun. Honesty and encouragement are key! As my primary school years went on, I started to love lunchtime. I think schoolwork was already getting to me by then. Running around was my favourite time of the day. By grade two, the first signs of pressure and anxiety at school started…

The humidity that morning in Taipei felt different. Perhaps it was warmer, or I was feeling more anxious as deep in my own head, thinking about what I had to do that day. I was late for my school bus again, but it was because I was up the night before, preparing for this dreaded school presentation that I was so consumed by. So, gritting her teeth with frustration, my mother called us into the car, and we all obeyed. Judging by the speed by which she flew out of our driveway and down the street and around the curves of the mountain road, you would think she was a NASCAR driver in her past life. I knew what was coming. I was supposed to give a final presentation on…