Ep #39: The Early Signs of Dyslexia with Aly Young

How much do you actually know about dyslexia? Do you think that it’s rare? Do you think that dyslexia is seeing letters and words backwards? These are just a few of the common myths that so many of us have about dyslexia. I had the most amazing conversation today with Aly Young, who’s the owner of the Learning Lab and is a notorious mover and shaker who gets things done there. She has a background in psychology and sociology and she is on a mission to help kids who struggled with the material, not because they weren’t smart or weren’t trying, but because the approach wasn’t what was right for them.

Aly talks about some of the early signs that dyslexia might be an issue. She talks about empowering your kids and helping them realize that there are superpowers embedded in dyslexia. And we talked about combining the power of the science of learning with the science of play for the best outcomes for these kiddos so they can reach their limitless potential. This was an amazing conversation, I hope you enjoy it. It’s coming up right after this.

Welcome to the Raising Healthy Kid Brains podcast where moms and teachers come to learn all about kids’ brains, how they work, how they learn, how they grow and simple tips and tricks for raising the most resilient, kind, smart, compassionate kids we can. All while having lots of grace and compassion for ourselves because you know what? We all really need and deserve that too. I am your host, Amy Nielson. Let’s get ready to start the show.

Amy: Aly, welcome to the show. We’re so happy to have you here.

Aly: Yeah, thanks for having me.

Amy: Yeah. I am so excited to have this conversation because I get asked this question a lot. So tell me a little bit about what you do and how you help teachers and parents with dyslexic learners.

Aly: I’m the owner of the Learning Lab. We are a specialized tutoring center that focuses on academic remediation for kids with dyslexia and ADHD. So we actually have two brick and mortar locations. We’re in South Florida, so one is in Fort Lauderdale and then another about 20 minutes away from that in a town called Davie. I’m not sure where you are and if you work remotely, but that’s where we are.

And most of the kids that come to us are extremely smart, very bright, excited type of people that are very creative and social and big picture thinkers and visionary type of people but unfortunately the school systems aren’t equipped to meet their needs. So it’s our job to kind of understand where they are, where they need to be, why they’re struggling, and then teach them appropriately. And unfortunately, like I mentioned, that spark that they have inside of them, which is part of the dyslexia, sometimes can be diminished when they have experienced so much educational trauma, so it’s part, we work on that as well.

We’re not just sitting there to explicitly teach them the academics. We’re there to coach them through those social and emotional parts that go along with it as well.

Amy: I’m so happy to hear you say that. I was actually going to ask you about that, do you see that, just that lack of confidence in that, that just, I don’t know this feeling, I think that sometimes they develop that they’re lesser or not good enough? And it’s devastating to watch that and see that.

Aly: Absolutely, yeah. And it’s definitely an interesting sort of gray area for this specific population. They’re smart enough to know that there’s something going on that’s different within them. The school systems and a lot of educators, not their fault, aren’t usually educated on what dyslexia is, the signs, any of those. So they don’t fit in with the kids in these extreme clusters.

And then they also don’t feel successful in a traditional classroom. And no one’s really there to educate them, empower them on this is why you feel this way and we’re going to help you and we’re going to encourage you. We’re going to teach you the right way so you can feel successful. I even spoke to a mom the other day, she said, “I feel like there’s no place for my son because he doesn’t fit over here and he doesn’t fit over here. Where do we go?” So that’s really how the Learning Lab was born is that we are the place for that.

Amy: I love that and I love that you’re doing this. Okay, so help us out, for those of us who maybe don’t know enough about the signs of dyslexia, if you were going to give just a brief intro. What are some things we would be looking for if we have a kiddo that we feel maybe isn’t fitting in, in an extreme group or in the maybe more traditional group, what are we looking for, what are some signs?

Aly: We can start as young as preschool. Some of the early signs in preschool can be difficulty with rhyming, difficulty remembering things in sequence, like days of the week, months of the year. I’m trying to think of some other early signs. I mean speech delay, that’s a very common one and that’s typically where it all begins. The parents I talk to usually say, “Well, it all started when he was referred to a speech pathologist because he had speech issues.” Delayed speech but also more about just the expressive speech.

So maybe talking in baby language a little too long. The W’s for R’s, things like that. And a lot of times that people don’t know and they just think, they’re just baby talking, how cute. I want to keep them babies forever. But really those are signs that their auditory processing is not where it should be. And dyslexia is a language processing difference that is impacted because of wiring in the brain, that’s not wired the way a neurotypical brain would be wired to process language. So those are some of the early signs.

Then later we get into kids having a really hard time understanding the sound to symbol correlations. So understanding, remembering a, e, i, o u, differentiating those vowel sounds. And then just really being able to segment and blend and truly decode. And that’s kind of another catch 22 there is that a lot of times the school systems are teaching with a whole language approach where they’re like, “Look at the letter. Take a guess. Let’s look at the picture. The word’s duck.”

And so a first grader should be able to sound out the word duck. But instead, they’re trained to look at the first letter D, and then there’s a picture of a duck. Okay, duck, that’s not reading. That’s teaching how to guess. And so when we’re teaching kids how to guess, they can slip through the cracks because these are very smart kids. But yeah, so those early signs, struggles with reading, struggles with spelling.

I remember as a first grade teacher myself many, many years ago, I used to have this one particular student who would hide under the table during spelling tests, literally shut down emotionally. And went into his fight or flight mode and would hide under the table. And then I remember some of the girls with these issues. And again, I was reading endorsed. I was becoming a reading specialist. I was a reading teacher and I never knew about dyslexia, no one ever talked about it. So I didn’t know that these were some of the signs, didn’t know.

But the girls, I remember this one little girl, she would just kind of implode and just sit there with a sad face and this other little boy had more physical symptoms of being upset about this. So struggles with decoding as they get older. Another common thing that I mentioned before is sequencing. So those letter reversals past the age of seven, things like that. And it’s not about seeing things backwards. It’s truly about sequencing and understanding directionality.

As we get older it becomes that receptive and expressive language piece, having issues with fluency, having issues with comprehension. So there’s a lot of, the signs just vary as we get older. We actually just posted a blog on our website about some of those signs. And some adults are reading it and saying, “Oh my gosh, I think these are things that I can relate to.”

Amy: That’s so powerful and we will absolutely link your website here because I think we’re going to have people going to check this out because of course we have these questions sometimes. I love that you brought this up. We talk about, in the science of reading, the speech part of the brain versus the visual part of the brain.

And I thought it was so fascinating because I think when I hear about dyslexia, people are saying, “Well, they see it backwards. They’re seeing letters backwards, so they’re reading backwards.” However, you’re saying that’s not it at all. And you talked about it being more in the speech part of the brain as opposed to the visual part of the brain. Am I correct in hearing that?

Aly: Processing, so it’s really about what the brain does with what the ears hear, it’s what the brain does with what the eyes see. So people will say, I spoke to someone today and she said, “I know my child is dyslexic and they see things backwards and I need to get help.” And I didn’t interrupt her, but I eventually corrected her and I said, “Well, actually dyslexia has nothing to do with vision. It’s a language processing difference.”

If you truly look at MRI brain scans of a dyslexic brain versus a neurotypical brain engaged in language and literacy processes you can see where there’s parts that are just not lighting up and not wiring together or firing together appropriately so that we can retrieve that language appropriately. So of course that impacts reading and literacy and writing and spelling and all those skills.

Amy: That is so fascinating. And so I guess my next question for you would be then, I agree with you around the whole language being particularly difficult for all kinds of kids really, but particularly kids that maybe are not neurotypical. But are there ways to help? Is this something we can do something about or is it just this is the difference and so your brain is just going to have a harder time with reading?

Aly: Yeah. No, actually, yeah, not at all. The science of reading follows the Orton Gillingham approach, which is system explicit, systematic, sequential and multi-sensory instruction that starts with the foundational skills of phonemic awareness. Once we’ve mastered the phonemic awareness, we go on to phonics, we go into syllable types, we go into. So it’s really about very much following this sequence and building upon the foundation. Even if it’s a fourth or fifth grader, we’re going to go back and rebuild the whole foundation and teach it appropriately.

And the science of reading actually proves that this is the only way for someone with dyslexia to learn how to read and spell successfully. But it’s actually the best practice for every child to learn how to read this way. My own daughter attends the Learning Lab twice a week, she is going into first grade. And I see a huge difference in her, I don’t believe she’s dyslexic. I mean, of course, I’m going to have her assessed because of what I do. But regardless, I believe that this is the appropriate instructional piece for all early readers to learn how to read this way.

I use the example, it’s like if a child on a wheelchair needs a ramp to get into the school, everybody can use that ramp. So that’s how I kind of, that’s my example with the science of reading. It’s like well, let’s just have a ramp so everybody can use the ramp. The kids with the wheelchair can use the ramp, but then everybody can get up the ramp too. So that’s how I feel about the science of reading. I think it’s really, really powerful for all learners, but it’s necessary for kids with dyslexia. And that is the solution to get them reading and spelling appropriately.

Amy: I love that so much. Okay, so starting with that base of the phonemic awareness, and then moving on to phonics and just building a step at a time. Yes, so powerful. I’m so glad we’re getting this message out and I’m so glad that you’re doing this in person, it’s so powerful.

Aly: Yeah, in person, that’s another huge thing. But I wanted to say before I forget, a really powerful informational tool that we use is my Instagram. It’s Learning Lab FL, so @learninglabfl. And the whole premise of our whole platform of using that Instagram and Facebook too is educating parents on what dyslexia is and isn’t, and the solutions related to how do we help these children. Are they helpless? Is my kid ever going to be anything in the world?

So really disproving those myths and misconceptions and empowering parents on what this means and what they can do to make a difference. Because people with dyslexia, when they’re given these appropriate tools, they are unstoppable. They are truly the game changers in the world, the visionaries, the people that change the world to make it a better place. And I always joke and say, “These are the C students that hire those straight A students to run their businesses because they are the idea people.” And so when they’re given these appropriate resources, they’re just limitless.

Amy: I love that so much. I was at a conference down in Arizona a couple of years ago and listened to speakers come on stage for three/four days. And just these powerful people talking about the businesses they built and these things that they’ve done to change the world. And over and over and over again the speakers would get up and talk about growing up with dyslexia. And by the end of the conference, I mean, it became chatter in the room, everyone who’s up on stage is dyslexia. It was so fascinating.

But I just thought, they’re super powers built into sometimes our biggest challenges. And so I love that you have found such a beautiful way to empower these kids that maybe felt less or not having their needs met and found a way to empower them and make them be able to reach their potential because it’s incredible.

Aly: They do have super powers. I always try to explain to parents when they’re so down on all this that this is a gift. And if we can just correct that tiny little piece, which is the reading and writing part and the reading and spelling part, it’s mostly good things. So they see the world differently. These are problem solvers, so it’s just about getting that appropriate instruction. Unfortunately, the school system is as of right now, this could change, I mean they could embrace the science of reading, but as of right now it is a barrier for them.

Amy: So would you encourage parents then to find resources to kind of work with their kids at home, both parents maybe with children, they’re struggling with dyslexia, but also parents that just want to do best practice and teaching their kids to read, to find good resources on science of reading and do that at home if they don’t have access to a center like yours?

Aly: Absolutely. I think starting early is the number one best intervention. That’s kind of the slogan is, the best intervention is early intervention. And again, whether there is a learning issue or not, I think starting from the beginning at the very, very early ages, showing them, A says A and going through those sounds and just making it, like you were saying, making it fun, making it through play. Sight words shouldn’t be memorized, with rote memorization on a black and white index card.

They really need to have these visual components to them to give reason to it because they are arbitrary, the word one O-N-E, it makes no sense but you just have to give reason to it. So they have these wonderful tools called visual sight word cards that are out there, you can buy them on Amazon. And it really helps to make sense of those crazy sight words but also exposing kids to early phonemic awareness through play, I think is really helpful.

Amy: Yeah, we love just with our program that we do, we call it stacking the science of reading with the science of play because they’re both so impactful. And if you put them together, it just changes the world. So what are the advantages then to, you mentioned earlier, the importance of being able to do that early and then also in person, what are some of the advantages in being able to do that in person?

Aly: People ask me that all the time. And we don’t do virtual. So two things, I think the advantage of starting early is we’re building foundational skills from the get-go. When I get a kindergartener, it is so much easier to build those foundational skills because they don’t have the bad habits yet. They’re not stuck in their ways in anything yet. That’s number one.

Number two, their confidence is not impacted yet. They haven’t gone through this educational trauma yet. They’re just learning the right ways from the beginning. Then the other thing is, their brains are more malleable. Their brains are much more absorbent at that age to learn and take it all in. They say kids as early as, the earlier you are, the more languages you can learn. That’s because of the brain.

And then the other reason, so why do we do everything in person? Learning is an emotional process. And specifically for kids who are struggling it’s so much more emotional. So I believe in connection and building relationships with the teachers that they’re working with. Being able to high five, hug, touch the materials, manipulate the materials to really build those words and sounds. To get up and do jumping jacking when you need a brain break, to wiggle in your seat, things like that.

So I just think that, yes, obviously during COVID did we do virtual sessions? Of course. But I think so many kids are so much more behind now and struggling with the social and emotional along with the academic piece because of all that online learning.

Amy: Yeah, absolutely. And I love several pieces of that. So I think what you talked about when you can touch it, you can see it, you can hear it. You’re pulling in all of these different senses, which I mean in the science of reading, they talk about reading is something that we kind of create or hotwire, I’ve heard it called, between the speech part of our brain and the visual part of our brains. We’re doing some building there. And the more senses we can engage in that, I think the stronger those connections, the synapses that we’re building. So I love that piece of it.

And also the relationship piece because like you said, I think there is so much of it that is emotional and that when the children pick so much up on, I mean so much of language, it’s not even verbal. They’re getting it from our body movements and from facial expressions and things like that. So we can share that love of learning, our confidence. We can give them, share our confidence with them as they’re maybe not feeling it in themselves yet, especially if they’ve already dealt with some educational trauma for sure.

Aly: I think the ability to have that play and connection and build that cooperation to even want to learn, so that’s very important.

Amy: Yeah, absolutely. Tell me, anything else that you want to share that maybe we haven’t covered yet that you would want parents and teachers to know about their children that might be struggling with dyslexia?

Aly: I think it’s important to know that these are smart kids. There is nothing to do with intelligence with a child that has dyslexia or ADHD. It’s really not about a cognitive issue. I think people will always be, sometimes parents will have this misunderstanding and think, well, it can’t be my kid because they’re so smart. Yes, that’s typical. They’re usually the ones that can carry on an adult conversation and sound like they are just these savvy little creatures and that’s part of it.

So I think that there’s this misunderstanding, I think it’s so important to understand that these are smart kids that are just not able to show their brilliance in the traditional school environment because of the way they’re being instructed. They need hands-on learning, they need presentations, projects, opportunities to really demonstrate their brilliance in different ways. And I think that when that’s understood and that’s recognized and we know what dyslexia is and isn’t, these kids, like I said, they’re really just limitless in what they can do and accomplish.

Amy: It’s so empowering and I think it gives so much hope to parents who maybe are worried for their kids and feeling hopeless and struggling. And I remember having a conversation with my cute neighbor a couple of years ago whose daughter was now in high school and her daughter was dyslexic. And she just talked about the struggle, just years and years and years. Because, they hadn’t known exactly what to do and hadn’t had maybe the right kind of support early on and just that kid struggled continuing for years and years and years and just making everything so much harder.

And just watching that and wanting to be able to help and not quite knowing yet what that could look like. And just wanting to now share what you’re sharing, which is just this empowering message of you’re smart and your child’s smart and you can do this and there are options and there’s science to show you what to do and it can work and be incredibly powerful.

Aly: I think another huge tip for parents navigating this world of dyslexia and getting support is you have to be a warrior, you just have to be. And there’s no question about it. I mean, the most successful students that I’ve worked with have warrior moms, warrior dads that are just walking into the IEP meetings, making sure that they bring experts with them who know the rules, who know the lingo, who know what the law is supposed to be providing. To never go to an IEP meeting alone.

You are, I think parents don’t realize they’re allowed to bring anybody they want to these IEP meetings. And it’s really, really important that you have somebody on your team that’s sort of like a liaison to help communicate this language barrier. Because we go to an IEP meeting, there’s all these acronyms, there’s all these people sitting around a table who don’t know anything about your kid except for what’s on this document. It’s very intimidating. I think it’s important to gather a community, gather your experts and really do your homework and become a warrior for your child.

Amy: It’s amazing and you’re providing so many resources for that. So we are going to include in the show notes the links to your website as well as your social media so that people can get even more information. And, Aly, thank you so much for taking the time to come and talk to me today.

Aly: My pleasure.

Amy: I appreciate it so much.

Aly: So nice meeting you and it’s just wonderful to connect with somebody who’s aligned and being an advocate for children, so it was so nice to meet you.

Amy: Thank you.

Wasn’t that amazing? One of the number one questions that I get asked so often with our Play to Read program is whether this will work for dyslexic learners. I love how Aly specifically talked about the critical importance of the science of reading and starting with phonemic awareness, building on phonics, and doing that step by step systematic process. And then also the power of relationship and play when trying to encourage children and teach them to read.

Do you want this for your kid? You can get it right now, playtoreadfun.com. This system was built to reach these exact needs. So if you have a dyslexic learner, this works for them. If you have a neurotypical learner, this works beautifully for them as well. Again, come find that at playtoreadfun.com.

Thank you for hanging out with me today for this fun chat on Raising Healthy Kid Brains. If you want to see more of what we’re doing to support kiddos and their amazing brains, come visit us on our website planningplaytime.com. See you next week.