The LDA Podcast

Carolyn Skowron discusses her lived experience with Nonverbal Learning Disability, which can impact visual-spatial abilities and social abilities. Carolyn shares advice, talks about the obstacles and social-emotional challenges that those with NVLD face, and more!Visit Carolyn’s website: https://www.carolynsophia.com/unbreakable 

Zero Barriers in STEM Education is a new, free educational resource from the Smithsonian Science Education Center that gets students to investigate barriers to accessibility in their community by using social science tools. Khadijah Thibodeaux, a Senior Science Curriculum Developer at the Smithsonian Science Education Center, shares the process of creating the guide, which includes over 60 perspectives from individuals with disabilities and those most impacted by barriers to accessibility. Jen Reichwage, a 7th and 8th grade science teacher who implemented the guide in her classroom, shares how Zero Barriers guided her students to recognize obstacles to accessibility everywhere, and led to them making positive changes in their community. Learn more about Zero Barriers at: https://ssec.si.edu/zero-barriers-guide 

Amy Margolis and Prudence Fisher are two nonverbal learning disability researchers who are pushing to get NVLD included in the DSM, and proposing a rename: Developmental Visual-Spatial Disorder. Amy and Prudence discuss the signs of NVLD, how it differs from other diagnoses, and how a lack of understanding and awareness can lead to those with a visual-spatial disorder not getting the key support they need to thrive. 

We’re joined by Kelli Fetter, founder of Handwriting Solutions, to talk all things dysgraphia! Kelli talks with us about how dysgraphia is so much more than just ‘messy handwriting,’ how to balance building handwriting skills with accommodations, pervasive dysgraphia myths, and more. Learn more about Handwriting Solutions at handwritingsolutions.org.  

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 education being a wholly negative "dumping ground" are not supported by the evidence. Dr. Morgan also discusses why there has been resistance to accepting the data, and shares findings from his latest study on the prevalence of reading difficulties. 

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 practices to help mitigate anxiety. 

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://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/dys.70003 

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.