What Everyone Ought to Know About Dyslexia

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Do they forget what you taught them just minutes later?

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Are they exceptionally creative in some areas but struggling in others? If this resonates with you, don't miss our upcoming episode featuring Griselda Provencio, the founder.

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Discover how Griselda's personal journey of uncovering her own dyslexia later in life help has transformed her mission to empower children and parents alike. Tune in for lots of insights and inspiration.

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Join us on a journey of exploring thoughts, feelings and beliefs surrounding this growing segment of our society. Drawing from real stories and expert advice, we will explore the nuances of child rearing for children who have experienced trauma and offer valuable resources to guide you through the intricate journey of kinship care.

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We'll discuss how we can change the course of history by rewriting our grandchildren's future, all within a supportive community that understands the unique joys and struggles. This podcast was made especially for you.

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Welcome to a community where your voice is heard, your expression, experiences are valued, and your journey is honored.

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I'm so excited for today's interview with Griselda Provencio. Griselda is a specialist on dyslexia diagnostic testing with dyslexia warriors.

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Mom's igniting Potential Griselda, you're down in Texas, right? Yes, that's true. I am in El Paso, Texas, and I was born and raised here. I learned about Griselda when I was searching for ways to help our nine year old granddaughter who we've been raising for three years and has dyslexia. It's been a struggle for her and so hard for us because we're just learning now how to help her.

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And Griselda, you've been through many trials and challenges in your life because of your disability, which makes it even more exciting for you to share everything that you've learned because you didn't find out that you had dyslexia until later in life. That's correct. That's correct. And it was just faith. That's what it was. Again, like you said, I had no clue that I was dyslexic and I struggled in school. I remember when I was in the classroom and the teacher would ask us to read out loud and she would pick different people. I was always praying and asking, please make me disappear because my heart would start beating really, really fast, my legs will tremble and that's all I wanted to do, disappear for the teacher not to see me. So she wouldn't pick me. But when she would, I was a mess. I just couldn't read what was in front of me. That must have been really hard on your self esteem. Exactly. Especially when you're older and you realize that you have a problem and you start comparing yourself with your peers. Yes, it's a greater impact on your self esteem. So I always was, even though I am inside of me, I'm very happy. I like to have fun, I like to sing, I like to dance. I didn't see any value in myself and I would start shying away, especially when I knew I was around very smart people because I thought I was dumb. Were your parents aware that that was going on for you?

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Well, see, this is what happened. At one point the principal and my teacher in third grade, they called my mom and they told them that I was going to fail math. We were working on math problems and obviously since I was struggling with reading, I couldn't understand what they were asking in, in the math problems. Right. So it was hard for me to, to come up with, with the right response. So they told me, you know, I think she's going to fail in math. So I remember I was, I was waiting for my mom outside and, and the school had a really pretty garden outside. So I was just right there waiting for her. And then I see her coming and you know, she had teary eyes and I said, mom, what's wrong? She goes, well, you know, you're, you're not doing very well in math. So we're going to have. I'm going to help you. Don't worry. Everything is going to be fine and I am going to help you. And if I can't, then we'll find someone to help you. And that broke my heart.

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Up until this moment. I remember seeing my mom's face, but yet she was encouraging.

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It just broke my heart and I didn't know what to do. And my self esteem went even.

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It affected my self esteem even more, you know, because I, I was, I. Felt able to help you. Yes, she was.

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She helped me some and then she found a teacher.

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So as a tutor. So she started helping me as well.

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So that's how I managed to pass third grade and then fourth grade, fifth grade. So I never failed a grade thanks to, to my mom, you know, know, being proactive and making sure that I was getting the help that I needed. But every year it was a struggle. There were different things that were popping up that I couldn't. Sometimes I couldn't concentrate. Memory is an issue. You know, one minute you learn a word and, or learn something. Maybe you're reading a passage and you just read it, but at the end, when you just finish reading it, you just can't remember what you read.

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So you have to read it again and maybe a third time and maybe a fourth time for you to grasp. Grasp what you're reading.

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So it was a struggle. Like I said, even I got to college and again, I would have to go to the library and just find a very quiet place where I could just sit and read and reread. So it takes a lot of time because your brain is trying to process all this information that it's giving to. To it. And this is the problem.

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This is how the brain works. Of a person that has dyslexia, language is processed on the left side of the brain, and creativity is on the right side of the brain. A person with dyslexia processes language on the right side of the brain. So that's why we struggle. That's why it's so hard for us to process what it's. The information that it's given to us. Even if you, if you are just talking to me or talking to the child, you're trying to.

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Your let your right side, which is the creative side, is trying to process each of the words. So it's not easy because it's a creative side. But a person that doesn't have dyslexia, they're processing the information on the right side of the brain, the left side, so they have no problem. And there's many different types of dyslexia.

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Right. And levels of severity. So it's very hard.

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One person who has dyslexia may appear very different or function very differently than another person who has dyslexia. That is correct.

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And please understand that every dyslexic individual is different. They all learn in a different way. Just because of what you just mentioned.

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There's four levels of civilization that must. Make it very hard for teachers or people that are trying to teach children with dyslexia. Exactly. Or take the skill, I should say that's correct. Especially if they're not trained, then it's going to be very hard for them to pinpoint that the child has a problem with dyslexia. Usually children, the boys, they start acting up, they're rowdy, they're noisy, they get into fights, what have you. So the teacher might start thinking, well, it could be adhd. So that's when the child starts getting tested. And then it's easier for them to find out that it's.

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It could be because they could. A person with dyslexia could also have ADHD or add. That's very common. So the teacher might. That's how everything. The process gets started. And this is something very interesting. Little girls, usually, they're very quiet.

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They always seem like they're paying attention, but maybe their mind is drifting. Maybe they don't have adhd, but they might have add, you know, attention deficit disorder.

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So the teacher thinks, okay, everything's fine, you know, with the child, maybe she's barely passing. So they think it's okay. There's not a problem with them. My experience is when I had the institute is that when they're in high school, that's when they find out that the young lady has dyslexia. Why? Because now they're getting ready to go to college. Now their frustration and their anxiety starts kicking in, and they go and tell their parents, I struggle with this. I struggle with that.

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I also saw this when we were testing that sometimes they work so hard. So hard, and they make it all the way to high school. And when we test them, it doesn't show that there's dyslexia because they work so hard at it.

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Really? Really. And it happened twice. It's not very common, but it happened twice. And it really broke my heart because these two individuals that were trying to get accommodation so they could go to college, okay, and.

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But the test showed no dyslexia. The good thing is that one of them. They already had some documentation when they were in elementary. So. And another thing that we found out is that usually when they have dyslexia, they're. When they're reading, there's. We measure rate how fast they read. We measure accuracy, how well they read the words. We measure fluency. If when they're reading, their reading is fluid, and obviously comprehension. I've read that there are actually 11 different tests to determine dyslexia. It's not a simple process. No, it's not a simple process. Yes. Everybody has a different battery of tests. Okay?

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We had 11 tests, and we were. The very first test that we would administer was an IQ test. Why an IQ test? Well, an IQ test is because dyslexia has nothing to do with intelligence.

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So we needed to confirm that the child was smart, average to geniuses. Okay? If the child was below average, we would stop right there.

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We already had our answer. The child was not dyslexic. Okay? So we would stop.

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That's very important. My recommendation is to the grandparents that are listening to this podcast is the first thing. Make sure that they get evaluated so you can confirm Whether it's dyslexia or it's ADHD or autism or what have you. But you need to know, in order for you to help your grandson, your granddaughter, you need to know what the problem is so you can have a roadmap, a blueprint of what your child is going through, deficiencies. It's my understanding that if there's any question that a child has dyslexia, that public schools are required to test that child. That's correct.

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That is correct. And also you, as a, as the guardian, as a parent, you have the right to ask them to do an evaluation, even if they are not mentioning a problem with your child. But since you work with them during homework, you know you're helping them and you start seeing, well, something is not right. There's a problem here. It's your right to go and ask for your child to be evaluated. We've spent three years trying to get our granddaughter evaluated, and finally, she is about to be evaluated this next month. I think, honestly, the schools are overwhelmed and understaffed.

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Exactly. Sometimes the school districts are overwhelmed with testing all the children that need help for different reasons. Right. Or different conditions.

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So, yes, you have to be adamant. You are your child's best advocate. And if you are not doing that, that part of the job, you know, doing the advocacy for them, then you're failing your child. Don't feel embarrassed. Don't wait for people to come to you. You're bothering them.

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No, it's your right. So go do it. I strongly recommend that you go and insist and persist until your child gets evaluated again. Like I said, once they are evaluated, the teachers are going to have a good idea on what the problems are. And there's two programs that they can put them under, whether it's the IEP or the Individualized Education Program or the 504 Plan.

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And the difference between the two is that the IEP is a specialized instruction and service program that is going to focus on their challenges, and the 504 focuses more on accommodations. So that's the difference between the two. How can you help our listeners understand whether their children might be struggling with dyslexia? First, you have to to address it with the school district or the school. Talk to the principal, talk to the counselor, and just tell them, even if they like, again, if they didn't see any problem right now, because sometimes they're barely passing and they say, you know, there's not a problem, she's passing, but you know, there is, so just go and talk to them. And say, you know what, I really do think that my child is dyslexic.

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I would like for you to evaluate them so I have peace of mind and we can find what the problem is and why she's falling behind. She's, she's moving forward now she's in fourth grade. As, as she moves on, it's going to get harder and I don't want her falling behind. I also see self esteem issues or maybe she complains about being bullied, you know, things of that nature. So just make sure that you're communicating with the school. Whoever is in charge of your daughter's case, whether it's a counselor or the principal, just go and talk to them and just be very honest about what you are feeling, what you're seeing. And even take when you're doing your homework. I know they see it, but still, just document everything and take homework that they're working on and see, look at, she's misspelling this word. We started learning this word last week and she still cannot remember the word, how to spell the word school.

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And just document everything and be prepared every time you go to those meetings. Be prepared so they can see that you're diligent and that you know what you're talking about. You're not just wanting your child to be evaluated. You have a reason why you are asking for them to do the assessment.

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How do you work with your clients in Texas? Okay, the way we work with them is the very first thing is the evaluation. At times they have already been evaluated at the school, but they have. The parents haven't seen the results. So they come to us and say, well, you know, my child was dyslexic. I mean, was diagnosed with dyslexia. And I usually tell them what type of dyslexia, how severe the problem is, and they say, you know what they didn't tell me, they just told me dyslexia.

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So with our assessment, we are going to give you a diagnosis. We're going to tell you the type and the severity.

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There's four levels of severity is problematic, mild, moderate, and severe. And there's different types of dyslexia, like dysygetic and dysygetic, meaning that they cannot remember a word, how it's spelled, even though they saw that word thousands of times or hundreds of times, like sight words.

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That's dysygetic. Dysphonetic is another type of dyslexia. And that means that they cannot hear the sounds that the letters make in order for them to write the word. And the third one would be dysphonia, meaning that they have both the dysygetic and the dysphonetic and that's the hardest one to treat. So once you have the diagnosis and you know exactly what's going on and then you. We would prepare a program, a therapy program specifically for that child. So each of our clients, they would get the therapy that they needed. We would see them once a week for two hours and then we would send homework.

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So during the rest of the week, the parents would, and the grandparents would work with the children at home. And the next week we would see them again. And immediately we would know if the child worked throughout the week or if they didn't. And sometimes, you know, parents and grandparents, they start feeling sorry for their, their child. They do? Yes. And sometimes they push. You have to make the decision, am I going to push a little bit so they can do what they need to do or am I just going to give up and embrace them and not ask them to or not force them to do something they don't want to? And my honest opinion is that you have to push. Try to be very caring, empathetic when you're doing it. But you need to let them know that this is important.

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This is very important for them. For confidence.

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Yes, for their confidence. And also because they need to see progress. And if they see progress, that's what's going to build their confidence. Another thing that is also very important when you're working with your child is that you need to celebrate. Celebrate the small wins. Even if it's just a three letter word and they're in fourth grade, it doesn't matter to say, see, you're reading.

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Look, you're reading. And you have no idea how much that is going to help them emotionally. Yeah, I agree. What are some simple.

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We may have some parents listening that know that their children have dyslexia and have already been diagnosed. What are some simple exercises or activities grandparents can use to help identify and support their grandchildren's reading and spelling difficulties? Spelling dyslexia affects phonological awareness. Okay. That's the main thing. So it's very hard for them to recognize sounds and sometimes they confuse the sounds with the. Well, not confused, but you would ask them, okay, what does the letter are? What's the sound that the letter R makes? And they'll sometimes they'll just say r no. And you, you'll say, no, no, no, that's not the letter sound. I asked for the Letter sound, that's the letter name. So what's the sound that it makes? And so you need to practice those. Make sure that your child recognizes the sounds that each of the letters make. Okay? Because that's what's going to help them. First thing, make sure they know the difference between vowels and consonants. Some of them have no clue what a vowel is or a consonant. Once you know for sure they, they are aware of what it is, then you can play a game and you can ask them to stand up and ask them to tap their, their head when they say the first, the first letter of a three letter word. Let's say tap. Okay, we're focusing on tap. So ask them to tap their head when they say T. Then when they go into the vowel, you're going to ask them to start lowering their hand very slowly all the way to the end of their legs. So they're going to go once they reach the legs, then they're going to their feet. When they hit, when they get to their feet, they're going to say, so it's T up.

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They need to stretch the vowel, the middle vowel, because it's easier for them. And you have to do it in this order. When you're teaching a three letter word do first, make sure they learn how to do the first consonant, the sound of the first consonant, and then go into the, the last, the last consonant of the word. Again, let's use the word tap.

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So, and then.

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And you leave the middle one to the end. And why is that?

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Well, the reason we do that is because it's harder for them to remember the middle, the word, not the letter on the word. So that's the one you leave to the end. So do the first, the last, and then move into the middle. You know what I love about that exercise, and I don't know about other parents or grandparents that are raising dyslexic children, but my granddaughter struggles with focusing on things that are hard for her to do. So when we make it fun, a physical exercise like that could be more fun for her. It's amazing how more effectively she learns. Yes, it has to be fun because you need to pick in to their interest. Okay? The same thing with books. When they're reading, pick something that your grandchildren like, a topic that they like, that they're interested in, because that's going to help also. And another tip that I can give is when you're reading, you can take turns. You can read the first paragraph and then your child can read the next one. And just keep Going until you finish one page. And don't overwhelm them. Don't think that, okay, they're gonna have to read the whole chapter. Make sure that Maybe they read 15 minutes every day and do that. And let's say if they really, really struggle, you can read to them. But make sure that you're asking questions every time you finish a paragraph. Ask a question, and maybe at the end you can ask them to summarize what you just read to them or. What their favorite part of the story was or something. It was, yes. And what does that do? What does that do mentally for them? Again, it's going to help them with their self esteem. And you're also creating new pathways in the brain so they can start reading much, much better. So it does help also because the problem with dyslexia is a neurobiological condition. Okay, so it affects the brain, but it's created by a gene, meaning that maybe a grandfather, the father or an aunt, someone in the family is dyslexic. And this is something that you have that is important for you to know.

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One in five people are dyslexic. So that means 20% of the population are dyslexic.

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In the United States, there's, I believe the population is 380 million. So out of that 20%, that means that 68 million are dyslexic. And out of those, maybe 5% know that they're dyslexic. So it's, it's a big problem that we have. But I, what I have learned is that it's starting to change slowly, but people are becoming more aware about dyslexia. They're talking more about dyslexia, dyslexia, even. Though sometimes neurodiversity in general, acceptance of, of children having differences and finding better ways to support them.

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Yes, that's true. Can you share with us some success stories and experiences from grandparents that have brought dyslexic children to you? Yes, one, we have several, but.

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Well, let me start with this. Share them all.

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It's a young. We love to hear success stories. Yes, he was in, in second grade, but he's reading. He was reading at a kindergarten level. And the way he was coping was by memorizing, memorizing whatever he was reading. So he was not really reading that when the parents would read to him.

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And he was, he was very, very smart. And he was able to memorize it just by when the parents were reading to him. And one day the therapist called me and she Said, can you please come. Come over? And I said, yeah. She says, okay, can you please read this? And instead of looking at the page to read it, he was looking straight at the therapist. So that's how we knew that he had memorized the book, you know, and it was heartbreaking because you see how much the struggle and the effort they put so they can't accomplish what they need to accomplish, and also so they can fit in.

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So at the end, the mom told us that her son was improving at school. He was getting much, much better, and he made the AB honoral for the first. So that was amazing to us.

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And there was another story of this young lady. She was in fourth grade, and the parents were really frustrated and stressed because they didn't seem well. They. First of all, they thought that their daughter was not smart, that there was an issue. Either they were not thinking dyslexia. They just said, she's not smart, or maybe she's not trying hard enough. It was those two. Not smart or not trying hard enough.

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When we went through the assessment process and I was giving the results to the grandparents, I was telling them, usually parents think that the child is not trying hard enough, that they're dumb or they're lazy. They're not putting in effort.

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But, you know, that is not true. It's just that they're struggling.

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And I went into explaining to them how the brain works.

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And the grandmother started crying, and I said, why are you crying? She goes, because that's what I've been doing. I've been telling him, well, are you dumb? What's wrong with you? How come you're not cooperating? Because she was so, so frustrated. And also she. She was getting tired, you know, because she was not seeing any improvement. So I can. I can feel for the. For the parents, too, and the grandparents, you know, it's. It's frustrating because you're putting all this time and effort, and just when you think that you accomplished something with them, then they. Yeah, they don't see that. You don't see that they're going through or that they're moving forward. So I can understand that part, too. And I said, you know what?

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Just put that behind you now, you know, because you didn't know. You had no clue. You didn't know how this works.

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And now you have all this information that you are going to apply new strategies. You know, that you need to make sure that you comfort your child, that you celebrate with them the small wins, that you understand how their brain works, and that's why they are active, the way they act or reacting, the way they're reacting, because sometimes they get so frustrated that they might start crying. Some of them would hit our under the, the desk, different things that we would see. And you just need to comfort them and reassure them and making, make them know that you. They can do this. Yes, they can. As long as they put an effort into it and they need to take baby steps so they can move forward little by little. Little by little. Well, thanks for those stories. Those are great.

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Griselda, I can't tell you how much it has done for me personally to talk to you about dyslexia. It's a mystery.

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It's frustrating. It's brought me hope talking with you. And I believe that that's something that you can give to our listeners if they want to reach out to you. You can reach griselda@dyslexiawarriors.com that'S-Y-S l e x I a warriors.com and I know that Griselda has welcomed me, ask her questions, find ways to not only encourage us, but to encourage the children. And I hope that the information that we've provided in this podcast will encourage you.

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Thank you so much for your time, Griselda. No, thank you so much. I am very grateful to you and I've been honored for you to invite me to your program. And again, like you just said, if I'm more than happy to talk to you, if you're interested in talking to me again, Visit my website, dyslexia warriors.com and you can schedule an appointment with me for 30 minutes and so we can talk.

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And I will, I will be more than happy to give you guidance, to just give you advice to reassure you if you're doing something that you're supposed to do to help your child. I'll be more than happy to say, you know, you're on the right track or you know what? We need to do this. You need to change this, this strategy into something else. And also I have an ebook there that you can download and it's about the, the case studies. There's five case studies that I featured and how we help the, the parents and the grandparents and also the children. So it's free. So you can download it and just read it and see what insights you get from it. I encourage everyone to do that. Thank you for joining us today with Griselda and talking about dyslexia. Thank you.

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Thanks for joining us today for another episode of Grandparents Raising, Nurturing through adversity I encourage you to share both your challenges and your successes with us. Your story is undoubtedly one someone else needs to hear. Submit your stories to the links provided in the podcast information. Your contributions will enrich upcoming conversations, creating a more supportive community in which we can learn and grow together. Get ready for an inspiring and adventurous journey with our next guest, Carew Papritz, also known as the Cowboy Philosopher.

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Carew is the author of the multi award winning book the Legacy Letters. A treasure trove of life lessons cherished by all generations. This unique book has achieved the rare feat of winning accolades in both fiction and nonfiction categories, setting it apart in the literary world. I promise you it will capture your heart.

00:34:59.800 --> 00:35:59.405
Get ready for an inspiring and adventurous journey with our next guest, Carew Papritz, also known as the Cowboy Philosopher. Carew is the author of the multi award winning book the Legacy Letters, A treasure trove of life lessons cherished by all generations. This unique book has achieved the rare feat of winning accolades in both fiction and nonfiction categories, setting it apart in the literary world. So join us as we get to know this amazing Renaissance man who embodies his book's central mantra, Live life to the fullest. From signing books atop volcanoes to carrying out the first ever book signing while stomping grapes, Carew's innovative adventures are as captivating as his writings. So tune in to discover how Carew Paprikz's vibrant life and work spark, change and reignite the joy of reading in a world that often forgets its simple pleasures.

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I guarantee you it will capture your heart just as it did mine. Thank you for tuning in to grandparents, raising grandchildren, Nurturing through adversity Remember, you are not alone. Together we can find strength and hope in the face of adversity. Peace be with you, and I pray that you find some time this week to listen to your inner wisdom amongst the noise and the pandemonium of this world.