The Dyslexia Quest Podcast

Join us for the great discussion with author Katherine Lewis on her book "The Good News About Bad Behavior -- Why Kids Are Less Disciplined Than Ever And What To Do About It."

A new and surprising problem has quietly been developing in the current generation of children: they are out of control. A recent study of first-graders found they could sit still for no more than three minutes, only a quarter of the time that their peers could in 1948. Government statistics show that half of all children will develop a mood or behavioral disorder or a substance addiction by age 18. In the era of the helicopter parent, children seem to have lost the ability to regulate their behavior and emotions.

Our time-honored methods of punishments and rewards haven't taught discipline--they've undermined it. Journalist Katherine Reynolds Lewis spent five years investigating this crisis: observing families at the dinner table, meeting educators who are transforming the school experience for kids with attention and mood disorders, studying psychological research, and looking introspectively at her own parenting habits. And in this unexpected and valuable book, she documents a new theory of discipline that could reverse the trend: "The Apprenticeship Model," which centers on listening and building children’s skills to address the root causes of misbehavior, rather than reactionary incentives and consequences. By strengthening their connection, communication and capability, we can raise children who are self-disciplined, confident, and better equipped to handle the challenges they'll face in life--and whose parents can finally stop wondering what they're doing wrong.

The book grows out of Lewis’ July 2015 article for Mother Jones magazine about school discipline. Within days of appearing on MotherJones.com, the article became the site’s most-read story ever, racking up more than 4 million views, 790,000 Facebook shares, 6,000 tweets and 980 comments. Parents and teachers around the world wrote in to say the piece changed their approach with children. It made its way into conference sessions and university curricula, and attracted interest in Sweden and Germany. Clearly, millions of people were facing the same fears, confronting the same problems, and looking for solutions.

Direct download: Katherine_Lewis.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 12:00pm EDT

Join us for this useful and inspiring episode about how to build reading confidence for your dyslexic child with a tool called Simple Word Books for decoding simple words. Cigdem has a passion for helping children and it shows in her depth of work and beautiful resources. 

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About Simplewordbooks.com and Cigdem’s story:

From a very early age, my son had a passion for books. Unfortunately, reading did not come naturally to him. In 2015, at age six, he was diagnosed with Dyslexia. With training, he soon began reading simple words and sentences. One night, he picked up Hop on Pop by Dr. Seuss. He read the entire 160+ words over and over, then asked for a chapter book.

I googled, talked to experts, teachers, tutors and parents to find low-level/high-interest books. Others were in search of these books, too, but they did not exist. So I began to write for my son; he began to read. And Project Simple Words was born.

In “Overcoming Dyslexia”, Sally Shaywitz, M.D., professor in Yale University School of Medicine and Co-Director of the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity, talks about many children whose childhood joys were extinguished by dyslexia. The story of Caitlyn’s seventh birthday party Shaywitz tells in her book is the one I will always remember.

All through the party, Caitlyn kept asking “When do I get to blow my candles out?” … [her mom] entered with a cake.. Caitlyn ran over to the table, climbed up on a chair, and bent over the cake. She closed her eyes tightly, concentrated very hard, and then blew out all the candles. Then she ran up the stairs to her bedroom and closed the door. [Her mom] found Caitlyn on her bed with her favorite storybook, Good Night Moon, on her lap. Tears streamed down her face. “You said I would get any wish I wanted, but you were wrong. My wish didn’t come true.” She still could not read any of the words on the page.”

Caitlyn’s story touched my heart and gave me the strength to bring Simple Words Books™ to life. Thank you, Dr. Shaywitz for sharing it.

Direct download: Cigdem_podcast_Repost2019.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 2:09pm EDT

Join us for this episode on Math for Dyslexic Children with Adrianne Meldrum, owner of "Math for Middles" - a multisensory math program available in online math tutoring and lessons. Her multisensory approach works with your child's inherent strengths. She walks us through how to approach math assistance specifically for children and middle schoolers with dyslexia.

She notes that all learning happens through connection and emotion - so that should always be our first step as often as possible.

SHOW NOTES:

Direct download: ADrianna_Meldrum_redone.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 5:57pm EDT

Join us for this conversation about helping dyslexic children with Spelling via a method called Structured Word Inquiry. Spelling can be a tricky, frustrating area of school for dyslexic students. Our guest Emily O'Connor, M.A.T comes back for a second time to talk through specific methods for spelling. She is a dyslexic learner herself, and she shares her journey and background that helps her in practice of tutoring helping children with dyslexia.

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Direct download: Emily_OConner_mixdown2.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

Join us for this interactive, helpful episode on how a 5 minute technique of Tapping, or EFT, can be a tangible, useful and easy method to help children with anxiety, stress, trauma, and big feelings -- with our guest Dr. Maria Ortner.

Tapping can be a great tool for parents to teach their children to manage anxiety with specific actions. We discuss helpful ideas on how to introduce this new method to your child to be more likely to get their buy-in and participation.

BIO: Dr. Maria Ortner served as a school psychologist in Danbury, CT for 27 years prior to beginning her work with The Tapping Solution Foundation. Dr. Ortner is committed to promoting Tapping as an effective technique for teachers and students to deal with anxiety, stress and trauma in the school setting and beyond. Dr. Ortner holds degrees in Clinical and School Psychology, as well as a Doctorate of Education. She has extensive experience in education in the United States and abroad. Dr. Ortner is the Director of the Tapping Solution Foundation and travels the world to bring EFT/Tapping to people of all ages.

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Join us for a FREE Interactive Webinar on "Building your Child's Self Esteem" -- Register Here

Sign up for the 8 week course Here

 

 

Direct download: Dr_Maria_Ortner_mixdown.mp3
Category:general -- posted at: 6:00am EDT

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