Resources from Experience

When my daughter was diagnosed with Dyslexia, I only had an "outsider's perspective". I'd had students with Dyslexia, but I was the one implementing accommodations and helping in the classroom. It's a whole different journey when it's your child. Over the course of a year, I gathered as much information as I could about Dyslexia and language-based processing disorders. In my journey to becoming an advocate, I've had other families ask me for ideas and sources of information. I've compiled a majority of them here for others.

Books-

-Overcoming Dyslexia (Second Edition) by Sally Shaywitz, MD-- This book may be more relevant from the educator's perspective, but it provided so much insight and facts about language-based difficulties.  I loved this book because it focused on building the love of reading, self-esteem inside and outside of school, and how parents can support their children in school.  This book also contains information about appropriate accommodations for students in the school setting. This book is research-based and professionally written. 

-The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan by Ben Foss--The author of this book has Dyslexia and the book reads more like a memoir.  This book focuses on identifying the strengths of your child to build their self-esteem as a learner.  Dyslexia is not a weakness, it is a superpower. It also has great suggestions about accommodations, how to successfully work with the school team, and how to advocate for children in the school setting.  This book changed the way we approached our daughter's needs in school, as well as the accommodations we advocated for.  This book and the advice it offers was written in first-person and is based on personal accounts.

-Raising a Child with Dyslexia- What Every Parent Needs to Know by Don Winn-- This book was very shallow in content and provided a brief overview of Dyslexia. I'd recommend this book as an entry-level read as it's not overwhelming and too informational.

-The Dyslexia Advantage by Brock Eide, Fernette Eide-- This book focuses on the advantages of a neurodiverse brain. It shares the science and brain study information of different types of neurodiverse brains, as well as the strengths these brains have. It goes in-depth about how the brain works and how Dyslexia should be considered a processing style rather than a learning disability. It highlights the MIND strength categories of a Dyslexic brain. This book helped me reframe our approach and understanding of the brain functions people with dyslexia encounter, as well as provide areas of strength to focus our advocacy on. This book is research-based and full of great research and ideas!  

Podcasts-

-Dyslexia mom life- Nicole Holcomb is an educator, counselor, and attorney. She's also a mom to a daughter with Dyslexia. Her podcasts are wonderful and cover all areas of Dyslexia; what is Dyslexia/Dysgraphia/Dyscalculia, famous Dyslexic people, how Dyslexia impacts the family unit, school meetings, advocacy and so much more! Did you know that struggling to tie shoes is a characteristic of someone with Dyslexia?! I didn't until I listened to this podcast and it put so much into perspective!

-Special Education Advocacy- Ashley Barlow is a champion of special education and advocacy. There are so many wonderful podcasts surrounding the special education process, IEPs, IEP teams, advocating for your child in special education, 504s and so much more! This is, by far, one of my favorite podcasts to listen to!

-Science of Reading -Susan Lambert brings knowledge of the science of reading instruction to each podcast. While the podcasts are tailored to educators, having a deep understanding of literacy instruction can help parents know how and what to advocate for.