Breaking Barriers: Kenyon Robison's Journey from Dyslexia to Empowering Others | Dont Call on Me, The Dyslexia Podcast Ep. 13

[00:00:00] Dyslexia is not a curse. I used to say, oh, I got this curse type thing. And I've come once again through my years of knowing that if it wasn't for my dyslexia, I wouldn't have all this amazing stuff going on with me. I wouldn't have all this craving for knowledge, even the negative things that happened to me.

[00:00:19] So I would just say that, you know, take your dyslexia and own it and just find the things you're good at and go with it. And the things that you're not good with, just tell that part of your brain, you know what? Sometimes I'm not good at everything. It's okay.

[00:00:36] This is Megan, owner of Dyslexia On Demand.

[00:00:40] And I'm Erin, owner of Advocate to Educate.

[00:00:44] And we are the Dont Call On Me Podcast.

[00:00:46] We are here to talk about dyslexia, to remove the stigma, to hear what families really go through, and to share their stories.

[00:00:55] In both of our businesses and personal experiences on a daily basis, we listen to people telling their stories.

[00:01:03] Many have heartbreak, many have struggle, but most all have a silver lining, even eventually.

[00:01:10] It's all about the stories. The more we share, the more we realize we aren't alone and we are a community.

[00:01:18] Know, a tribe standing together.

[00:01:24] Today's episode is sponsored by Dyslexia On Demand.

[00:01:28] Dyslexia On Demand uses only the highest trained dyslexia therapists, and it's all one-on-one and individualized to your child's needs.

[00:01:37] The best part is that it doesn't matter where you're located, because it's all virtual.

[00:01:43] Visit us at dyslexiaondemand.com to learn more.

[00:01:47] Today's episode is sponsored by Advocate to Educate.

[00:01:50] We help parents navigate through the confusing maze of special education in public schools in California.

[00:01:57] 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.

[00:02:09] To learn more, go to our website, advocate2educate.com.

[00:02:15] All right, good morning, listeners.

[00:02:17] Today we have Kenyon here to share her dyslexia story.

[00:02:22] So Kenyon, can you start by sharing where you live and a little bit about yourself?

[00:02:28] I was born and raised in Richardson, Texas, and I live currently in Irving, Texas.

[00:02:34] I have my husband and my wonderful Black Lab Great Dane puppy that is my whole world, and I am a teacher dyslexia therapist.

[00:02:45] And when I have some free time, I always love helping out with a Great Dane rescue that I volunteer with.

[00:02:54] Amazing.

[00:02:55] I'm so excited to hear what you have to say.

[00:02:57] Let's start off with, tell us how you learned you were dyslexic.

[00:03:03] What was that defining moment?

[00:03:05] Where were you?

[00:03:06] How old were you?

[00:03:07] And share a bit about what you remember at that time of your life.

[00:03:12] Well, it was my mother's story.

[00:03:14] Luckily, my mother has told me everything.

[00:03:15] It definitely started out as my mother's story.

[00:03:17] I am number four of five children.

[00:03:20] Wow.

[00:03:20] And when I came along, number four, she was like, there's something different about her.

[00:03:26] And she couldn't get her finger on it because I was hitting the milestones.

[00:03:29] I was walking at the right time.

[00:03:30] I was talking at the right time.

[00:03:31] But there was just something she knew.

[00:03:34] This one's different.

[00:03:35] It was simple things like she would always say I was very, very quiet.

[00:03:39] I was always a quiet kid.

[00:03:40] I was, I spoke in very simple sentences.

[00:03:44] I didn't know my colors in preschool.

[00:03:48] And that was one thing she kept.

[00:03:49] My mother kept everything.

[00:03:51] And one thing she kept that I saw in all my preschool and kindergarten report cards,

[00:03:55] I didn't know my colors.

[00:03:57] She knew around four years old that she needed to start investigating.

[00:04:01] So she took me to a speech pathologist and had me tested at the school district.

[00:04:06] I got tested and they started working with me with receptive and expressive things.

[00:04:12] And she thought, okay, that's what's going on.

[00:04:15] But she still saw something was going on.

[00:04:17] So once when I got to public school in first grade, she got me tested.

[00:04:21] And I was put in special education at that time.

[00:04:24] But there was no label put on me.

[00:04:26] They just said she's really far behind, even though she's cognitively there.

[00:04:31] And do you remember anything from this time, even if it's just like your relationship to school?

[00:04:38] In first grade, not so much.

[00:04:40] The brain's a funny thing.

[00:04:42] We like to block out things that might not have been the happiest stuff.

[00:04:46] So not until I was about fourth grade did I start having memories of the bullying,

[00:04:53] the being different, having to go to a different class.

[00:04:56] Do you remember specifically, and I'm not trying to trigger trauma, old trauma,

[00:05:02] but do you remember when you say the bullying?

[00:05:06] For those that may be experiencing bullying,

[00:05:09] what type of bullying was going on for you?

[00:05:13] Well, I had the issue since we didn't know what was going on with me until I was in the sixth grade.

[00:05:18] I did not find out I was dyslexic and I'm dysgraphic until the sixth grade when I got an outside diagnosis.

[00:05:26] It was the thing of, you know, the parents that didn't understand, they didn't want their kid to hang out with me because we did,

[00:05:33] they did say it was the dumb disease.

[00:05:36] And so the kid, I do have memories of the kid saying, oh, you'll catch the dumb disease if you hang out with her.

[00:05:42] They just didn't understand.

[00:05:44] And so their parents, whenever it was birthday parties, their parents tend to not invite me.

[00:05:49] They, and I don't, I don't put it anything against them now.

[00:05:52] Looking back, you know, it hurt back then.

[00:05:54] It hurt a lot.

[00:05:55] And you said the voice is definitely going on in my head.

[00:05:58] It hurt a lot growing up.

[00:06:00] But now I look at it, it was just a misunderstanding.

[00:06:02] It was not knowing.

[00:06:04] Well, it also sounds like they didn't know what was going on.

[00:06:08] And so they kind of clumped it into, well, you need to go to the special needs classroom.

[00:06:14] Yet it wasn't understood that really you just needed to learn to read, write and spell differently.

[00:06:21] Which for some reason, and you know, it is very sad that this is the way it is.

[00:06:26] It's almost like we give all this attention these days to, you know, if you're dyslexic, don't worry because you must have a strength.

[00:06:35] And as well, right.

[00:06:37] But think about all the other kids like, or like you that are misidentified.

[00:06:41] They know something's wrong, but not exactly what and how easy it is to put a label on them, generally speaking.

[00:06:49] And that separation between you learning with peers at a cognitive level you are capable of, but not getting that exposure.

[00:07:01] All of our experiences are different in special education based on our age, right?

[00:07:07] And what we had to go through.

[00:07:09] So.

[00:07:11] And our state.

[00:07:12] And our state.

[00:07:12] That's a very, very good point, right?

[00:07:15] But there was a time back when I was a kid when if there was anything wrong where you fell under the special education umbrella, everybody went to that classroom in the portable.

[00:07:27] So I don't know.

[00:07:29] You weren't identified under special education until your sixth grade.

[00:07:33] So, or tell me about that.

[00:07:35] I was in first grade.

[00:07:36] Yeah, I was put into special education in first grade, but it was just, she's really far behind kind of scores.

[00:07:44] They didn't put a label on it.

[00:07:45] It wasn't until the sixth grade that I got the dyslexia dysgraphia and the school did fight that one and said they didn't really want that on me.

[00:07:53] And the main reason is I believe they didn't want to do the adequate services, which they still did not.

[00:07:58] I still did not receive adequate service.

[00:08:00] I did go to the classroom with everybody in it.

[00:08:04] All different needs.

[00:08:05] That's like, it's just.

[00:08:06] Wow.

[00:08:07] That was my case.

[00:08:08] And, you know, I was with people who are much lower cognitive than me.

[00:08:13] I actually was, it was funny because the other day my mother gave me the present of all my paperwork when I moved last year.

[00:08:22] And she's like, this is your gift now.

[00:08:25] And she kept every art, every testing.

[00:08:28] And so I have been slowly going through it to throw away all the like random papers and keep the important stuff.

[00:08:35] I have, you know, a cognitive IQ of 125.

[00:08:39] But you also see my reading ability that to this day, even though I teach reading and spelling and writing, my reading ability is very, the last time I got it done was sometime in high school is much lower than it should be.

[00:08:51] I'm smiling because I, my dad is a clinical psych at a school psych and I've never been tested.

[00:08:59] He just like knew like, yep, that you're dyslexic.

[00:09:04] No question.

[00:09:04] But honestly, I'm kind of, I'm again, jelly that you have the testing.

[00:09:11] That is so cool to be able to go back and look at.

[00:09:14] And as an adult, I did have somebody give me the C-top just for those listeners.

[00:09:20] The C-top is a test that shows precursors to dyslexia and my rapid naming, which is when I look at letters on a page, like how quickly my brain fires.

[00:09:33] Um, to identify those letters.

[00:09:36] I mean, I was in like a 20th percentile or something like that.

[00:09:41] So when I think about, oh yeah, that's why it takes me so long.

[00:09:46] It actually made me feel like justified and going like, oh, okay.

[00:09:51] It's not, it truly is what it is part of my makeup.

[00:09:56] So I don't know, maybe that knowing that's very exciting for you.

[00:10:00] Oh, I was just going to ask as far as, um, your experience from first grade through sixth grade and watching your peers.

[00:10:12] How did that, how, how did you feel?

[00:10:14] Like, were you part of the compare despair club?

[00:10:18] I mean, that was my club that I was in.

[00:10:20] Yes.

[00:10:21] You know, I always, I, I, you know, I love like there's a children's book that the, the main character says she looks at the student next to her and looks above his head and sees how he gets the information.

[00:10:33] And, and I'm like, and that was the same way as I'm like how I'm listening to the same thing that you are, but how are you getting it?

[00:10:39] And I'm not.

[00:10:40] And so, yeah, I've always compared myself to this day, even as a grownup, I am comparing myself.

[00:10:46] I love it because I have to have other adults who understand my past traumas.

[00:10:50] Um, and they have to tell me non-dyslexics have this issue too.

[00:10:54] And I'm like, no, you don't, you don't understand.

[00:10:57] I can't do anything right.

[00:10:59] You know, kind of thing.

[00:11:00] And they're like, you're fine.

[00:11:01] And I have to constantly in my head because I'm that same way.

[00:11:05] Yeah.

[00:11:05] And, and, um, what, if your inner voice had a, like, what's your loop?

[00:11:10] What's your, what's your on repeat that it tells you the negative trauma?

[00:11:16] Um, mine is no matter how hard I try, it's, you're not going to get it.

[00:11:21] So you could keep trying, but it's not going to make a difference.

[00:11:25] Mine is no matter how much you practice, you're still going to mess up and they are going to

[00:11:30] find out that you don't know what you're doing kind of thing.

[00:11:35] And it's, they're going to laugh at you.

[00:11:37] And if they might not laugh at you out loud, they might be laughing at you in your head

[00:11:40] and their heads.

[00:11:41] It's like a dirty secret.

[00:11:43] Yeah.

[00:11:44] And yeah, I've to play that, that plays on loop quite often of, it doesn't matter.

[00:11:50] I could practice my speech or my lesson I'm teaching that day 10,000 times in my head.

[00:11:57] It's like, you're going to mess up.

[00:12:00] Yep.

[00:12:01] It's so sad.

[00:12:02] And I will bring this back to the listeners, especially the little ones that maybe just

[00:12:08] learned they're dyslexic.

[00:12:09] And as adults, we sit here and talk about it, but we empathize with you.

[00:12:16] We understand the feeling that you are experiencing like it was yesterday.

[00:12:22] And just because I'm going to be 42 doesn't mean that that voice doesn't creep up.

[00:12:28] And for parents to acknowledge, this is why I advocate very hard in my private business for

[00:12:37] parents to not only provide intervention, academic intervention, but getting mental health support

[00:12:46] to squash that voice is imperative for true healing.

[00:12:52] Yeah, we can get better at reading.

[00:12:56] And yet the reality is our and Megan, I don't know if you having dyslexia on demand and helping

[00:13:06] all of these individuals and also Kenyan, you providing the support.

[00:13:10] You know, there's a certain expectation when a parent first comes that I have to remind them

[00:13:17] like, yes, we are doing this therapy, but we are not eradicating dyslexia.

[00:13:23] Right.

[00:13:23] I think that's really important for everybody to understand that it's and it's very dependent

[00:13:29] on age.

[00:13:30] Right.

[00:13:30] So if we start really, really young, we actually can bring those standard scores up, you know,

[00:13:37] so close that they may never even recognize the difference.

[00:13:42] And I'm talking early intervention through and then starting therapy like ASAP as soon as

[00:13:48] their brains are ready for it, which is like mid first grade, seven years old.

[00:13:54] But for the most part, like for most kids, you cannot completely close the gap.

[00:13:59] You can make a substantial, substantial difference.

[00:14:02] You know, you can't erase dyslexia, even if we do fix the language processing piece.

[00:14:08] So that is why accommodations are so important, but also why, like you're saying, the mental

[00:14:13] health, because I talk about this also all the time.

[00:14:15] And we also try to get our therapists to to really bridge that and talk about that to help

[00:14:23] them.

[00:14:23] And so therapists like Kenyan are so fabulous because they have that like true empathy.

[00:14:28] But yeah, you can't take it away.

[00:14:31] You can't.

[00:14:31] There's always going to be a looming piece of it that still rears its ugly head.

[00:14:37] Let let's talk about what intervention means early intervention.

[00:14:43] And I think when you just described, you know, being around seven years old, my son is going

[00:14:51] to be seven next month.

[00:14:52] He never learned to read in school because where he goes to school, they're still using

[00:14:58] balance literacy.

[00:14:59] So we started him in intervention when he was around four when we're talking about identifying

[00:15:08] letters because we saw that being a struggle right out the gate when they're just practicing

[00:15:14] to trace their name in preschool.

[00:15:16] So I think what the takeaway here would be that starting it early means identifying it when

[00:15:23] they are toddlers because there are so many signs.

[00:15:27] And really, we have to remember this is a language disorder.

[00:15:31] So we really look in the realm of language.

[00:15:34] How are they speaking?

[00:15:36] How's their receptive language?

[00:15:38] How's their expressive language?

[00:15:39] And just taking note and also being a parent of two myself, seeing the difference between

[00:15:46] other between siblings absolutely can help similar Kenyan to how your mom kind of discovered

[00:15:53] it, because it's like, wait, this isn't what happened with my other children who seem to

[00:15:57] pick up.

[00:15:58] OK, so circling back around, let's talk about your OK, so you were in the sixth grade and

[00:16:06] at that point, tell us what happened from sixth grade through the rest of high school.

[00:16:11] How did you cope?

[00:16:13] What what happened?

[00:16:14] Well, you know, I said the schools were doing the bare minimum.

[00:16:18] You know, I was a product of whole language.

[00:16:21] So definitely no phonics or anything was happening.

[00:16:24] Even when my mother's she had an advocate and was doing all she was supposed to be doing,

[00:16:29] I was still not getting the services I was supposed to get.

[00:16:31] So she took it in her own way.

[00:16:34] And since I am from the Dallas area, we have a wonderful program that trains dyslexia therapists.

[00:16:40] And so she found somebody who is in training and I only went to her twice a week after school.

[00:16:46] So I had to I have to leave my extracurricular.

[00:16:48] I was a I was a cheerleader.

[00:16:50] That was not a long thing, but I was a cheerleader for a year and I had to drop out because I had

[00:16:58] to go to tutoring.

[00:16:58] And so that emotionally played a role in me.

[00:17:01] But I went to her twice a week for two years in seventh and eighth grade.

[00:17:05] You know, who wants that to learn how to read in seventh and eighth grade?

[00:17:08] And I think because we went through it so quickly, the remediation wasn't exactly where we wanted it to be.

[00:17:15] I still struggled a lot after leaving her, but it was what we had to do.

[00:17:20] So I continued with the special education.

[00:17:22] I became an advocate myself of myself.

[00:17:25] My mother demanded that I was in every single meeting that involved me.

[00:17:30] And she did make it a purpose that she said, if you're going to say something about my child,

[00:17:35] you're going to say it to her.

[00:17:36] So she understands what's going on.

[00:17:38] And so my mom would debrief with me and did a really good job with explaining everything.

[00:17:45] So I could become an advocate myself, which that might've played a role in the long run of what I do for a living now.

[00:17:51] P.S. to parents, that's huge.

[00:17:54] Like the fact that your mom was so astute to figure that out is enormous.

[00:18:00] Like just so you know, especially like you can bring your kid into that IEP meeting or the 504 meeting,

[00:18:08] age dependent, obviously, when it makes more sense.

[00:18:11] But at Kenyon's age, it did make sense.

[00:18:12] And I also do that for my son.

[00:18:15] He attends them because we're talking about you.

[00:18:17] We're talking about those accommodations that you have.

[00:18:20] So you need to know about it.

[00:18:22] But I love that because teaching a child to advocate for themselves is huge.

[00:18:28] And also like, you know, when they're thrust into having to do that,

[00:18:32] it helps them slowly to own the situation, their dyslexia,

[00:18:37] and start to develop some confidence around it.

[00:18:40] So I'm so proud of your mom.

[00:18:41] That's huge.

[00:18:42] Yeah, it definitely built some fire in me.

[00:18:44] I think the big changing moment where I was the, I turned that voice into I'm going to prove you wrong voice was in high school.

[00:18:52] They asked me to go to a career college fair for special people who were in the special services.

[00:18:59] So my mom's like, great.

[00:19:01] She, you know, since my reading was so behind, we didn't see traditional college as a possible option.

[00:19:06] But she, college was the, you know, my family was like, you're going to college.

[00:19:10] It doesn't matter what your capabilities were.

[00:19:14] College was definitely an expectation.

[00:19:15] So my mom thought this would give me a great opportunity with like the colleges that really helped out with special needs.

[00:19:21] Meanwhile, we got there and there was a person speaking about how you go to school.

[00:19:27] This was a school you go to, to become a maid at a hotel, a cleaning service at a hotel.

[00:19:33] And I remember this was in high school.

[00:19:35] I remember turning to my mother and saying, you have to go to school for that.

[00:19:39] And that's when we took off and we left.

[00:19:42] And at that moment, I was like, this is not going to be me.

[00:19:45] This is obviously what a lot of people think of me.

[00:19:48] And I'm not going to allow that to happen.

[00:19:49] And I started buckling down at that point.

[00:19:51] And I started really taking this story into my own hands.

[00:19:54] And that's when I graduated from high school with honors.

[00:19:57] And I went to college and graduated with honors and went and got my master's and had a perfect 4.0

[00:20:02] because of that one moment in my life when I'm like, I need to prove you wrong.

[00:20:07] When you say you graduated with honors, was English class your nemesis?

[00:20:13] Because I know that some kids just, they will do really well in everything except for maybe the English class.

[00:20:18] So what was that like for you?

[00:20:20] I think because of my intelligence level, I learned to work the system.

[00:20:25] I figured out what kind of questions were going to be asked on tests.

[00:20:29] I figured out how they were going to be worded.

[00:20:31] I did use, I got tests read to me and things like an extra time.

[00:20:34] I did have that.

[00:20:35] But I think the big key moment was since I had older siblings who had the same teachers,

[00:20:40] my mother was once again a huge component.

[00:20:42] And she already knew how the tests were going to look like, how I was going to be graded.

[00:20:46] English was not honestly my biggest nemesis

[00:20:48] because I did have so much support at home with my mother helping me.

[00:20:52] And I learned to work the system and I knew, okay, if this is going to be a,

[00:20:56] this is going to be tested.

[00:20:57] I know how the teacher words her test questions.

[00:21:00] So I'm going to work that how it works.

[00:21:02] Surprisingly, my hardest subject was science.

[00:21:04] I had a very hard time with science and I think it was a lot of memory.

[00:21:06] I love how your mom, like, I can't even imagine what her files,

[00:21:12] but I mean, do you guys have a storage facility of files?

[00:21:15] Because it sounds like it's like the sorority house where they have like the test files.

[00:21:20] Like the fact she even had that is insane.

[00:21:23] So my father is self-employed and he had a,

[00:21:26] he had a warehouse in the back of his office.

[00:21:28] And there was boxes and boxes of stuff going back from pre-K that we had to go through.

[00:21:36] And it, we've condensed it down to a three drawer filing cabinet to now I have condensed it to a one

[00:21:42] drawer filing cabinet.

[00:21:44] But yes, my, my story was a lot of paperwork,

[00:21:49] but I've weed out a lot of things where I've kept once when email,

[00:21:53] when I was in high school, email started becoming popular.

[00:21:55] And I've kept a few emails just because I want that for my own scene in writing.

[00:22:01] What someone would have actually written to my mother about me was just insane.

[00:22:05] So I've kept a few of those, but mainly things I kept was like ARD paperwork.

[00:22:10] And ARD paperwork for anyone who's not in Texas means IEP meeting.

[00:22:14] You brought up tips and tricks and we have a question that we were going to ask.

[00:22:19] So I'm going to ask it now about the best advice you can give others.

[00:22:22] And it didn't dawn on me until you brought up, I learned how to take the test.

[00:22:28] I learned the way that the questions were going to be asked so that I was prepared to answer them.

[00:22:33] And that's the best advice I've actually heard any of our guests give.

[00:22:39] And the most relatable to myself, because it really, when you say work the system, that is what we do.

[00:22:49] When we are in the place of power and the place of, I'm not going to let this get in my way.

[00:22:55] I'm not going to be crippled by this experience.

[00:22:58] I am going to, this is what I have to do.

[00:23:00] I'm going to do it and figure out how to do it.

[00:23:02] It's a game changer when you learn that you have the power to do that.

[00:23:09] Because that's the big, if you can prepare in the way that you need to prepare, that is how you cheat the system.

[00:23:17] Do you feel like that is one of your top pieces of advice that you'd like to share with others?

[00:23:23] I think that is definitely a big thing.

[00:23:26] It's the whole gaining knowledge, being aware.

[00:23:29] I know that I have to work harder than other people with a lot of things like that.

[00:23:34] Once when I started thriving on being in the know and knowing things and just wanting to keep on learning was really just the thing that kept me going and keeps me going to this day.

[00:23:46] It's that internal drive that brings, I mean, in general, I would say that you have to have that on the inside to achieve anything, really.

[00:23:56] You just have to make your mind up.

[00:23:59] And I'm so happy that you learned that so early.

[00:24:03] One of the things that we're kind of talking about, like cheating the system, or we can rephrase that, is just educating yourself.

[00:24:11] One thing that I do know about you is that you did obviously go to college, but you educated yourself on your choice of where you went.

[00:24:23] So will you tell us a little bit about that?

[00:24:25] Because not everyone knows that places like this exist.

[00:24:29] My mother and I did know that traditional college, like state schools, were probably not going to be the best ideal for me because I would just be a number.

[00:24:38] So we did discover Schreiner University in Kerrville, Texas, which back then was even smaller than it is now.

[00:24:46] It's still a small school, but it was very small.

[00:24:49] And it's a liberal arts school that was a traditional school, but had a little bit different because they had a special services program that wasn't offered to everybody.

[00:25:01] And the special services children were in the regular school.

[00:25:04] They just had a little thing to go to.

[00:25:06] And 504 services weren't the same as they are now.

[00:25:11] They didn't have as many things that they offer in schools as they have now.

[00:25:14] So this special services that Schreiner University offered, they only allowed 30 people into the program every year.

[00:25:20] I am very happy that I was the very first person.

[00:25:23] They made very sure to tell me I was their first person they selected for the year of mine.

[00:25:27] I had to go in for an interview.

[00:25:28] I had to get reevaluated and everything and have my most recent evaluation sent into them.

[00:25:35] And after the interview, they even said, before you even send in the acceptance letter, we're just going to let you know before you head back to Dallas.

[00:25:44] We're going to let you in.

[00:25:45] Or we would love to have you here.

[00:25:47] And Schreiner University is just such an amazing school for people without learning disabilities and people with learning disabilities.

[00:25:56] The thing that I feel was the best was I had note takers, students who were actually being paid to be note takers in my classes.

[00:26:03] And it was never a very, they didn't like come out and say, oh, I'm note taking for Kenyon.

[00:26:08] They would take their notes and then sometime before the end of the day, come to the special services office, make copies of them and put them in my box.

[00:26:17] So it wasn't a big, like put a stamp on it.

[00:26:21] I had a little private box that I would just go by sometime that day or the next day and pick up my notes from them.

[00:26:26] And I would be taking notes too, but I could compare.

[00:26:29] As well as they offered professional tutors.

[00:26:32] They weren't student tutors.

[00:26:33] They were actual people who have done it in the field and was able to work with me on what I needed.

[00:26:40] And she was able to proofread all my papers because, you know, grammar and me don't get along to this day.

[00:26:47] Fast forward, right?

[00:26:49] We finished college.

[00:26:50] You got your master's degree.

[00:26:52] At what point did you know that you wanted to become a dyslexia therapist?

[00:26:58] I always knew like I wanted to help kids like me,

[00:27:01] but I didn't know there was a way around it because, you know, there was no dyslexia therapy.

[00:27:04] There was no dyslexia anything in school when I was at my school.

[00:27:08] I want to teach kids like me.

[00:27:10] And so I did teach elementary for several years.

[00:27:13] I was at a school where we would take all of our kids in the entire grade level and like divide them in their levels.

[00:27:19] And I would always ask to teach like during like an intervention time.

[00:27:23] And I would always want to teach not the lowest of low kids, even though they're wonderful.

[00:27:27] And I definitely didn't want to do the highest kids.

[00:27:29] They're wonderful, but they weren't for me.

[00:27:30] I like the kids that were really smart.

[00:27:32] But for some reason, it just wasn't clicking.

[00:27:34] And that was my like niche.

[00:27:36] And every year I got to work with those kids and I was like, I want to do this.

[00:27:40] So that I just started asking like how when I started seeing these dyslexia therapists saying,

[00:27:46] how did you get your job?

[00:27:47] How did you?

[00:27:47] And I started talking to the director of dyslexia when she became the director of dyslexia.

[00:27:52] And it just kind of ebbed and flowed.

[00:27:56] And I got asked for an interview and I didn't get it actually the first year because there wasn't enough openings.

[00:28:02] And there were people with more experience.

[00:28:05] And so the second year I interviewed, I got in and I got trained.

[00:28:10] That's awesome.

[00:28:10] So just for anyone who is listening and is like, wait, what?

[00:28:16] Her school had a dyslexia like director.

[00:28:22] And Kenyon is in the Dallas, Texas area.

[00:28:26] And that is why.

[00:28:27] That is really commonplace to have counts on staff giving therapy.

[00:28:32] I know Erin is in California and she's like, what are you talking about?

[00:28:37] And so that is like, that was her road in.

[00:28:41] And then did the district pay for it?

[00:28:44] Well, they actually, we utilized a program that didn't require us to be therapists at the time.

[00:28:50] And so they paid for me to be trained in that program, which I got an amazing training.

[00:28:54] The person who created the program, I got like the lady who was right under her.

[00:28:58] So it was phenomenal.

[00:28:59] But I, you know, once again, I always knew I wanted to do this, but I didn't know how.

[00:29:03] So that's when I started doing research and I started actually calling up.

[00:29:06] I started Googling, calling up school, the three major schooling areas in the area that

[00:29:12] train counts, certified academic language therapists.

[00:29:15] And I decided on the program that I ended up going through and I did pay my own money.

[00:29:21] I had two friends that wanted to do the same.

[00:29:23] And so we all three went through the program together.

[00:29:26] And of course, right after we finished, that's when our school district did switch to a therapy

[00:29:31] setting and they were paying slowly for them.

[00:29:33] But I already got trained.

[00:29:35] So I was able to just dive in.

[00:29:37] And then when I moved to a different school district, I was already trained and I was already

[00:29:41] starting to work privately as well.

[00:29:43] I think me going off on my own was the best option for me because I always had it in the

[00:29:49] back of my head of, I want to do this, but I don't know how to do this.

[00:29:52] So once when somebody laid the building blocks of this is how you become a dyslexia therapist,

[00:29:57] I didn't care what, you know, I didn't care what path.

[00:30:00] I just wanted to take it as quick as possible type thing.

[00:30:02] And if it meant I had to pay my own money, it was worth the investment.

[00:30:05] Oh, okay.

[00:30:06] So let me just ask when you were in school learning how to remediate dyslexia, how was that?

[00:30:15] Because I mean, and just little backstory, I did an Orton Gillingham two week.

[00:30:20] Wait, no, it was definitely not two weeks.

[00:30:23] What am I saying?

[00:30:23] It was way longer than two.

[00:30:25] Oh, it was, it was an intensive that went very quickly through the material, but it was

[00:30:33] like, I don't know, 10 hours a day for 10 days straight or something like that.

[00:30:38] And clearly I went in just, I knew that there was no way I don't learn like that.

[00:30:45] I I'm not a cram and remember type person.

[00:30:48] I got to like take it in.

[00:30:50] Right.

[00:30:51] But I remember going through it at a certain point, like almost my dyslexia tuned in and

[00:30:58] like I tuned out of the learning.

[00:31:00] And, and so I'm curious how easy was it for you?

[00:31:05] I mean, it sounds like you had a hunger that was not stoppable and that it, there wasn't

[00:31:12] anything they could have put in front of you that you weren't willing to learn as a dyslexic

[00:31:17] individual.

[00:31:17] If it's something that I enjoy, I will figure out a way to learn the material.

[00:31:23] No problem.

[00:31:24] But I'm, I'm curious for you.

[00:31:27] Was it more difficult than you thought to learn how to remediate?

[00:31:31] Like for other kids being that you're dyslexic or did you want it so bad that it didn't

[00:31:38] really matter?

[00:31:39] Like.

[00:31:40] I think it was a little bit of both, you know, luckily because I did have some memory, you

[00:31:46] know, once again, blocked a lot of things from my memories.

[00:31:48] Um, but when I went through the remediation with that lady after school for two days a

[00:31:53] week, it was a similar program.

[00:31:55] So all, some of these things like keyed in, like, Oh, I know these decks, like there's

[00:32:01] little card decks to go through.

[00:32:02] So I didn't have to do too much remembering because that triggered in my brain, but I don't,

[00:32:08] like I said, I went through the remediation so quickly myself as a kid, a lot of this stuff

[00:32:12] I did not remember.

[00:32:14] So when I was learning about trigraphs and digraphs, when three letters come, I did not

[00:32:18] the aha moment when they said IGH says I, I was like, that's why you spell light IGH.

[00:32:26] Like I did not learn that until I was an adult.

[00:32:30] And so yes, that was frustrating, but luckily I crave knowledge.

[00:32:36] I love knowledge.

[00:32:37] I love learning.

[00:32:38] Um, and so it became a challenge and you know, the constant thing in my life is the next challenge

[00:32:46] and I want to reach it and pass it and then get to it.

[00:32:49] And then once when I've surpassed it and I did it, I'm ready for my next challenge.

[00:32:53] I didn't want to just learn a program.

[00:32:55] I wanted to learn everything where I totally nerded out and I geeked out and I'm sure I

[00:33:02] little soapbox and I become a super nerd and people are probably like, that's too much.

[00:33:07] But that was how I got through the program because it was a passion of mine.

[00:33:11] And then I would remember things.

[00:33:12] And luckily I did learn things and things from things in small parts, because when I was

[00:33:17] little, I remembered a few things from when I was little.

[00:33:20] Then I, when I learned that first program, when I started working at the schools that

[00:33:25] helped me.

[00:33:26] And so when I became a Cal, I'd be like, okay, I already know these components.

[00:33:30] So now I just need to get the big stuff together.

[00:33:33] And it wasn't as open.

[00:33:34] I have a question really quickly, going back to what you said before about the inner voice,

[00:33:40] how that translated to me was like imposter, right?

[00:33:44] Like that they're going to see me, they're going to find me out as you were going through

[00:33:49] training to become a Cal or even just before that, right?

[00:33:53] When you were training to be a dyslexia teacher, did you ever feel that?

[00:33:58] Were you plagued by that or you had pushed through that?

[00:34:02] Every day.

[00:34:03] And I think that's why I would go home.

[00:34:05] And I, even though I was familiar with the decks, I would sit there and practice the decks

[00:34:10] with my dog, my poor great day mix would be sitting there on one side of the coffee table.

[00:34:15] And I would be like, say the letters to my poor dog.

[00:34:19] You know, I, my husband, I'm, he's just such an amazing person.

[00:34:22] He puts up with me with my stuff that I go through my head with when I would have to model

[00:34:27] lessons.

[00:34:28] In order to become a Cal, you have to model lessons.

[00:34:31] Mine looked like we had to videotape ourselves and send it in because technology back then.

[00:34:36] I don't remember that.

[00:34:36] But I would stand in front of a mirror and I would go through my whole lesson in a mirror.

[00:34:42] And I would stand there for like, you know, of course there wasn't kids.

[00:34:45] So it was shorter than like the hour it usually takes.

[00:34:47] But I would stand there for almost 45 minutes going through it.

[00:34:51] I would be practicing my handwriting because I do have dysgraphia as well.

[00:34:55] My handwriting and my handwriting was a hundred percent remediated by myself.

[00:34:59] I did not have any help in school or anything because no one knew what dysgraphia was back then

[00:35:03] and still somewhat today.

[00:35:05] But I would have to sit there and practice writing everything on the board or on paper beforehand

[00:35:11] because I was so terrified that even a kid who hasn't learned anything would write this

[00:35:17] over me.

[00:35:18] Oh my gosh, I'm laughing because that was the story of my life when I taught middle school.

[00:35:24] Oh Lord.

[00:35:25] I remember like having, even if we were brainstorming, right?

[00:35:29] And this, it was a mild mod class, all sorts of kids in that class.

[00:35:35] And I remember like very, I, it was yesterday where we did it like a thinking map on the board

[00:35:43] and they were shouting things out and I would have to write them.

[00:35:46] And I just remember thinking like, here we go.

[00:35:49] This is where they find me out.

[00:35:50] This is when they, this is where they realize they're smarter than me.

[00:35:53] Um, and I had to bring some humor to it and then, you know, spell things wrong.

[00:36:00] And they, that's not how you spell that.

[00:36:03] And I'm like, I was testing you.

[00:36:04] I would tell all of my students always that I was dyslexic because quite frankly, they

[00:36:09] would probably use other words if I didn't tell them I was dyslexic.

[00:36:16] And so, you know, it actually brought me closer to my students.

[00:36:21] I wasn't that person that prepared in that manner.

[00:36:27] My inner voice wasn't, I have imposter syndrome with other, other things, but I think I like

[00:36:35] just took on that.

[00:36:37] I will spell it wrong.

[00:36:38] So let's just run with it.

[00:36:40] Just hearing you speak, you're so intelligent.

[00:36:42] You know what you're doing.

[00:36:44] And I, I think your students are more likely to be humbled by knowing that their teacher

[00:36:53] can relate to them in real, real meaningful ways.

[00:36:58] How many kids have you helped with dyslexia type?

[00:37:02] You don't have to tell us the specifics, but what does your work professional life look

[00:37:06] like?

[00:37:08] Oh, well, I've been doing dyslexia work for, this is my going to go on to my 10th year.

[00:37:12] So the amount of kids I've impacted is phenomenal.

[00:37:16] And, you know, I've done it privately.

[00:37:18] I've done it through virtual.

[00:37:21] I've done it in public setting.

[00:37:22] First thing I say to each and every one of them is, guess what?

[00:37:26] We have something in common.

[00:37:27] I'm dyslexic.

[00:37:28] And those kids just be like, really?

[00:37:31] Because they, some of them are so defeated when they come to you, especially when they're

[00:37:34] older.

[00:37:35] So that day-to-day life of teaching these kids, of making that my thing.

[00:37:41] And my husband's like, well, what do you do for fun?

[00:37:43] I'm like, dyslexia.

[00:37:45] Oh my God.

[00:37:46] All three of us right here.

[00:37:48] That is how Megan and I became besties instantly.

[00:37:51] Like we met at a conference and she's sitting at her dyslexia on demand table.

[00:37:56] And I walked up to her and I was like, I'm dyslexic.

[00:37:58] I'm an advocate and I want to talk to you about everything dyslexic.

[00:38:01] And she was like, me too, but I have to sit and man this table.

[00:38:05] And I was like, okay, fine.

[00:38:06] Here's my number.

[00:38:07] Like we have to geek out.

[00:38:09] But I genuinely geek out on this stuff.

[00:38:12] And Megan too.

[00:38:14] Totally.

[00:38:14] My husband cannot stand, especially from like me analyzing language and what's the origin

[00:38:21] and like just all those little pieces.

[00:38:24] He's like, oh my God, you've got to stop.

[00:38:26] And I know that Kenyon does too.

[00:38:27] And anything and everything dyslexia.

[00:38:29] So it's all in good fun.

[00:38:32] And really it's because we are, I believe we have seen this opening to really make a

[00:38:38] significant change for someone's life.

[00:38:40] Like this is a significant different experience when they get the help that they need.

[00:38:46] So I think that's why we're all drawn to it.

[00:38:50] So Kenyon, what does your dyslexia look like from day to day?

[00:38:55] What do you see as your strengths and weaknesses?

[00:38:57] Tell us a little bit about that.

[00:38:59] Day to day is always changing.

[00:39:01] I, you know, there's, I have good days.

[00:39:03] I have bad days with my dyslexia, you know, but as we know, dyslexia is not just reading

[00:39:07] and spelling.

[00:39:08] It's, it's everything.

[00:39:09] Um, I used to joke and I started doing this joke in college that sometimes my brain reboots.

[00:39:16] There's like days that I woke up and I'm like, how do you spell the word play?

[00:39:19] I, and I'm like, I know, I know how to spell, but that day, that moment, same thing with

[00:39:25] knowing the correct word at the right time.

[00:39:27] That's a very dyslexic thing.

[00:39:29] And I have some days that's worse than others.

[00:39:32] Um, and so those are the hard days, but you know, I think because I crave knowledge so much,

[00:39:40] that's my strength in life is I want to learn.

[00:39:45] And so that keeps me going and that keeps me being able to play the system and do what I do

[00:39:54] every single day and makes it where I've built my confidence.

[00:39:58] And honestly, in the last like three, I would say three years, my confidence level has changed

[00:40:03] completely because I've changed that mindset to not allowing that Mr. Negativity back there,

[00:40:11] um, to take over my whole brain and being like, you know what?

[00:40:16] Let's, let's look at both sides of the story.

[00:40:18] You know, maybe those kids when they were younger, when I was younger, just didn't understand.

[00:40:22] And that's why they bullied me.

[00:40:23] I'm going to let myself think that.

[00:40:25] And the other strength I have to throw in there is that the amount of lives that you're touching

[00:40:30] and the empathy for them and what they're going through.

[00:40:34] And the fact that y'all can have those personal connections.

[00:40:38] I love that you can bridge and talk about that with them.

[00:40:43] It doesn't, you know, I think that our job as therapists is to kind of bridge a little bit

[00:40:47] into that mental health because we like understand what they're going through, but who to understand

[00:40:54] better than you.

[00:40:54] So I just think it's extremely powerful.

[00:40:57] So that is a gift.

[00:40:58] You're doing a service out there.

[00:41:00] Huge.

[00:41:01] Thank you.

[00:41:01] And I'm definitely in the lucky spot right now in my public school setting where I get

[00:41:06] to mentor newer people who are going through training.

[00:41:09] And I do tell them, you know what?

[00:41:12] It's because they're like, I have to get through the whole lesson.

[00:41:14] I'm like, I understand you have to get through the whole lesson, but spend five minutes,

[00:41:18] 10 minutes saying, how's your day?

[00:41:19] Or if a kid comes in like with their face and all sad saying, what's the deal?

[00:41:25] Like, you know, the door is shut.

[00:41:26] Tell me, tell me the truth.

[00:41:28] What's going on.

[00:41:28] When I mentor these other dyslexia therapists, I was like, take that time.

[00:41:33] You know, yes, we are being trained to do a program.

[00:41:35] We are trained to teach them to read and write and spell, but we need to take that mental

[00:41:41] side because I know how harmful from the years of past traumas, I know how harmful it can be

[00:41:49] if you don't have someone who just says, hey, what's going on?

[00:41:52] And I know how important that is.

[00:41:55] And I have to say that I wish these training programs, which some may have it, I don't

[00:42:01] know.

[00:42:02] But I wish they would make you sit through a couple days of how do we be empathetic?

[00:42:09] How do we talk to them about bullying?

[00:42:11] Because not everybody knows how to discuss bullying.

[00:42:14] And the reality is most of these kids, if you give them the opening to share, they desperately

[00:42:21] want to share.

[00:42:22] I feel that a lot of these kids need to be able to say, yeah, that sucks.

[00:42:30] And then to hear, you know what, it does suck and just sit with it and let them feel the

[00:42:35] feeling.

[00:42:36] Of course, at the end of the day, we want to leave on a high note.

[00:42:39] But I do feel these kids just need a place to vent and to know that they aren't the only

[00:42:44] ones.

[00:42:45] OK, so I think we're going to wrap it up here.

[00:42:49] This is this has been absolutely incredible.

[00:42:52] If there is one piece of advice you'd like to leave our listeners with, what is that piece

[00:42:59] of advice?

[00:43:01] I would say, you know, dyslexia is not a curse.

[00:43:04] I used to say, oh, I got this curse type thing.

[00:43:07] And I've come once again through my years of knowing that if it wasn't for my dyslexia, I

[00:43:13] wouldn't have all this amazing stuff going on with me.

[00:43:17] I wouldn't have all this craving for knowledge.

[00:43:20] Even the negative things that happened to me.

[00:43:23] So I would just say that, you know, take your dyslexia and own it and just find the things

[00:43:30] you're good at and go with it.

[00:43:32] And the things that you're not good with, just tell that part of your brain, you know

[00:43:35] what?

[00:43:36] Sometimes I'm not good at everything.

[00:43:37] It's OK.

[00:43:38] I think also there's there's the lean on us for support.

[00:43:41] So if any listeners need to talk to anybody that's going to encourage them, we are here.

[00:43:46] You can call any of us or email us or make a comment or something.

[00:43:51] And we are the ones that will pick up the phone.

[00:43:54] My mission here, I don't want to let any of the listeners suffer alone.

[00:43:57] There is no need.

[00:43:58] There is no need.

[00:44:00] OK, wonderful.

[00:44:01] Well, thank you.

[00:44:03] Thank you.

[00:44:03] I'm impressed.

[00:44:04] I'm I'm in love with your story.

[00:44:06] Honestly, it's been a gift.

[00:44:09] And I'm so excited for other listeners to hear what their future could possibly look like.

[00:44:17] Yeah, 100 percent.

[00:44:18] Thank you.

[00:44:18] Kenyon's a gem.

[00:44:19] Thank you so much.

[00:44:20] All right.

[00:44:21] Thank you.

[00:44:21] All right.

[00:44:22] Bye.

[00:44:24] You've been listening to Don't Call On Me.

[00:44:26] Don't forget to follow, subscribe and leave us a review.

[00:44:30] It helps people find us and listen to these real stories of living with dyslexia.

[00:44:36] See you next time.