Dyslexic Voices: Political Psychologist Abby

Dyslexic kids need to know that they're dyslexic, and they need to know that things will be hard, but they need to know that they are not limited in what they can achieve, really.

Hey, everyone. We're Nick and Sonja, and this is Dyslexia Journey. And today, we are so happy to welcome Abby. Abby is going to be part of our Dyslexic Voices series. Also, she does have a YouTube channel of her own called Political Psych with Abby. Welcome, Abby. Thanks for having me.

So, let's just start at the beginning. Tell us about, like, your earlier years, possibly before you were identified as Dyslexic. Whatever you want to say, sort of, to start out how this journey has been for you. Yeah, so I was diagnosed super young, so I don't have a lot of memories from before I was diagnosed, because I was diagnosed at, like, six.

Actually, apparently, my teachers started thinking I had dyslexia even earlier than that, like, when I was about five or so, because I really loved being read to, and I clearly really wanted to read. And I was very, very well-spoken as a small child, so they thought, okay, well, something's going on, because, like, she can just not read at all. And there's no association between letters and sounds. Like, it's just not happening with reading, right?

So, yeah, my parents had me diagnosed at the recommendation of my teachers when I was in kindergarten, I guess. Yeah, I don't know. I was, I mean, like, as a really little kid, I was an odd kid. I tended to get on better with grown-ups than I did with other children. I don't think that's a dyslexia thing. I was just a strange child.

And I was really into, like, mythology and history and stuff. I also liked fairies, you know, little kid stuff, right? Because I was, like, six when I was diagnosed, so there's not really that much to say.

You know, I had the typical, you know, good parents. They read to me all the time, all that kind of thing.

Yeah, but yeah, so I was diagnosed when I was six, so there's not a lot to tell from before then. Do you have a memory of the actual, I don't know what exactly, what tests they actually did, but do you have a memory of that? Yeah, I mean, kind of. It's a little vague because of how young I was, right?

It's also a little strange because, like, I had sensory issues as a kid, and I still do to some extent, but they're a lot better than they were when I was, like, a little kid. And I remember they, like, had me put on these big headphones and listened to a bunch of, like, sounds, and I guess they wanted me to identify them or something. I'm actually not quite sure, like, what part of the dyslexia assessment that is, but that was the bit that was, like, clearest to me, that it is clearest to me in my memory.

And I remember really, really, really hating it. I think it was both because I didn't like to fail at things as a child. I mean, I think a lot of kids are like that, but I think I was especially sensitive to failure. And also because, like, it was these huge over-ear headphones. And my whole life, I hated over-ear headphones. Probably not because of this. It's probably a sensory thing I had from before this.

But I hated over-ear headphones, and it was, you know, I was in an unfamiliar place, and I was six, so I remember being kind of freaked out by it. Not really by the idea of being dyslexic or the idea of being diagnosed or anything. I just didn't like the testing environment, right? And then I also remember, I can't remember if this was during the initial evaluation or, like, I think, like, two years later, my parents had me, like, go in for additional testing for something.

I don't remember exactly what, but apparently the guy they had diagnosed me is some very noted expert. But he was also quite rude, or at least it seemed that way to a small child, because he was, like, on the phone while I was trying to do my test. And I'm pretty sure that's not part of the test. Yeah, but those are really my clearest memories of that, right? Like, it's funny what you remember when you're that young, right?

Because I don't remember really anything where they were trying to get me to read or sound out letters or anything. I just remember the sounds and the guy being on the phone. And also, like, vaguely the configuration of the office, but not really the actual test. I think just because I was so young, right? Yeah. It's interesting what you mentioned about the sensory issues, because our daughter, who is dyslexic, and she's a teenager now, and she had a lot of sensory issues as a young child as well.

You know, like, to the extent of where she would wear her clothes inside out so the tags didn't rub on her and things like that. Yeah. And I don't know if that, like you said, I don't know if that's correlated with dyslexia or not, but it's sort of interesting. Yeah, I mean, I think it might be correlated, but I don't know. I don't know. I'm mostly thinking because, like, so my mom isn't diagnosed dyslexic, but she's quite probably dyslexic.

And she has different sensory issues than I do, but definitely is, like, very particular, very hypersensitive. Like, she will straighten pictures in other people's houses and, like, can perceive differences between colors that other people can't see and stuff. And I definitely think, like, having a design sense is correlated with dyslexia. I mean, maybe, I don't think I've necessarily seen, like, a formal study on that, but, you know, there's a lot of dyslexics with a really strong artistic and design sensibility.

Yeah. I guess, since you were diagnosed so young, it's kind of, being dyslexic has kind of been a part of your identity for almost your whole life that you remember, right? Exactly. Yeah, yeah. And my parents never hid it from me or anything. So, like, I knew immediately. Mm-hmm. So what was that like then in elementary school? Like, did you feel different from other kids? Yeah, I mean, I guess a bit.

I mean, like I said, I was kind of a weird kid other than the dyslexia. So, like, I feel like the reason I felt different wasn't, like, completely related to the dyslexia. But also, I think it was helped, like, I was helped by the fact that for, like, preschool through third grade, I was in Montessori school. And in a Montessori setting, every student gets a certain amount of, like, individualized attention. You know, every student is at different levels for different things and is treated differently.

So, like, you don't have to feel that strange for, you know, being taken out of class for extra reading, tutoring, or whatever. And honestly, I think that that was a really good experience and was really helpful, especially with my dyslexia. Like, you know, I don't have kids, but I quite possibly want to have kids someday. And I've talked about it with my husband. And I'm like, hey, I kind of want to have enough money to send them to Montessori school for the first little bit, especially because dyslexia is genetic.

And there is, you know, a good chance that if I were to have kids, they would be dyslexic as well. I think that I don't know if those odds go up because my husband is dyspraxic.

But what was I going to say? Yeah, we're incredibly clumsy households there. There aren't a lot of sharp corners here.

What was I going to say? The next thing about the Montessori schools, from what I remember about the Montessori methods, and correct me if I'm wrong, there's a lot of use of manipulatives. So I'm wondering if that was useful in terms of more that almost tactile or spatial way of learning. Did that play in? Oh, yeah, yeah, no. And I think that that was super helpful for me, honestly, because, like, even now, so I read very well now.

But one of the ways my dyslexia still affects me is I have a lot of difficulty remembering, like, long series of steps or really any sort of lengthy thing if there's not a narrative or, like, some reason it makes sense. And so the Montessori method was very helpful because, you know, you're not learning math in this, like, super abstract way. You're, like, actually manipulating physical objects and that kind of thing. And that I found really helpful, honestly.

And, yeah, so I think that that probably did play into it and I thought was very helpful. And it's also good because it's, like, your ability to learn other things isn't based off of your ability to read worksheets, right? So I didn't end up falling behind in all my other subjects because I was struggling to read. Right, right. That makes a lot of sense. Yeah. So how – you said that you read really well now.

How did you learn to read then or how were you taught to read? Yeah, so I – basically, as soon as I was diagnosed, I started receiving a combination of Wilson and Orton-Gillingham. And honestly, like, as a child, I couldn't really tell the difference between the two of them, right? Both of them are, you know, a lot of learning to decipher different syllables, a lot of, you know, practicing different words, you know, chunking words into syllables, sounding things out, a lot of rote, a lot of repetition.

And it's not, like, fun, really, but it was so worth it, right? Because it's very funny, right? The, like, dyslexia expert who diagnosed me made a prediction. He was like, she's going to struggle for years, but around, like, 10 or 11, she's going to have a breakthrough and she's going to start reading above grade level. She's going to be fine. And you know what? He was right. Like, that – like, to the year.

Like, that is the age at which, you know, it took years and years of hard work to have that breakthrough. Right? And there was gradual progress over those years, but I was always struggling. But then it sort of just clicked, right? And I was able to read to myself and I would have to read aloud. Like, I would have to do it. And then I just started whispering quieter and quieter and quieter.

And I was able to actually just hear it in my head. But I still, when I read, I hear things in my head, right? Which is funny because, I mean, I think it's honestly probably good for reading comprehension. But it also means, like, people – there are people out there who can, like, read something and have, like, the – like, have somebody talking in the background or whatever. I, like – unless it's, like, a lot of people talking and it's, like, a cafe and you can't pick out any individual conversations.

I cannot do that. Interesting. Yeah, so it sounds like a lot of the compensating was through first out loud doing it and then in your mind – in your head. Yeah, exactly. Because I always really liked words, right? It was just the written words that were a problem. Right. So do you read to yourself at the same speed as if you were reading out loud? No. No, I read much faster than that.

Okay. Okay. Interesting. Yeah. Interesting. Yeah. I actually – I think I did time myself and I actually read faster than most neurotypical people. Huh. Yeah. Huh. And so it sounds like you haven't had to explore audiobooks and stuff. Do you use audiobooks at all or do you actually – Yeah, so, I mean, I like audiobooks. Like, when I was a kid, I would always, like, listen to audiobooks and stuff in the car.

And I think that that was good, right? Because it, like – and that and my parents reading to me because, you know, I kept up my love of books and my love of reading. Even though, like, they were a struggle for me to read myself.

I'm more a podcast listener now than an audiobook listener. But we still – I still listen to audiobooks sometimes. Sometimes my husband and I are very, very slowly working our way through the first volume of the years of Lyndon Johnson on audiobook right now. Because that one's, like, 30 hours long as an audiobook. It is so long. And that's, like, one of, what, like, three or four volumes? It's a lot. And, yeah.

So I never really used audiobooks, like, for school.

Because that felt like giving up. And I don't want to actually treat it that way. Like, I don't want people to interpret it that way. But that's what it felt like for me.

Because I pushed myself really, really hard. And my parents also pushed me very hard. But, like, they were good about it. But – and I don't want to – like, they – I think they honestly handled it as well as they could have. But there was very much an idea of expectations will never be lowered.

You will always perform as well or better than neurotypical people. And that was good in that it pushed me and it didn't, like, lower expectations. And it means, you know, I read very well now. I've been very educationally successful, reasonably professionally successful. But it does also leave me with, like, a lot of baggage emotionally, right? Because, like, I read well now. But, like, I can't take dictation for the life of me.

Like, that's just not going to happen. And I'm not a great note taker. And, like, I've worked through it. But, like, I've definitely had a professional situation where, like, they needed me to write a transcript. And I was, like, just, like, trying – And they didn't know I was dyslexic, right? Because, like, it didn't really – Like, I don't normally need accommodations in the workplace. And this was, like, an internship. I don't even think they were paying me.

It was, like, years ago. And I was, like, shaking and crying trying to figure out, like, I just can't do this. Like, I can't write a transcript, right? Basically, no matter how slow I do it. Because the way I write is I hear the word in my head. But I can't hear the word and write it and, like, do word-for-word transcripts. And it was something that was important that it was word-for-word.

Like, they needed exact quotes.

And so I was, like, just, like, breaking down in the hallway. Like, what the heck do I do? Like, what am I going to do about this? What am I going to do? And eventually I was just, like – and I think I was, like, texting with my boyfriend at the time or whatever. And he was, like, oh, just, like, tell your supervisor. They're not going to be mad. Like, it'll be fine.

And you know what? It was completely fine. Because, like, it was an internship. And they had, like, ten other interns. So they just reassigned us. And, like, had a different intern do that. And it was easy for them. And they had me do something else. But I do think that, like, idea of never lowering expectations can be kind of, like, a double-edged sword there, right? Because, like, it means that I really don't cut myself a lot of slack.

And that's still true to this day. And to some extent it's good, right? Because, like, there are – I think that there are a lot of, you know, educational institutions and stuff who will give up on dyslexic students being able to read well, right? But because I never had the lowered expectations and because my parents put a lot of time and energy and even resources into my education, and, you know, it matters that they were able to do that, right?

And, unfortunately, not all parents are, like, able to do that for their kids. You know, it meant that I was able to achieve to my full potential, right? Because I despise, you know, really lowered expectations most of the time. But it can – but never really being willing to lower them for yourself can still be difficult, you know? Yeah. Yeah, one thing we just released in an episode today actually about accommodations.

And one point that we emphasized there is that accommodations do not equal lowered expectations. Exactly. That's so important. Yeah. And so I'm wondering when you were in, like, high school and, you know, is when it really starts to – kids, you know, even middle school, kids start – dyslexic kids start to more really need those accommodations. Did you have accommodations then in school? Yeah. So, I mean, for me, the primary, like, help I needed was when I was younger, right, before I learned how to read.

So, it was more, like, tapering off rather than, like, increasing. But so I had an IEP, like, as soon as I entered public school because I was coming from Montessori School, which is a private school. And I don't know if, like, it was done officially or if it was just like, yeah, your kid needs this tutoring. We're going to get them this tutoring. I don't know the administrative, like, end of that.

So I had an IEP, like, immediately because I entered public school just before I learned how to read fully, right? And one thing I really hated was the, like – so there was, like, for spelling tests, right? What they did instead of giving me more help or even, like, more time to do the tests or really anything that would have helped my learning is that they just made the list of words I had to learn shorter, right?

And that's, like, a lowered expectations thing and that's kind of frustrating. And, I mean, spelling – learning how to spell well is actually kind of remarkably low stakes in our world today, right? Because we have spell check. But doing that with other things can be really, like, educationally problematic, right? So when I first started, I had, like, a full-on IEP. So I had – there were in-classroom aides. They weren't, like, just there for me.

They were there for me and, you know, other students who had various needs. And then I would be pulled out for more reading tutoring. But I was also keeping going with reading tutoring outside of school with some of the teachers I had had at the private school. But the reading tutoring I got in public school was pretty similar. There was just less of it, if that makes sense. And also it was usually with a small group.

I don't really think that the group thing was a problem because there were usually, like, three of us who were at a pretty similar place. So that was fine. But I don't know if it would have been enough on its own, which is a problem. And then the in-classroom aides were really a mixed bag. Because, like, some of them were just really nice, really supportive, like, understood your needs well. And then some of them were just, like, incredibly annoying, condescending people with a savior complex.

And who really, like, wouldn't let me, you know, struggle through things on my own or thought that I was much more disabled than I was. Or, you know, just were really, really unhelpful, didn't mesh well, that kind of thing. And that was, like, really difficult. And I honestly probably still have, like, some baggage from that.

And then, so I kept going with the IEP into middle school. But by then I knew how to read well. So the, like, special classes really felt like a waste of time, honestly. Because, like, I had accommodations for dyslexia. I was supposed to be getting special tutoring for dyslexia. But I said that they could do once I knew how to read. But the thing is that the documentation, you know, takes a year or two to catch up, right?

So the documentation didn't say I could read. And so they would just keep giving me activities that were geared at people who could not read at the level at which I could read, right? Because I had the experience of once I did learn how to read, I was reading significant. I was reading, like, above grade level, right? So they were giving me things for, like, basically you're in third grade and can't really read when I was in sixth grade and probably reading at an eighth grade level.

And they would just give me more of it rather than scaling up the level. And so eventually I just started, they would let me do it in, like, a sort of hallway place, like, near the, like, tutoring classroom. And eventually I would just take out the eighth grade American history textbook and read that and, like, do one worksheet and then hope they didn't spot me not doing the other worksheets.

And that worked out fine. And I was then very well prepared for eighth grade American history.

And then about sixth grade, I got to get retested and I went off my IEP and just to a 504.

And my 504 was basically just for two things. Oh, I forgot to mention earlier. So one thing that my parents thought would be really helpful was for me to be able to type my assignments and exams because it's just easier to organize thoughts that way, right? And I do have lousy handwriting, but I don't necessarily have, like, clinically significant levels of lousy handwriting, if you know what I mean, right? So, but the thing is, and I'm not sure if this is still a thing, but at the time I was in, like, elementary and middle school, you couldn't get an accommodation to type things just for having dyslexia, which seems insane.

But it was it was the case. And so I had to be officially, like, diagnosed or diagnosed for an educational setting with dysgraphia. I think there's honestly a chance I don't really have dysgraphia because I'm pretty solid at, like, drawing and I'm very good at, like, arts and crafts and little fiddly bits of mechanical things. Like, I'm actually pretty good with my hands. So, but that did mean that I had to be in, like, occupational therapy for a couple of years.

But it meant also, and the occupational therapists were in on this, that, like, they were like, oh, no, okay, you're going to be in occupational therapy, but we're not really going to do anything. You just have to be in occupational therapy for two years before we can let you use a computer in class.

So, like, the only thing I learned in occupational therapy was how to use chopsticks, which is still a useful skill. Yeah, so I got, I eventually got, as part of my 504, the ability to use a laptop in class. Which was tremendously helpful. I was never, like, a text-to-speech person or a having-the-computer-read-to-me person. But just being able to type things is, like, so helpful and makes it much easier. Honestly, not just because of the speed, but also because, like, I tend to delete and rewrite bits of sentences a lot or I put a word in the wrong order.

Honestly, or also just, like, spelling errors that I can see, but I can only really see if I've typed it out, right? So, that was my primary accommodation. And then in middle school, I also had, like, there was a special class I was in that was, like, an extra study hall where they help you organize your binder because I was, like, bad at organizing my paper. I'm still lousy at organizing paper.

And so, my thing now has become, I have a, I have a compartment in my apartment that's only for very important documents, like my passport and everything else I only keep digitally.

And that, that's worked out fine. I mean, I prefer to read on paper, but, like, in terms of, like, forms and everything, I'll do everything digitally if I can. And, and typing my essays and everything, obviously. but, what was I going to say? So, those were really my only accommodations for, like, the second half of middle school and high school. I didn't even have the, like, bind organization thing in, organization thing in high school.

I just had the, typing. And I also, I didn't get extra time. Like, that's something a lot of dyslexics get, but it is not how my dyslexia works. No shame on anyone who does get extra time, but, like, that wasn't my thing. but the thing is that a lot of teachers were surprisingly unwilling to accommodate such a small accommodation as typing assignments. like, I had a science teacher who would take way longer to hand back my assignments because I typed them.

and wouldn't give me feedback like she gave to the other students because I typed them. And I offered to print them. I offered to do everything. And it was in lieu of, like, lab notebooks. And I'm like, I will cut it out and paste it into a notebook if that's what you want. But that wasn't enough. she was just, yeah, she was just a bad teacher, quite frankly. and then what was, what was also really frustrating is, so I took American Sign Language in lieu of a foreign language in high school.

Unfortunately, that was my high school's plan for, like, if you have a disability because there wasn't really any disability support for foreign language learning. which is really frustrating. Honestly, there should be. like, I really feel like I was deprived of the chance to properly learn a foreign language. and I'm not saying, like, that American Sign Language isn't, like, an amazing language and that it's not something that should be taught in high schools because, like, it absolutely should be.

And it's so cool. And it's awesome. And I'm glad I had a chance to learn it. But just funneling everyone with a disability into ASL, which is a two-year program rather than the other languages, which are a four-year program, because they have a disability is, like, not the right approach. and what was really frustrating is that the teacher of that class wouldn't let me type exams. And I'm, like, you taught us about the ADA in this class.

And it's also, like, okay, if I have invented something that from my computer allows me to capture the motions of ASL signs and translate them to English in the time constraints you set for this test, I don't deserve an A in this class. I deserve, like, a Nobel Prize, right? Like, you can't even cheat on that test by typing. Like, that's not how that works. but a lot of teachers are, like, honestly, I think there's a problem with teachers being more afraid of cheating than they are of students who need accommodations not learning.

and that's, that's really frustrating. Most of my teachers were great about it, and it was tremendously helpful. But, like, obviously, the things that stick with you are the exceptions.

Well, it's so interesting to hear your unique journey, just because it really is so, you know, everyone is really so different, which I think points to, you know, all the individualization that is probably necessary. Of course, difficult to get at times, simply because of overcrowding and all kinds of other issues, too. But, but yeah, it's really, like, you know, even as we try to talk about specific things, and, like, you know, this is very common, or that kind of thing, I think it's always good.

I think that's part of what's so helpful in this Dyslexic Voices series, that you can, it really can come through how everyone is so different in terms of what they need, what helps them. And even just in terms of how the journey progresses, that can change things, right? Like, for you, I think, in terms of how the reading happened, and how, you know, you had the Montessori to begin, like, set you up so differently than a lot of other people.

So it's really interesting, and I think helpful for people to hear. Thank you. Yeah, so maybe we should, you talked a little bit, about some compensation mechanism to use now as an adult with dyslexia. but, I think, it's sort of interesting, like, what's it like now as an adult with a, you know, in the workplace and so on? do you have accommodations in the workplace? Do you have sort of other compensation mechanisms that you use?

So, I don't have accommodations in the workplace. I mean, I could probably get them if I needed them, but there aren't really, like, clear ones that would make sense in my current position. I work as, like, an instructional assistant, which is, like, a professional TA. Like, I'm not in grad school, but, like, I basically, I assist with teaching of college classes. and so the only thing that my dyslexia really negatively affects is honestly the same things that affected me as a student, which are, I'm not a great note taker.

and, I'm not great at remembering or memorizing information, right? so there aren't really, like, accommodations that can be set up around that because it's not like the professor isn't going to share their notes with me because they're worried I'm going to cheat, right? Because I'm the TA. So if they're not sharing their notes with me, it just means that, like, they're basically a bad boss or, like, a bad professor and they don't have notes.

and that does happen. I can't give you more details because that would be unprofessional, even though, like, I am, of course, keeping this completely separate from my professional life, which is why I'm not on camera. but, what was I going to say? So, like, I don't really have accommodations for that. like, my job, my job does require a fair amount of reading. It's actually slightly less than would probably be required of an average college student, though.

So, like, it's not an insane amount of reading. I read at a pretty similar speed to other people. So, like, it's not an issue for me to have to read that much. one thing that's frustrating is, like, textbook publishers as an anti-plagiarism tool make it really hard to cut and paste text from their textbooks as, like, a note-taking thing. which can be really frustrating because, like, obviously, if I'm going to be using this stuff for teaching, I want to have really in-depth notes and copying things down is very hard for me.

so that, that can be very frustrating, but that's really more on, like, textbook publishers than my employer. And we all know textbook publishers are a mess, especially from an accessibility standpoint. Oh, my God. I had this, I had this, textbook in college that, like, I bought, I normally get my textbooks on paper, but I got this one online because it was, like, half the price. And, when you zoomed in, because, like, my eyes are fine, but tiny fonts are really hard to read.

when you zoomed in to the point where it was, like, comfortable for me to read, you could see the pixels on the letters, which is really distracting and makes it really hard to read. And I was just like, how do you make a textbook this badly? Like, oh, my God, did you just encode all the pages as images rather than text? Like, what happened?

And I want to clarify, like, I wasn't making the font huge. I was making it, like, at most, like, 14 point. Like, but right, like, so I don't have official accommodations really at work. occasionally, if there's, like, a class with multiple TAs, I'll be, like, to one of the other TAs, I'll be, like, hey, like, I'm not an awesome note taker, partially for dyslexia reasons. Like, I will take on this other part of the class, I will do this extra thing for you, can I use your notes for this thing?

and that, that sort of thing is usually fine, because I'm a generally pretty hard worker and a pretty generous employee. So, most of the people who are, like, my direct, you know, the people who are at my level rather than the professors, like, the other TAs, they're mostly okay to take a thing off my plate because I take a lot of things off their plate, right? but, you know, it's usually, it's more like that sort of thing than it is, like, direct accommodations.

like, I legitimately can't even remember if my boss knows I'm dyslexic.

like, I've mentioned it in the past, your bosses, but I can't remember if it's come up in conversation with this one.

I was just going to say, I'm curious about sort of the positives, too, because, of course, we're talking about challenges here, but, but it's, it is a neurodiversity thing. And, you know, you already mentioned design and these different pieces that can be considered strengths instead. How do you notice that, you know, as you have been, as, as you've gone through schooling and into your career? So, I do think that the design sensibility thing is, like, a thing I have, I'm, I'm quite good at, like, making little geometric designs or remembering patterns, like, geometric patterns specifically and that kind of thing.

And I'm, I'm good at graphics. I, I do that for my YouTube channel and I also do social media for, like, a local environmental organization. so I'm like, I'm good at that sort of thing and, but it can be frustrating because, like, and this isn't just people with dyslexics, but, like, people with dyslexia, but, like, anyone with a design sensibility, you know, will notice things that some people just don't notice. And, and so it is, like, I'm driven crazy by ugly graphics.

but, you know, then you have to explain to people, like, hey, this isn't good and it's, just let me remake it. but, yeah, so I would say that the design sensibility thing is a big one. I would also say, the, like, conversational communication, is a, is a strength, for whatever reason, I keep stumbling over my words today, but that doesn't normally happen to me. I have, like, no fear of public speaking, and, I'm pretty good at sort of just saying what I think and communicating information verbally.

and I also think that it's given my writing a more conversational tone, which is sometimes a strength and sometimes a weakness, because I hear things when I write, right? So, like, it's not that different for me, writing versus talking, if that makes sense. writing's just slower because I can't really, I don't know if I can type as fast as I talk. or maybe it's faster, but it's, I think it's faster than I talk, but slower than I think.

Does that make sense? yeah. yeah. Yeah, so I would say that and just sort of, like, creativity. Like, I think I, I come to different conclusions about how to solve problems and stuff than other people do. And usually that's a good thing. Usually that's, like, a creative thing. Occasionally it does mean that I miss something that they consider to be obvious to them, right? Because I just jump to different assumptions. but I would say those are sort of the, the main ones.

Yeah, so that's, it's interesting because I think, again, it's sort of unique, like, with each person and what sort of comes up for the strengths as well. You know, some people have sort of the, like, you know, liking to build things or something like that. It can come out, like, in all kinds of different ways. yeah, so it's good to always include that. Sometimes we forget because we want to, of course, always hear about the overcoming challenges part, too.

It's also difficult, right? Because I've never not been dyslexic. So I just have to go with, like, what are the things that are identified to associate with dyslexia that are true about me that are good, you know? Rather than just everything I'm good at in life, right? Right. yeah. Yeah. If you could tell your younger self something, and, you know, this may be, I don't know if this, what age you'd want to pick for this?

Because it sounds like, you know, overall, the reading, you know, came pretty, with a lot of hard work, but, you know, pretty well for you. And then, but then there were some frustrating experiences, you know, with aides and various people, sometimes teachers. What would you tell yourself at some given age in the past, do you think? So, I mean, I did learn how to read pretty young, but there were, you know, like, four years of very intense struggle, right?

and I definitely have a lot of memories of, like, I'm, you know, seven. I don't want to do two hours a week of extra homework so I can learn how to read, right? it feels like nothing. It feels like I'm not getting there. So, I guess I'd like to go back to, like, my, you know, eight-year-old self and just, like, read her a book. you know, be like, hey, everything you're doing now is worth it.

You just need to keep doing it. yeah.

Yeah, and that calls out the importance of something we've mentioned in other episodes, too, of, like, you know, even while your, your dyslexic kid is working on the remediation stuff, like, you can, you can continue reading to them, reading them high-level stuff, because they can generally handle it, just to, you know. Although I have the, I have the funniest story of how I sort of realized my reading breakthrough, which is that, all my friends were really into the, like, warrior cats books, you know?

and my mom starts reading me the first one, and she hates it. She just thinks it's a terrible book. And she's like, I won't keep reading you this. I think you can read it on your own. And I had been starting to have breakthroughs, like, the easier books I had been reading, the non-chapter books, like, they had started getting easier. So, I think she was, she was recognizing something. It wasn't just, like, an artificial time she was deciding on that.

And so, I just struggled my way through that book, right? And by the time I finished it, I could basically read, but, no, I mean, obviously, keep reading your kids' books. But it is funny that my mom's refusal to read me that specific book was, like, an impetus for my breakthrough. Yeah. Yeah.

What would you want to say to anyone else? I guess there's sort of three different categories I'm thinking of. One is dyslexic kids themselves. One is maybe their parents and supporting them or other caregivers. and the other, maybe just the general public. I'm just curious. Maybe it's the same thing you'd want to say to all of them or different. What, like, advice or tip or insight or anything you want to share?

so, I guess for kids, it's, like, you, you can be very successful, but unfortunately, like, a lot of the work has to come from you. You know, and at a really young age, which is unfortunate, but, like, your parents aren't there every day. your teachers aren't there when you're doing your homework. Like, you just have to do everything and you have to advocate for yourself and you have to learn that really, really young.

and that can be really tough, you know, but, I mean, it's, it's useful later in life, right? you know, getting those self-advocacy skills really young, but you, you do have to develop them really young and there's sort of no substitute for that, even from parents, right? Which is, which is unfortunate, right? Because you don't want to think that, you know, an eight-year-old has to advocate for their own accommodations, has to make sure they're not being ignored in an educational setting, has to make sure they're receiving the help they're supposed to get.

but, unfortunately, a parent just can't do all of it. and I wish teachers could be relied upon to do every bit of it, but they're not, I mean, even if they are perfect, they're not inside the kid's head. so I guess part of it is also then, like, with parents, parents of dyslexic kids, is, like, you can do a lot for your kid, and you can provide a lot of support to them, and you absolutely should.

but you also need to provide them with the tools to advocate for themselves and to work through things for themselves. so it's, it's about, it's not about, you know, providing workarounds and everything. It's definitely not about lowering expectations. I mean, I guess it is about workarounds a little bit, but what I mean more is that dyslexics, in my view, have the same potential to learn and the same potential to learn most skills, but that they'll need to learn differently, right?

and that, like, dyslexic kids need to know that they're dyslexic, and they need to know that things will be hard, but they need to know that they are not limited in what they can achieve, really. but that they need to know that, but that they need to push, and sometimes they even need to be pushy to grownups. and that's, that's tricky, but it's, it's true. and then I think with the general public, the main thing is illiteracy and dyslexia aren't the same thing.

because that is something that I hear a lot from the general public and from people who should definitely know better. and also that dyslexia can't be cured and that arguably it shouldn't be. right. because there are a lot of people, and the reason I'm connecting it to the dyslexic people who think dyslexia and illiteracy are the same thing, is that people think once you've learned how to read, you are no longer dyslexic, or that if you're dyslexic, you can't learn how to read.

And both of those assumptions are really devastating, like really, really bad. because dyslexics can learn how to read. and if they struggle with reading their whole lives, which is a possibility, there are, you know, ways of working around that. but it's not good of systems to lower expectations, right? Like I'm a, I'm a huge believer in people using whatever they need to be able to do what they want to do in their lives, right?

Like if, if you can't read well because of dyslexia and text to speech or whatever is helpful for you, that's awesome. But I do think that there still needs to be an impetus on schools that your student has dyslexia is not an excuse to not teach them how to read and write. You should still be, you're still responsible for teaching them how to learn how to read and write, you know?

Yeah, that's, that's really well said. It's a, it's a subtle, but, but really important point there. Yeah. And unfortunately, those assumptions are still so widespread. all right, well, I want to give you a chance to, tell people where they can find you online. Yeah, so I have a YouTube channel about political psychology, which is the psychology of politics and it's what my master's is in. I should clarify my master's is in a political psychology.

I am not a clinical psychologist or any kind of like educational psychologist. do not assume that I like from a professional standpoint, know anything special about dyslexia, or any like other, things like that. sorry. I just always feel the need to put that disclaimer on there because there are so many people making just wild psychology content on the internet. yeah. so yeah, my channel is about political psychology. it's aimed at the general public and at activists.

I try and be funny and have it be entertaining and not terribly, terribly grim. and there's usually pictures of cats in my video as well. thanks. Great. And we will link to that. Of course, you can put the link in the notes. thanks for having me. Great. Well, thank you very much. yeah. Thanks for sharing your story. Thanks. Yeah. We appreciate it a lot. Thank you. Yeah. Thank you.