Owen Small, a research assistant at Trinity College Dublin, shares how ADHD and dysgraphia impact his day-to-day in adulthood. Owen discusses how the self-knowledge from a diagnosis helped to reduce his stress around handwriting and productivity, provides insight into the ‘tides’ of motivation that can accompany ADHD, and shares advice for fellow individuals with LD.

Dr. Paul Morgan is a researcher investigating disparities in disability identification and treatment during childhood. His research has found that students of color are likely to be under-identified for special education services despite a prevailing narrative that over-identification is always the issue. Dr. Morgan discusses the methodology of his studies, the importance of investigating a fuller set of explanatory factors for reading difficulties, and why strong claims about special e...

Santina Taglialatela, a recruiting coordinator who was recently diagnosed with dyscalculia, shares her experience of living with dyscalculia as an adult. Santina discusses some lesser known challenges that are caused by dyscalculia, managing and advocating for your learning disability in the workplace, the grieving process that can occur after getting a diagnosis later in life, and more!

Dr. Steven Feifer, a neuropsychologist who has authored 3 diagnostic achievement assessments, talks with us about the importance of understanding the different cognitive processes involved in reading, math, and writing to answer why a student is struggling. Dr. Feifer will also be a keynote speaker at our 63rd Annual International Conference in St. Louis, and shares how his presentation will focus on how anxiety can impact processes like comprehension and working memory, and will include prac...

Dr. Angela Thompson and Dr. Julia Carroll join us to discuss their recent research paper: Seeing, Being Seen, and Being Able to See Dyslexia in English Schools: Parent and Teacher Perspectives. Dr. Thompson and Dr. Carroll discuss how parents and teachers perceive inclusion for dyslexic students differently, including of lived experiences and school structure in their research, and the importance of a diagnosis for identity and interventions. Read "Seeing, Being Seen" here: https:...

We talk with Stefan Bauer, the Co-Founder and CEO of Marker Learning, an AI support for psychologists and educators designed to help more students to receive an evaluation. Stefan discusses his own difficulty in getting an evaluation growing up, how his diagnosis of dyslexia provided him with a roadmap to success, and the highlights of being able to pay it forward by creating Marker Learning.

When teachers struggled to support her daughter with dyslexia, Kirsten Bronkovic became inspired to create an 3D experiential platform to build empathy and understanding about neurodiverse students. Kirsten, CEO and Co-Founder of EmpathEd, joins us to discuss obstacles educators face when trying to understand neurodiverse students, how misconceptions can cause harm, and how neurodiverse individuals helped EmpathEd to put teachers in their student’s shoes.

Kelly Tanzi, a fourth grade writing teacher with a background in special education, shares how incorporating the arts into learning can create a powerful multi-dimensional learning experience for all students. Kelly discusses how incorporating arts projects can give students who struggle with reading and writing more agency in how they present their knowledge, and can hook the interest of reluctant readers. Along with examples of past artistic projects, Kelly shares resources for ...

Dr. Julia Carroll, the lead researcher of "Toward a Consensus on Dyslexia," discusses why a consistent definition of dyslexia is so important, and the findings of the study. Highlights of the study include involving individuals with dyslexia, the large role cognitive processing plays in dyslexia, the need for interventions tailored to the individual, and more. Dr. Carroll also discusses the importance of recognizing struggles in dyslexia beyond reading and identifies areas of dyslexia researc...

Aaron Wolf is a neurodiversity advocate, actor, director, media host, cofounder of film production company Howling Wolf Productions, and the founder of I Am Able, a nonprofit dedicated to neurodiversity awareness. Aaron discusses his experience with neurodiversity, what led him to create I Am Able, and how his natural creativity drove him to become a storyteller of neurodiverse experiences. https://www.iamablefoundation.org/

“I think the most radical thing you can do in education is speak up, listen, and to make room for love because every learner has a powerful story, and it's one that can be told and received when we offer the right tools to do so.” -Caroline Weaver We sit with LD advocate and researcher Caroline Weaver to discuss her interdisciplinary capstone project that creates an intersection of lived experience, art, advocacy, and research. Caroline’s project delves into how school systems can cause harm ...

We sit down with Dr. Jeff Karp, a distinguished chair at Brigham and Women’s Hospital, professor at Harvard Medical School and MIT, and upcoming keynote speaker at our 62nd Annual Conference. Dr. Karp discusses his experience with learning disabilities, and how he began ‘thinking about thinking,’ and using pattern-recognition to begin to thrive. Dr. Karp shares some of his “Life Ignition Tools,” discusses how learning disabilities still impact him as an adult, addresses the self-shame many wi...

Dr. Jan Wasowicz, a speech language pathologist and board certified specialist in child language, discusses Developmental Language Disorder, the signs of DLD, what an ideal evaluation would look like, and more. Resources: Join the SPELLTalk listserv We Need to Keep (But Revise) The Specific Learning Disability Construct in IDEA www.DLDandme.org www.RADLD.org

In this second part of our conversation with Dr. Jan Wasowicz, Dr. Wasowicz delves into what an ideal intervention for developmental language disorder would look like, how language screeners are no longer a common practice in schools, and how interprofessional collaboration between speech language pathologists, school psychologists, and special education teachers is essential to effectively identify and support students with language disorders. Resources: Join the SPELLTalk listserv The L...

Neurodiversity Alliance Ambassadors Lydia Pinto and Shoshana Holt-Auslander join us to talk about their journeys of becoming learning disability advocates, and how their current graduate school research projects are benefiting the disability community. Lydia and Shoshana also discuss defining success for themselves, the importance of sharing neurodiverse experiences to erase stigma, and more!

Jesse Sanchez, the Managing Director of Programs for the Neurodiversity Alliance, joins us to discuss the challenges that students with learning disabilities can face in the school setting, the importance of a shared, supportive community for neurodiverse students, and how to build self-knowledge, self-confidence, and self-advocacy skills for these individuals. The Neurodiversity Alliance is a nonprofit dedicated to building community, developing leadership skills, facilitating peer-t...

Harold Jordan, a nationwide education equity coordinator at the ACLU of Pennsylvania, discusses how students of color and students with disabilities are disproportionately impacted by unfair discipline practices in schools. Harold discusses how bias, the misuse of police in schools, and the shortage of support staff can contribute to students having early interactions with the justice system, and how the consequences of this can follow them into their adult lives. Harold also provides insight...

Adventure athlete and dyslexia advocate Meghan Buchanan is in the final stages of completing the Explorer's Grand Slam and was recently featured on Netflix's survival series, Outlast. In this episode, we dive into Meghan's experience on the show, her relentless pursuit of her goals, and how her dyslexia led her to develop GGRIT: Gratitude, growth, resilience, integrity, and tenacity. Tune in to our first episode with Meghan: From Injury to Everest, Dyslexia Gave Me GGRIT: https://www.bu...

Dr. Rebecca Resnik, a past special education teacher and current psychologist, discusses the importance of holistic learning disability assessments, evidence-based intervention, and communicating neuroscience to educators to incorporate into practice. Dr. Resnik also reviews LDA's SLD Evaluation Principles and Standards and breaks down why these standards are so important.

Linda Karanzalis is a board-certified cognitive specialist, Nonverbal Learning Disability (NVLD) and ADHD advocate, and author of Misnamed, Misdiagnosed, Misunderstood: Recognizing and Coping with NVLD from Childhood Through Adulthood. In this episode, Linda discusses her own experience with NVLD and ADHD, the mental health issues that come along with these conditions, considerations for teaching, and more.