A Mother’s Determination: Wesleyne Whittaker on Advocating for Her Dyslexic Son | Dont Call on Me, The Dyslexia Podcast Ep. 14

[00:00:00] When I see him reading and I see him progressing and I know that he is getting what he needs to get. And last year he took his star for the first time in third grade, this year he took it again. And I was like worried last year, I was like, he's not gonna pass this thing. He's not gonna pass the state test. He passed. He was hired in the school, the district, the state average. And this year, he was like right under exceeds expectations.

[00:00:27] That's awesome.

[00:00:28] Like literally, he scored that well in reading. And again, I really account that to the additional intervention that I've given him. Like it is a whole, you know, I'm a single mom. It's a whole sacrifice and a struggle, but it's helping him get what he needs.

[00:00:45] This is Megan, owner of Dyslexia On Demand.

[00:00:49] And I'm Erin, owner of Advocate to Educate.

[00:00:53] And we are the Dont Call On Me Podcast.

[00:00:55] We are here to talk about dyslexia, to remove the stigma, to hear what families really go through, and to share their stories.

[00:01:04] In both of our businesses and personal experiences on a daily basis, we listen to people telling their stories.

[00:01:12] Many have heartbreak, many have struggle, but most all have a silver lining, even eventually.

[00:01:19] It's all about the stories. The more we share, the more we realize we aren't alone and we are a community.

[00:01:27] No, a tribe standing together.

[00:01:33] Today's episode is sponsored by Advocate to Educate.

[00:01:37] We help parents navigate through the confusing maze of special education in public schools in California.

[00:01:44] We support families starting as early as preschool through 12th grade, creating individual education plans to support the specific needs of your unique and amazing child.

[00:01:55] To learn more, go to our website, advocate2educate.com.

[00:02:01] Today's episode is sponsored by Dyslexia On Demand.

[00:02:05] Dyslexia On Demand uses only the highest trained dyslexia therapists, and it's all one-on-one and individualized to your child's needs.

[00:02:15] The best part is that it doesn't matter where you're located, because it's all virtual.

[00:02:20] Visit us at dyslexiaondemand.com to learn more.

[00:02:25] Thank you guys for joining us today.

[00:02:28] We are so excited to introduce Wesleyan Whitaker.

[00:02:34] Wesleyan.

[00:02:35] Can I say it again?

[00:02:36] Okay.

[00:02:38] This is great for a dyslexia podcast.

[00:02:41] Just so you guys know, I have known her for a while, and I was just telling her that I've always avoided saying her name because I'm so scared to mess it up.

[00:02:53] But I'm going to turn it over to you so you can do just kind of a brief introduction about yourself and how a little bit about how you got there, and then we'll dive a little bit deeper into it.

[00:03:03] Awesome.

[00:03:04] I'm so excited to be here with you guys today.

[00:03:06] My name is Wesleyan Whitaker.

[00:03:08] I am a single mother of two amazing boys, a 15-year-old and a 10-year-old.

[00:03:14] I am also a small business owner where I work with different organizations and help them with their sales strategy as well as sales training.

[00:03:22] Awesome.

[00:03:23] So you are...

[00:03:24] I know that.

[00:03:26] And I knew that from the moment I met you.

[00:03:29] And also, if you are not watching the video, she has this beautiful red lipstick.

[00:03:35] It's like signature.

[00:03:36] And you can tell that she is like a...

[00:03:39] She's a powerhouse.

[00:03:40] All right.

[00:03:41] We're going to start out by our signature lead question.

[00:03:45] And that's just tell us about your journey.

[00:03:47] Like when you learned about dyslexia, how the journey has looked.

[00:03:53] Was it a struggle?

[00:03:54] Did your school give you any support?

[00:03:56] That kind of stuff.

[00:03:58] So my journey actually started way back.

[00:04:02] So when my son, my youngest son, was about 15 months, I was like teaching him his colors.

[00:04:10] And so I would hold up orange and I'll hold up yellow and I'll hold up green.

[00:04:14] Just like three colors.

[00:04:15] And he wouldn't be able to repeat back to me like an orange one when I just showed it to him.

[00:04:21] And I was like, something's not right.

[00:04:24] Because I have an older son.

[00:04:26] And, you know, it wasn't like that.

[00:04:27] I was like, you're all just overreacting.

[00:04:29] You're overreacting.

[00:04:30] It's okay.

[00:04:31] There's nothing wrong.

[00:04:32] Different kids learn at different levels.

[00:04:34] I was like, okay.

[00:04:36] I just, you know, I'll go with the flow.

[00:04:38] So then he starts preschool and he goes to elementary school.

[00:04:41] And it's like, I just, the teachers were like, he's such a good child.

[00:04:44] And he's this and this and that.

[00:04:46] But he's struggling with his sight words or his sounds and all of these things.

[00:04:50] And so when he was about to go to kindergarten, he went to a private school.

[00:04:54] I was like, he's not ready.

[00:04:55] Like, I just can't, I want to hold him back because he's not ready.

[00:04:58] And they were like, okay, fine.

[00:05:00] We can hold him back.

[00:05:01] But they came back to me.

[00:05:02] They said, he's too mature to be in pre-K.

[00:05:04] Like, he's just too mature.

[00:05:06] Right?

[00:05:07] And so I was like, okay, all right, fine.

[00:05:10] Well, I'll just start him.

[00:05:11] And again, he went to kindergarten, like his kindergarten year was COVID.

[00:05:15] So there's complications in there too.

[00:05:18] Yeah.

[00:05:20] How old is your son now?

[00:05:23] 10.

[00:05:24] He's 10.

[00:05:25] Okay.

[00:05:25] Let's just throw the wrench in there for COVID.

[00:05:29] Quite a wrench, right?

[00:05:32] Right?

[00:05:33] Because, and I don't know, you know, what it brought up for you, but when the kids are,

[00:05:39] was he home during COVID and being taught at home?

[00:05:42] And all of a sudden you're seeing things a lot more than you saw when he was in preschool

[00:05:49] and actually going out into the community, right?

[00:05:52] You're actually seeing for yourself, like, wait, what?

[00:05:55] Wait.

[00:05:56] And that aha moment came for a lot of parents during COVID.

[00:06:00] Just throwing that out there.

[00:06:01] A 10.

[00:06:02] Or it was the converse where they were told over and over, oh, but he's a COVID baby

[00:06:07] or she's a COVID baby.

[00:06:08] So just give it a little bit longer because they missed that critical year of instruction.

[00:06:13] And, you know, like literally probably a few weeks before everything shut down for COVID,

[00:06:20] I had a parent teacher conference and then he was in kindergarten and she was telling me

[00:06:25] like how behind he was and like how things just weren't clicking like they needed to click.

[00:06:30] And I was like so broken, right?

[00:06:32] Because I'm like, am I doing something wrong?

[00:06:35] Because again, I have a small business.

[00:06:37] I travel for work.

[00:06:37] I'm like, well, maybe I'm not giving him enough.

[00:06:39] Maybe I'm not doing enough.

[00:06:40] And then the world shut down for COVID and like she would give these things to do.

[00:06:47] And I'm like trying to work and trying to help him.

[00:06:49] And I'm like, oh my goodness, what is happening here?

[00:06:53] Right?

[00:06:53] So he goes to, he was going to private school.

[00:06:56] So he went to first grade in person because they allowed kids to come back.

[00:07:00] And then the same thing that I kept telling his first grade teacher, she was a first year

[00:07:04] teacher also, which is a horse.

[00:07:06] I mean, I had so many, so many wrenches, right?

[00:07:08] Like this is just like a whole disaster.

[00:07:11] So she was a first year teacher.

[00:07:12] And I kept saying, I don't know, there's something not right.

[00:07:15] She's like, but he's reading so well.

[00:07:17] And so now I know what he was doing.

[00:07:20] He would let the partner read first and then he would remember it and read it back.

[00:07:24] Fingers on words, just as it was going.

[00:07:27] And so it was like the third nine weeks of first grade.

[00:07:30] I was like, guys, what we got to do something different.

[00:07:33] Right.

[00:07:33] And so then he goes to second grade and he starts this program, like all about reading

[00:07:39] and we're seeing some changes.

[00:07:42] And through this period, his father never wanted him to get tested because I was very, very

[00:07:48] adamant that we need to get him tested.

[00:07:51] His father said, no, I don't want him to be labeled.

[00:07:55] No, I don't want this.

[00:07:56] I don't want that.

[00:07:56] Let's get private tutoring.

[00:07:58] Let's do this.

[00:07:58] Let's do that.

[00:07:59] So all of these things around us, I'm like, I knew there was something right.

[00:08:04] And I tell people I knew when he was 15 months old that he learned differently.

[00:08:08] But his dad, did he what was his experience in school?

[00:08:13] I'm just curious if there was any connection between him not wanting the labels.

[00:08:18] So he had he struggled a lot when he was in elementary school, learning how to read.

[00:08:23] His mom would take him drive hours to go get tutoring.

[00:08:27] His parents were educators.

[00:08:29] And so his reasoning was that like, no, we can just hire tutors.

[00:08:34] And he was like, we can get private.

[00:08:36] We can get a private testing done.

[00:08:39] And I was like, OK, you go do that.

[00:08:40] You figure that out.

[00:08:41] But it never happened.

[00:08:42] Right.

[00:08:43] And so, again, it was he struggled.

[00:08:47] And because I think because of that struggle, he didn't want him to be labeled.

[00:08:54] Whereas my mom has a background in early childhood education.

[00:08:57] And so she always like she's an advocate for us throughout school.

[00:09:02] If there's something my kids need, I'm going to make sure they get it right.

[00:09:05] I'm going to do what needs to happen.

[00:09:07] I don't care.

[00:09:07] And even through the whole process, she's like the label is it helps.

[00:09:12] People think that this label hurts, but it actually has helped him because it gives him

[00:09:18] a learning environment where he can thrive.

[00:09:20] I agree that label is power.

[00:09:22] And if anything, what it does is it helps your child to have like point to the why.

[00:09:30] Right.

[00:09:31] I'm struggling.

[00:09:32] Right.

[00:09:32] I, you know, but this is why.

[00:09:34] And then we can dig and learn.

[00:09:36] This has nothing to do with my intelligence.

[00:09:39] I am just neurodiverse.

[00:09:41] So, you know, I don't know.

[00:09:43] I know so many parents just don't want that.

[00:09:47] They want to fly under the radar.

[00:09:49] They're so scared of special education, all that kind of stuff.

[00:09:52] And I respect everyone's different viewpoint.

[00:09:55] But as a dyslexia professional, I'm, I just think, why wouldn't you, you know, but that's

[00:10:02] just my experience.

[00:10:03] So.

[00:10:04] And, you know, the moment that I was able to get him tested, I did.

[00:10:09] Um, so when his dad was no longer able to say no, and I was able to do things on my own,

[00:10:16] I like, I immediately got signed up, got him tested.

[00:10:20] I was very fortunate that within like that summer, cause it was kind of towards the end

[00:10:25] of school year.

[00:10:25] And so in the summer he got his testing.

[00:10:27] And so at the beginning of third grade was when he started receiving his services.

[00:10:32] Yeah.

[00:10:33] So, yeah.

[00:10:34] How, how far behind was he at that point?

[00:10:38] Ooh, man, I can say this now, um, and not break down and cry, but when he, when they

[00:10:44] evaluated him, so he was like at the end of the second grade, beginning of third grade,

[00:10:49] he was reading at the third nine weeks of a kindergartner.

[00:10:54] Yeah.

[00:10:54] So he was literally, and I was like, Oh, when he stopped going to school for COVID, right?

[00:10:59] That was kind of how my brain happened.

[00:11:00] I'm like, Oh my God, she's like three years behind.

[00:11:04] And it literally kind of like broke my heart.

[00:11:07] And I'm like, what did I like?

[00:11:09] And again, he literally been going to all kinds of tutoring ever since he was in kindergarten.

[00:11:14] Like he's been every kind of tutor, everything that I could do, every intervention that I

[00:11:18] could possibly do.

[00:11:19] I was trying to give it to him, but it wasn't working because again, his brain works differently.

[00:11:24] And so just reading intervention, it just didn't work because we needed something that helped

[00:11:31] him learn the way that he needs to learn.

[00:11:33] Right.

[00:11:34] The way his brain needs to learn.

[00:11:35] And as a parent, that is just crippling knowing that you're putting him on the bus or you're

[00:11:40] dropping him off every day that he's going to the wolves.

[00:11:45] Right.

[00:11:45] Because if he is reading at a kindergarten level in a third grade classroom or almost a third

[00:11:50] grade classroom, I mean, you just think about like, Oh my gosh, what does that feel like

[00:11:55] every single day to face that?

[00:11:58] Right.

[00:11:59] That's where I'm always like, there's such a difference between like proper dyslexia instruction

[00:12:05] that is crafted a certain way and just getting a tutor.

[00:12:08] Those are like complete, like when your child has dyslexia, they can't go to Sylvan Learning

[00:12:13] Center.

[00:12:14] Right.

[00:12:14] I was going to say that.

[00:12:15] No, I was, I was going to say it, it literally, I cringe when I have parents say to me, well,

[00:12:22] we've been at Kumon and I'm like, yeah, I'm like, Oh, you have, you've been at Kumon.

[00:12:29] Yeah.

[00:12:29] Yeah.

[00:12:29] No, it's almost like they'd rather go to like something that's labeled study hut or something

[00:12:36] like that where, and, and unfortunately they're doing more of the same.

[00:12:40] And, you know, it's even more upsetting to know that like these businesses that are providing

[00:12:45] tutoring that they aren't savvy enough.

[00:12:49] If they are going to be, um, providing tutoring, they need to know about dyslexia and know whether

[00:12:56] or not they can help that those kids are not.

[00:12:59] And unfortunately it's a money thing.

[00:13:01] It's just like, well, we can help them all.

[00:13:03] And this, that, and the other.

[00:13:05] Yeah.

[00:13:06] It's so frustrating.

[00:13:07] I remember like going to like Kumon and Sullivan, like all the name brands, if you will.

[00:13:13] And he was already like, I don't like school.

[00:13:15] And so they're like four or five days a week.

[00:13:18] And we have these work, but I said, Oh no, this is going to hurt me more than it's going

[00:13:22] to help me.

[00:13:22] And so I was like, it's just too much.

[00:13:25] Right.

[00:13:25] Because again, not knowing then what I know now, it was just too much for his brain and

[00:13:29] process.

[00:13:29] It was already a struggle.

[00:13:31] Like it would take us two hours to do two sheets of homework every single night because

[00:13:36] he was just like, he didn't want to do it.

[00:13:39] And he's crying.

[00:13:40] And I'm like feeling, it was just the whole thing.

[00:13:43] It was so hard.

[00:13:44] Completely.

[00:13:45] And as a parent, like prior to that diagnosis too, you're just trying to do your best and

[00:13:50] you don't have all the information too.

[00:13:52] So I understand why people do try to seek out the Sylvans and the Kumons of the world.

[00:13:59] I respect that, but it is just so important for everyone to understand that the dyslexic

[00:14:04] brain learns in a completely different manner.

[00:14:07] So that-

[00:14:09] Wait, I have to add one thing about that.

[00:14:11] I, while yes, I want to be like nice to the other tutoring agencies.

[00:14:17] I'm sorry, but I don't really have any patience for it.

[00:14:22] They are providing educational services to children.

[00:14:25] They need to be responsible for not selling something that does not work.

[00:14:30] It is their responsibility.

[00:14:32] I can't tell you how many clients go to different private schools and the private schools are

[00:14:37] like, oh yeah, they'll do great here.

[00:14:39] It's a smaller ratio.

[00:14:40] And I'm like, I'm sorry.

[00:14:42] It's, this is not a ratio situation.

[00:14:45] It's the way you go about teaching.

[00:14:47] If you are going to be an ethical tutoring company, you need to know what types of children

[00:14:55] you can help.

[00:14:56] It infuriates me because more it's like, then the parents get this sense of hope.

[00:15:04] Like, oh my gosh, yes, we're doing it.

[00:15:09] Oh, and it's a little bit more affordable than private tutoring.

[00:15:12] Cause it's whatever we can buy the bundle and like, okay, finally, I'm going to be able

[00:15:16] to help my kid.

[00:15:17] And then they continue to go through the process.

[00:15:20] And then the Kumans or the whatever's the Sylvans are then say, yeah, you know, he's making

[00:15:27] progress.

[00:15:27] It's slow, but, but a, they're not making the kind of progress that they need to be making.

[00:15:33] And B, again, they're just selling their own service.

[00:15:38] When families come to Megan, your company or myself, and they're like, oh my gosh, it's

[00:15:44] so expensive.

[00:15:45] And I'm thinking in my head, if the other jerks, cause I want to call them jerks that

[00:15:53] you went to and, and actually said to you, we don't, we, we, we can do math, but we,

[00:15:58] you know, we can't service reading for these kids.

[00:16:03] If they would just be freaking honest, then they wouldn't have spent the hundreds and

[00:16:09] thousands of dollars in these places that can't really help them.

[00:16:13] And then it defeats the child.

[00:16:14] And then really getting a kid to want to go back for more intervention after they're like,

[00:16:21] well, I just did this whole thing all summer.

[00:16:23] You know, it's very frustrating to me.

[00:16:26] Okay.

[00:16:26] I'll get off my soapbox.

[00:16:28] No, I was just going to say, that's one of the biggest problems.

[00:16:30] A lot of times too, is that child, right?

[00:16:33] That child just had to sacrifice all of their free time and school is like running a marathon

[00:16:39] for them.

[00:16:40] So then they do that.

[00:16:41] And then they have to like further get penalized because the school isn't teaching them in the

[00:16:46] way that their brain learns.

[00:16:48] And then by the time their parents find somebody who's really highly qualified and PS, what you're

[00:16:54] paying for is you're having to pay that individual who is so highly trained and studied.

[00:17:01] And, you know, they expect a wage that is commensurate with their training and, you know,

[00:17:09] all that kind of stuff.

[00:17:10] But by the time that kid gets to us, they are so defeated.

[00:17:15] They're done.

[00:17:16] Why do I want to start again?

[00:17:17] Right.

[00:17:18] And a child doesn't understand how we have to back up so much.

[00:17:22] Right.

[00:17:22] We have to strip away of those compensation tactics and rebuild bottom up in the way that

[00:17:28] their brain can process and create those neural pathways.

[00:17:31] So, so speaking of, tell us about the school and like in terms of what kind of support you

[00:17:39] got at school and what that journey looks like.

[00:17:43] So we, um, I'll give you kind of like a piece together, uh, things because, so we listened

[00:17:49] to, um, this podcast.

[00:17:52] I had to take my older son to, to Austin to do a program at UT.

[00:17:55] So we spent like 12 hours in the car and going there, coming back, back and forth.

[00:17:59] And so we listened to this podcast, um, called sold a story.

[00:18:02] Yeah.

[00:18:03] And, um, like he was so into it.

[00:18:06] I mean, like, he was like, mommy, you got to pause it when I get out the car.

[00:18:10] Like he was into it.

[00:18:12] So there was a point that I asked him because I heard all of the like students talking about

[00:18:17] how they felt and, you know, how they didn't really, um, like to read out loud.

[00:18:22] And my son said, he was like, I didn't think I had a problem.

[00:18:25] He, he literally said, I, I never knew that I didn't know how to read.

[00:18:30] He literally told me, I never knew I didn't know how to read.

[00:18:32] And to this day, his teachers, literally, literally to this day, he's in, he just finished fourth

[00:18:40] grade and we just had his end of year, um, special education meeting, his ELA teachers,

[00:18:45] um, language arts teacher said he always volunteers to read out loud.

[00:18:48] So he threw out his, he always has tried.

[00:18:52] And I'm just grateful that we live in an environment where like the kids don't make fun of him.

[00:18:56] Like he doesn't have any of the, uh, a lot of what I hear a lot of kids get picked on

[00:19:02] or bullied, like he doesn't have that.

[00:19:03] Right.

[00:19:04] So that's that piece.

[00:19:06] We, he went to public school in third grade.

[00:19:08] So I had him evaluated and, um, he was signed up for special education at the beginning of

[00:19:14] third grade.

[00:19:15] And I said, okay, I'm just gonna, you know, kind of see, I stopped all outside tutoring.

[00:19:19] I was like, I want to see what the school can do.

[00:19:22] His dyslexia specialist, his special education class.

[00:19:25] It was, she was great.

[00:19:27] She was awesome.

[00:19:28] She was amazing.

[00:19:29] His general ed teachers.

[00:19:31] Oh my goodness.

[00:19:32] They were the worst, especially his language arts teacher.

[00:19:37] And literally I can remember sending her an email saying like, okay, here's some issues.

[00:19:42] You're not following his accommodations.

[00:19:44] What's happening here.

[00:19:45] And she was like, I've done everything that I can do.

[00:19:47] What else do you expect me to do?

[00:19:49] I said, I'm sorry.

[00:19:50] At this point, at this point I had CC the principal and the campus compliance officer.

[00:19:54] I was like, I'm sorry, that is unacceptable.

[00:19:56] We're going to have to figure this out.

[00:19:57] Um, and so I had a struggle with her throughout the third grade and in January.

[00:20:02] So like at the midpoint of the year, he had a 49 again, like in those moments of brokenness,

[00:20:09] I was like, what can I do?

[00:20:13] Like, I was like a 49 and what kind?

[00:20:17] Like 49 out of a hundred, like his grade for, yeah, his average grade was a 49.

[00:20:23] And I was like, what is happening?

[00:20:26] Like, but the teacher's done everything.

[00:20:29] He's like, I don't, I've done everything that I can.

[00:20:31] I just, I don't know what else to do.

[00:20:32] Right.

[00:20:33] And so that, that was another breaking point for me.

[00:20:37] And I was like, there's no way that my child is going to not be able to read.

[00:20:42] Right.

[00:20:42] There's no way that I'm going to allow this to continue to happen.

[00:20:46] And so I literally, I blocked out my calendar for a day.

[00:20:49] I said, we're going to figure this out.

[00:20:51] And that's when I did all kinds of research.

[00:20:54] And that's when I found this amazing dyslexia therapy.

[00:20:57] And I was like, I just, I'm going to do it.

[00:21:01] Right.

[00:21:01] Like I, when I spoke to Megan, I'm sorry, this is, I am not endorsing dyslexia on demand for

[00:21:07] anybody who's listening.

[00:21:08] I'm just like, when I tell you that this has literally changed my son and my life, like

[00:21:14] I can't explain how much.

[00:21:16] You can't endorse.

[00:21:17] I can't endorse.

[00:21:19] Okay.

[00:21:19] Okay.

[00:21:19] I can endorse.

[00:21:20] Yeah.

[00:21:20] Yeah.

[00:21:20] So I will, so I, like, I talked to a couple of different people.

[00:21:25] And when I found dyslexia therapy, I was like, oh, this is interesting.

[00:21:30] This isn't just tutoring.

[00:21:31] Right.

[00:21:32] It like was for his emotional and mental.

[00:21:35] And so it was like the whole child's concept in my brain.

[00:21:39] So I was like, okay, I'll try it.

[00:21:41] Right.

[00:21:41] I'll try it.

[00:21:42] And so we started in January of 2023.

[00:21:46] You want me to keep going?

[00:21:47] Cause I can, I can go and talk about this whole journey.

[00:21:49] Okay.

[00:21:50] So we started in January of 2023.

[00:21:52] And I was, I literally was like, okay, I have a little bit of hope now, just a little

[00:21:57] bit of hope.

[00:21:58] And at that point, the, the ELA teacher, the principal, they got her together.

[00:22:05] She started acting like she was an actual teacher.

[00:22:08] And I mean, she, she was like, well, I spoke to somebody in the district.

[00:22:11] And so what we're going to do is we're going to chunk his assignments and I'm going to isolate

[00:22:15] his text and I'm going to give him a paragraph.

[00:22:17] Like, so literally some of the accommodations that he still had today is when he has a reading

[00:22:23] passage, she'll take a paragraph.

[00:22:25] They give the questions that correspond to that paragraph.

[00:22:28] And he just does that at one time.

[00:22:30] Right.

[00:22:30] Right.

[00:22:30] And people ask me like, well, how do you know about these accommodations?

[00:22:34] I said, I sat in the office with the campus compliance officer.

[00:22:37] We went through every single accommodation that he was eligible for.

[00:22:40] And I said, I want that one.

[00:22:41] And I want that one.

[00:22:42] And I want that one.

[00:22:43] Right.

[00:22:43] Like it's that advocacy for your kids and making sure that the teachers are giving them what

[00:22:51] they need.

[00:22:52] Right.

[00:22:52] It's not a crutch.

[00:22:53] It helps them learn better is really what started making things move.

[00:22:58] Right.

[00:22:58] So I'll pause there.

[00:23:00] No.

[00:23:00] And I was going to say, and PS, you can invent accommodations.

[00:23:04] Like it doesn't have to be from that coined list, but I'm glad that you found what worked.

[00:23:12] It's what works for your kid.

[00:23:15] It might not be in a state testing situation, but who cares about that?

[00:23:20] I don't give a, you know what about those state tests, but on a day-to-day basis, what

[00:23:25] makes my child successful?

[00:23:26] What is going to level the playing field?

[00:23:29] So, yeah.

[00:23:30] And, and I was going to say, hearing you talk about this and hearing you, you're, you yourself

[00:23:36] present as a very, like a powerful woman and not all women have that, that they don't have

[00:23:44] that ability to say, you know what?

[00:23:47] I'm willing to be that parent that gets coined as the pushy one, this, that, and the other.

[00:23:56] Um, and that being said, that's not a dead end because there are professionals like myself that

[00:24:03] do that work for the parent.

[00:24:07] And I will say, even hearing what you're saying, like you're going through this list and Megan

[00:24:12] brought up, you can make them up.

[00:24:13] Like the accommodations don't have to come from a list.

[00:24:16] I want to say for the listeners that while parents are going through this process, right?

[00:24:23] It's incredible.

[00:24:25] You listen to sold a story, you get 800 ideas of like, okay, I can Google this, Google that

[00:24:30] there is so much amazing dyslexia information out there in incredible information.

[00:24:38] It is all available on the internet and most of it is available for free.

[00:24:45] I think that parents that don't come from the field of education, a lot of times they don't

[00:24:52] know how to navigate through the sea of information because there is so much and like what, what

[00:24:58] relates potentially to your child in relation to another child with dyslexia that presents totally

[00:25:05] differently.

[00:25:06] So what I will say is I want parents to know that even if you are your own advocate, there

[00:25:12] is always room to consult with a professional advocate that specializes in dyslexia because

[00:25:20] despite what you find on the internet, we have little bits of knowledge that you're never

[00:25:27] going to find on the internet that comes from case after case, after case, after case, seeing

[00:25:34] different profiles.

[00:25:36] And you know, the thing is, you know, and it's just that because the same ELA teacher, um,

[00:25:43] by the end of the school year, because his, when he was evaluated, his reading comprehension

[00:25:48] is in the gifted range and you know, all his, the other things are, you know, that, uh,

[00:25:54] identify him as dyslexic.

[00:25:55] And so when he hears it, he's got it.

[00:25:57] And although she was not supposed to read the long passages to him and just read the questions,

[00:26:06] she said, it's better for him if I read them to him.

[00:26:11] So I pull him out during small group time and I read it for him and read the questions.

[00:26:17] And then it's not so hard for him.

[00:26:20] And what that allowed him to do was it allowed him to use his brain power when he had to use

[00:26:26] it, right?

[00:26:27] Like when he had to do a test, he was able to get through it, right?

[00:26:31] A little bit slower, but he was able to get through it because he didn't have to go through

[00:26:35] the daily motions of having to read these long passages.

[00:26:38] And so again, like you're saying, it's even if you, and for me, I just asked a lot of questions.

[00:26:45] So he had a really, really great dyslexia teacher, um, at his school.

[00:26:50] And she was like, well, Ms. Whitaker, um, you should ask the teacher about this.

[00:26:55] Why don't you ask them about this?

[00:26:57] Ask them to do that.

[00:26:58] And so I would just ask questions.

[00:26:59] I'm like, well, can we do this?

[00:27:01] You can tell me, no, I'm okay with you telling me, no, but you're going to tell me, no,

[00:27:04] I'm not just going to assume it can't be done.

[00:27:07] And I think for people, because I meet people like that work inside schools and they have,

[00:27:13] have, um, accommodations for their kids and they don't know the things that they can get.

[00:27:19] I'm like, why is she doing five pages of homework a day?

[00:27:22] What ask for less homework?

[00:27:23] Like, why is she doing so much?

[00:27:25] It's too much for her.

[00:27:26] She's like, I can ask for that.

[00:27:28] I'm like, yes, you can.

[00:27:29] Right.

[00:27:30] And I, so I think like for us as parents, a lot of times we shy away because we don't

[00:27:35] want the repercussions or we don't want this or that, but like the principal, when she sees

[00:27:40] me walking and she's like, do it.

[00:27:42] I'm like, I'm doing really well.

[00:27:43] Right.

[00:27:44] Because she knows me and she knows that if there's something that's not, my son is not

[00:27:49] getting that I'm going to advocate for him.

[00:27:52] So this year he wasn't last year.

[00:27:55] He was in fourth grade and the situations were flipped.

[00:27:58] He had great general ed teachers.

[00:28:01] And because in specifically in his end of year, uh, meeting, ARD meeting, I don't know

[00:28:06] what ARD stands for, but his end of year meeting, special education meeting.

[00:28:09] I was like, I need some good, I need a great ELA teacher.

[00:28:12] I don't care what you do, but I need you to give me a good teacher.

[00:28:15] Right.

[00:28:16] He got a different dyslexia teacher.

[00:28:19] Yeah.

[00:28:19] And you forgot to ask for a really good dyslexia teacher.

[00:28:22] I was like, because I just assumed, because they only had one last year.

[00:28:26] They were in third grade.

[00:28:27] They had one.

[00:28:28] Right.

[00:28:28] And so they had so many kids identify.

[00:28:30] They brought in another one and he got put with a new one.

[00:28:33] And I was like, this is horrible.

[00:28:36] However, because he was going through dyslexia therapy and he was doing good in his general

[00:28:41] education.

[00:28:42] It was like, I really didn't like, I was fighting the fight and I'm like, I don't have the mental

[00:28:46] capacity to keep fighting this fight because he's getting what he needs.

[00:28:49] Right.

[00:28:49] Right.

[00:28:50] And the problem with the dyslexia teacher, she was probably okay, but there was zero communication.

[00:28:56] Like there was Z I got zero pieces of paperwork or books.

[00:29:00] I like, I don't know what he did all year long.

[00:29:01] It was a whole black box.

[00:29:02] You know what I mean?

[00:29:03] And she was like, well, just reach out to me and I'll tell you.

[00:29:06] Just get home.

[00:29:08] Do I have some job?

[00:29:10] Like, so that was the whole thing.

[00:29:12] That was the whole thing.

[00:29:12] And the principal at his end of your meeting, she was like, I wish you would have told

[00:29:15] me that, and I was like, I did one time I said, she's not responding to my emails.

[00:29:20] And I was like, at a certain point, Ms.

[00:29:22] Roger, I just, I just gave up.

[00:29:24] Like, and she was like, I am so saddened to hear you say that you gave up on one of my

[00:29:29] staff members.

[00:29:31] Like it was even for her.

[00:29:32] It was like, you gave up.

[00:29:34] I said, I gave up because it was too hard.

[00:29:36] And I have too much going on in my life to be running after a teacher.

[00:29:40] Like I just.

[00:29:42] And I wonder, honestly, like, I mean, hearing, hearing you say that that's what she said to

[00:29:47] you, I was like, I'm sorry, this is not your job.

[00:29:51] Like that you're not professionally paid to check in when the teacher starts to, you know,

[00:29:57] fall behind.

[00:29:58] That's no, no, no, no, no.

[00:30:00] And like, is that the kind of principal she is?

[00:30:02] She just sits back and waits until parents complain, which yes, that is that.

[00:30:10] Yeah, no, that that's not, that's not, that's not your job.

[00:30:14] I know.

[00:30:14] And I mean, and that's what I've said.

[00:30:16] I'm like, I, he, like, I could see how well he was doing in his general ed classes, his

[00:30:23] ELA teacher and his math and science teacher.

[00:30:25] They were very responsive to emails.

[00:30:27] If there was a question, if I was like, Hey, like sometimes I would have to say, so he

[00:30:32] got, she marked him wrong on some kind of assignment.

[00:30:34] Like I'm that parent that looks at every single paper that comes home and I'm like, Oh, okay.

[00:30:40] We got this wrong.

[00:30:42] And so I scan it and I say, Hey, why did he get these wrong?

[00:30:44] And she said, Oh, well he spelled them incorrectly.

[00:30:47] And I said, Oh, per his accommodations, he's not supposed to be.

[00:30:50] Yeah.

[00:30:50] I did too.

[00:30:53] Per his accommodations.

[00:30:55] Per his accommodations.

[00:30:56] I do it too.

[00:30:56] Like, and so like, I have to let them know.

[00:31:00] And literally her response was, well, it was, it was a pattern and you know, he got the pattern

[00:31:05] right for these, but not for these.

[00:31:08] So I figured that he was, and I said, Oh, let me, let me just give you some education.

[00:31:13] It is really hard for a dyslexic student to do a vowel replacement.

[00:31:19] Like that is actually a really difficult thing.

[00:31:21] So those are the kinds of battles that I would have with the general ed teacher.

[00:31:24] Right.

[00:31:25] And you know, there's, there's smaller potatoes.

[00:31:26] So I don't have time to run after this sexy teacher to say what is happening again, when

[00:31:32] I see him reading and I see him progressing and I know that he is getting what he needs

[00:31:37] to get.

[00:31:39] And last year he took his star for the first time in third grade this year, he took it

[00:31:43] again.

[00:31:44] And I was like worried last year.

[00:31:46] I was like, he's not going to pass this thing.

[00:31:47] He's not going to pass the state test.

[00:31:49] He passed.

[00:31:50] He was hired in the school, the district, the state average.

[00:31:55] And this year he was like right under exceeds expectations.

[00:31:59] Like literally he scored that well in reading.

[00:32:03] And again, I really account that to the additional intervention that I've given him.

[00:32:09] Like it is a whole, you know, I'm a single mom.

[00:32:12] It's a whole sacrifice and a struggle, but it's helping him get what he needs.

[00:32:16] Totally.

[00:32:17] I always, I mean, it's like braces for the brain is what I always say.

[00:32:20] It's like mentally we all are set up and prepared to pay for braces for our kiddo.

[00:32:26] But then when we get this diagnosis and know that they, that child needs it, it's really

[00:32:32] hard to wrap your head around the expense that comes along with it.

[00:32:36] But it is a life, it's life changing, right?

[00:32:39] We're like equipping the brain differently.

[00:32:42] So yeah.

[00:32:43] And, and you are really fortunate to be in a position where you can even make the struggle

[00:32:48] and we respect this.

[00:32:50] And we know that as advocates and dyslexia professionals and that the pair of the schools

[00:32:56] are the ones who should be having to do it.

[00:32:59] But very unfortunately, you're having to push the boundaries of your budget to set your child

[00:33:05] up for success, but just so happy.

[00:33:09] And, and it ends well.

[00:33:12] Yeah.

[00:33:13] And I mean, another plug to dyslexia on demand.

[00:33:16] And I genuinely can say any client that, um, I have referred to a therapist from Megan's

[00:33:25] team, the, the camaraderie that her therapist provide for the students is, I don't see that

[00:33:32] anywhere else.

[00:33:33] Meaning, I mean, I have a client that's, I don't, I think she's done with therapy now,

[00:33:39] but she was waking up at a high schooler at freaking six o'clock in the morning by herself

[00:33:45] without a parent waking her up to hop on to her sessions with her therapist four days

[00:33:50] a week.

[00:33:51] Yeah.

[00:33:51] Because they, they have a mutual respect for each other and that needs to occur.

[00:33:59] We can't just, it really is that the connection they have with the therapist as well, that

[00:34:04] makes it so meaningful and makes both, they're both committed to each other, which is, is

[00:34:09] a big plus.

[00:34:11] Um, when you have a therapist that your kid respects and knows has your back because that

[00:34:17] doesn't, that's not everywhere you go.

[00:34:19] And we do make that a huge priority because we respect how important it is, but also that

[00:34:25] camaraderie and connection with the parent.

[00:34:27] Like, so that it's this open line of communication so that even sometimes we're giving you the words

[00:34:32] to go to the school with, you know, like, so the process of when I was searching for solutions

[00:34:39] for him, like I reached out to lots of different companies and I talked to a lot of different

[00:34:45] people.

[00:34:46] And so even in that first interaction that I had with Megan, like, I just, I was like, okay,

[00:34:53] first of all, she knows what she's talking about because I, you can tell, I don't, I don't

[00:34:57] do a lot of foolishness, right?

[00:34:58] You know, I cut through, I cut through the riffraff really quickly.

[00:35:00] And so that was the first thing.

[00:35:02] And then we got off the call and I was like, yeah, I think I want to move forward.

[00:35:06] She sent me a list of therapists that we would, um, that she thought would be a good match.

[00:35:11] And so I'm a person of like strong faith.

[00:35:14] And one of the people she sent to me, like at the end of her bio, and she said, she said

[00:35:18] something about God or faith or something.

[00:35:20] I was like, she's the person.

[00:35:21] And so we've been with her for a year and a half.

[00:35:25] And like, sometimes I listen into their sessions and they're talking about football because he

[00:35:28] loves football.

[00:35:29] They're talking about sports.

[00:35:31] And like, I know it's all a part of what goes into this like whole child, you know, thing,

[00:35:37] because if he just sat in front of a computer for an hour, which is what he was doing before

[00:35:42] going to tutoring, right?

[00:35:43] Just read books, read books, read books.

[00:35:45] That wouldn't captivate him.

[00:35:47] And he's definitely not.

[00:35:50] I love reading, right?

[00:35:51] Definitely not there, right?

[00:35:54] But he doesn't like fight me to go to the sessions.

[00:35:59] Like it would be a fight to get him to go to tutoring.

[00:36:02] And a couple of weeks ago, because this summer, um, I'm trying to get him to not, I don't need

[00:36:07] him to love reading.

[00:36:08] I just want him to like it.

[00:36:09] Like, I just don't want you to hate it anymore.

[00:36:11] And so I have him doing 20 minutes of reading every single day.

[00:36:15] So we sit down and we read and we got to the end of a chapter and I was like, okay, we

[00:36:19] can stop here.

[00:36:19] And he was like, no, I want to keep going.

[00:36:21] I was like, what is this?

[00:36:25] He wants to keep going?

[00:36:26] What?

[00:36:26] I can't believe it.

[00:36:28] And so it, again, it's like just those, those small gems when you have a child who can now

[00:36:34] come home from school, sit down, do his homework by himself in 20 minutes, be done,

[00:36:40] go play, hop on his dyslexia therapy.

[00:36:43] Because he has an alarm set on his little iPod.

[00:36:46] Like when I see a child that has been able to do that in just 18 months of this intervention,

[00:36:53] when before I was trying so much that was falling down flat.

[00:36:58] Yeah.

[00:36:58] Yay.

[00:36:59] Well, so we're talking so much about him and we don't have to name him, but tell us more

[00:37:07] about like how his strengths and weaknesses, what his dyslexia looks like and what you perceive

[00:37:13] as a parent, you know, what we, maybe not everybody knows, but they tend to be more right brain heavy,

[00:37:20] the left brain.

[00:37:21] So a lot of times that comes with certain qualities and strengths.

[00:37:26] Tell us a little bit more about how you, how you see that dyslexia has impacted him.

[00:37:30] So positively and negatively.

[00:37:34] So on the positive side, I mentioned before his reading comprehension is very, um, it's

[00:37:41] high.

[00:37:41] So he has this really, really great auditory processing.

[00:37:45] Um, so he can listen to a, again, I was telling you about this podcast that he wanted to listen

[00:37:50] to, or he'll overhear a conversation that I'm having with someone.

[00:37:53] He'll say, mom, what does this word mean?

[00:37:56] And then five minutes later, he's using it in a sentence.

[00:37:59] Right.

[00:37:59] So he has really, really great auditory processing and, um, he can, you know, he picks up on concepts

[00:38:06] very, very well.

[00:38:07] His, one of his lowest areas is his memory.

[00:38:11] And so he was like, like in the very, very low part of that.

[00:38:16] And so for me, once I understood that, I'm like, that's why, like, so it's not that he

[00:38:20] doesn't want to pick his plate up after dinner.

[00:38:24] It's just, he just can't.

[00:38:25] Right.

[00:38:26] And so like that repetition of building in, okay, after you get up from the table, pick

[00:38:30] up your plate and take it in.

[00:38:31] Right.

[00:38:32] And even in getting him to remember to floss, brush, mouthwash, like now he can do it, but

[00:38:38] it was like six or nine months of every single night reminding him.

[00:38:42] Right.

[00:38:42] So I had to take those things into account when I'm talking to him or explaining things to

[00:38:49] him, when he's asking me more questions about something that I've already explained

[00:38:53] to him.

[00:38:53] It's because his brain is trying to put the pieces of the puzzle together.

[00:38:56] And if he doesn't understand exactly how things come together, then there's going to be a hole

[00:39:03] for him.

[00:39:03] Mm-hmm.

[00:39:04] It is so helpful.

[00:39:06] I mean, not like we can all take our kids to the neuropsychologist or get a comprehensive

[00:39:12] at school, but when you can see their brain functioning, like their Gs and understand about

[00:39:19] how their brain is built, you could, you give so much more grace to the child.

[00:39:25] Right.

[00:39:25] And I'll tell you, like, as a therapist, it's important.

[00:39:28] We understand that so that we can tweak what we're doing just like you did as a parent.

[00:39:34] But when I know that my kid like has that or like that they process slower or whatever,

[00:39:42] you know, then all of a sudden it's like, no, I'm not a broken record.

[00:39:45] I just have to say that a bunch of times because that's what sets my child up for success.

[00:39:52] Right.

[00:39:52] Or, you know, whatever it is, like give them longer wait time, give them a chance to respond

[00:39:59] to like that kind of thing.

[00:40:01] I want to know a little bit, just like in like a nutshell, how was, how school was for you?

[00:40:07] I'm curious.

[00:40:10] So I'll connect two things with school.

[00:40:13] So my oldest son, 15 year old, he's actually gifted and talented identified.

[00:40:19] So you can imagine having, I tell people I have two kids in special education.

[00:40:23] One is on one inspection and one is on the other.

[00:40:25] And so I was much more like him.

[00:40:27] I wasn't gifted and talented.

[00:40:29] I got everything really quickly.

[00:40:31] I actually, people think I'm weird, but I actually enjoyed homework because it helped me like fortify

[00:40:36] the concept and I would be ready for my test.

[00:40:38] Right.

[00:40:39] And so that's how I was.

[00:40:41] I was always like on top of things.

[00:40:44] I got concepts very quickly.

[00:40:46] I would ask a lot of questions because I needed to make sure I understood like the most important

[00:40:51] thing I was like, Wesley needs to understand once Wesley gets it, I'm good.

[00:40:54] So I always would do that kind of self-advocacy for myself.

[00:40:58] So that's how I was as a child.

[00:40:59] And I'm sure you see, I'm sure you see other qualities in your dyslexic child that you don't

[00:41:06] see in yourself.

[00:41:07] And I think that that has meaning you, we were talking about this yesterday where we were

[00:41:12] talking about how, how this mom said like there's three out of the four are dyslexic in

[00:41:17] their family.

[00:41:18] And my comment back was, I bet it's a party all the time because we tend to be the, I

[00:41:25] don't know, the goofy ones, the class clowns, that sort of thing.

[00:41:28] So I'm curious if in your child, you see that he is more sensitive than your other, your

[00:41:37] other child or intuitive or an old soul, or that there's a different spirit in him than

[00:41:44] your other child.

[00:41:45] The reason why we're asking is because, you know, at the end of this, we want kids to

[00:41:51] listen to this too and realize they are not alone and start to think, what qualities do

[00:41:57] I have when they're down on themselves?

[00:41:59] And they do have that inner voice so that they can think, oh, well, do I, am I like that

[00:42:04] too?

[00:42:05] You know, do I have those other qualities?

[00:42:07] So that's why I'm asking.

[00:42:10] So my younger son is a lot, he's a lot more outgoing.

[00:42:14] He's a lot more extroverted.

[00:42:15] He's willing to try something.

[00:42:18] With my older son, he needs like the facts, he needs the details before he'll do anything.

[00:42:22] And my younger son is like, oh, I'll do that.

[00:42:24] Oh, yeah, I'll try that.

[00:42:25] And even in kind of like going back to that auditory processing, he, anytime we go on any

[00:42:31] trips.

[00:42:31] So like I travel a lot for work.

[00:42:33] So if it's summer or vacation times, I take the boys with me.

[00:42:36] Um, and so we have this thing where we watch Shark Tank.

[00:42:39] That's like the only good thing on a hotel TV.

[00:42:41] So he just found out that literally, right.

[00:42:45] It's like, you watch that wind down.

[00:42:46] He just found out that, um, it's on, I don't know who, who are Netflix all the seasons.

[00:42:51] So he's watching all the Shark Tanks.

[00:42:53] We're at my brother's house for 4th of July.

[00:42:55] And they're talking, he's talking about my brother's literally talking about a new business

[00:43:00] that he started and all of these things.

[00:43:02] And so here comes my son popping up in the background.

[00:43:04] He was like, well, you know, that you don't have a majority stake because you own less

[00:43:10] than 50% of the business.

[00:43:11] Yes.

[00:43:12] And my brother's like, what?

[00:43:14] He was like, yeah, because if you own less than 50% of the business, you don't have an

[00:43:19] ownership stake.

[00:43:20] And so the other shareholders can actually vote you out.

[00:43:24] He's 10, 10.

[00:43:25] And so again, it's like, he hears these things and he can apply them in the right

[00:43:31] situations and he has that confidence within himself to do it.

[00:43:36] Right.

[00:43:36] A lot of 10 year olds wouldn't even like pop into that kind of conversation or even offer

[00:43:40] anything or, but he just was like, well, you know, just very, very confidently.

[00:43:45] So yeah.

[00:43:46] I adore that.

[00:43:48] He'll be an entrepreneur.

[00:43:50] Watch 35% of entrepreneurs are dyslexic.

[00:43:53] I don't know if anybody knows that.

[00:43:54] The average is 10% of our population, but those with dyslexia, it's 35%.

[00:44:02] So it's just that they have that creativity out of the box thinking, all of that kind

[00:44:08] of stuff that lends.

[00:44:09] And look, the other reason is if you struggle to read and write, I need to pay somebody to

[00:44:17] do it for me so I can excel in my strengths.

[00:44:19] I can play to my strengths.

[00:44:21] All right.

[00:44:22] So last question, so we don't keep you to too long, but what advice would you give to

[00:44:29] another parent once they have, you know, just kind of best lessons learned about the journey

[00:44:36] once they receive a diagnosis?

[00:44:38] Hmm.

[00:44:39] I would say that just know that that initial diagnosis that you see when you see all of these

[00:44:46] red areas or low areas on a piece of paper, or when you find out your child's

[00:44:52] two or three grade levels behind in reading and you feel very hopeless, just know that there

[00:44:58] is hope.

[00:44:59] Because so for us with the past, really, I would say 18 months of intensive intervention, this

[00:45:07] school year, he ended reading at the beginning of a fourth grade level.

[00:45:12] So that means he's made great strides about two years.

[00:45:16] He's caught up so much in the past few years.

[00:45:18] And so know that there's hope.

[00:45:21] That's the first thing.

[00:45:22] The second thing that I would say is don't do it alone because it is really, really lonely,

[00:45:27] whether you're a single person or you have a spouse.

[00:45:29] But to feel like I did something to cause my child to be like this, you internalize it and

[00:45:38] you beat yourself up.

[00:45:39] So reach out for some kind of support, whether it's within your local school, it's an advocate,

[00:45:44] it's therapy, it's something, someone who gets it.

[00:45:47] I really think that having somebody who understands how the dyslexic brain works and somebody who I can

[00:45:56] have these conversations with and ask those questions to has really helped me along my

[00:46:01] journey.

[00:46:01] And the last one that I would say is in those moments where, you know, as parents, we just

[00:46:08] get frustrated with our kids, their kids, right?

[00:46:12] Give yourself grace and give your child's grace as you guys are both learning and understanding

[00:46:18] this new diagnosis.

[00:46:19] And again, with like, I know it's this short term memory.

[00:46:23] So I have to remind him and I don't get upset anymore.

[00:46:26] And then when he does something, he's like, mom, I just did X, Y, Z.

[00:46:30] And we celebrate that together.

[00:46:32] So those small wins when they're able to just read a whole instruction for something that

[00:46:38] you guys are putting together, they've never been able to do that before.

[00:46:41] It's celebrate with them because they, those things are what keep them going and what encourage

[00:46:46] them.

[00:46:47] Totally.

[00:46:47] That's really great advice to a lot of parents.

[00:46:50] And that support too, I would say, look, at a minimum, join a Facebook group for parents

[00:46:56] with kids with dyslexia.

[00:46:57] They're people, you're not the first one.

[00:47:00] People have walked this walk already and just kind of use their advice.

[00:47:04] So.

[00:47:05] All right.

[00:47:06] Well, thank you so much for taking the time today, Wesleyan.

[00:47:09] It was really awesome.

[00:47:10] I think that your contribution, I, I, you know, it's like we all tell our stories and then

[00:47:17] somebody identifies with what you're doing or you are that support, right?

[00:47:23] To another parent who's just starting their journey.

[00:47:27] We all have these stories and it's so important that they get told and heard for just more

[00:47:33] awareness and more camaraderie in our, in our, in our community.

[00:47:38] So.

[00:47:39] Well, thank you for having me.

[00:47:40] And I know like, I am not getting paid by dyslexia on demand.

[00:47:44] Anyone listening to this?

[00:47:45] Like, I just love when I tell it's, it is like, it's a game changer.

[00:47:50] It's a game changer.

[00:47:51] It's a game changer, not just my son's life, but also my family's life.

[00:47:55] And so I just, I thank you, Megan, for all that you've done to, to help us.

[00:47:59] And I'm glad that, you know, you're carrying this torch and you've identified these amazing

[00:48:03] therapists throughout the country.

[00:48:05] Because for parents that feel hopeless, you give us hope for people.

[00:48:11] Like, I feel like I have somebody in my court.

[00:48:13] When I get something from school, I can send it to the therapist and they work on it together.

[00:48:17] So it's just, I thank you.

[00:48:19] Thank you.

[00:48:19] I want to thank you.

[00:48:20] Thank you.

[00:48:21] That's fills my cup.

[00:48:22] And that is what we're here for is just to be that, that voice, that support, that all

[00:48:28] that kind of stuff that you guys need.

[00:48:29] So that's it for today's episode of don't call on me.

[00:48:34] If you enjoyed this conversation, share it with someone who might need to hear it.

[00:48:38] We'll be back soon with more real stories and shared strength of living with dyslexia.