For The Love Of Literacy Respecting the Social, Emotional & Academic Needs of Dyslexic Individuals -- Bonnie Feeney & Jen Petrich
Bonnie Feeney, a dyslexic mother and Jen Petrich, her PhD neuroscientist daughter discuss dyslexia from a unique perspective—one of from a journey of personal discovery and the other from studying brain science. Hear how their journeys came together, enriching both their lives.
Learn the difficulties that dyslexics confront within and beyond the classroom. Dyslexics share more than a diagnosis and supporting them requires more than just a reading intervention. They deserve our respect and understanding.
For decades, Bonny experienced biases and judgments that included narrow instruction that didn’t develop her interest in language. Jen became a neuroscientist not to help her mother, but to understand neurodiversity and find methods that support students broadly. Bonny began to listen in on Jen’s tutoring sessions with students and realized that this type of word and sentence inquiry made sense to her.
A note from Jennifer Petrich: I would like to clarify a comment I made on this podcast episode that doesn’t reflect my true beliefs. In recounting someone else’s experience, I used language and framing that I no longer align with, including referring to a good IQ and not being dumb. I believe that measures like IQ do not define a person’s worth or fully capture their abilities, and I’m mindful that words we use—especially casually—can reinforce harmful assumptions. This was an unfiltered moment, and I’m committed to being more thoughtful and aware of my language and biases moving forward.
Bruce Howlett’s Seven Layers of Literacy Approach: ReadingShift.com
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