S2E17: Laughing at Struggle: How Teachers and Peers Deepen the Pain of Dyslexia

Do you want to see a transformation in dyslexia support and understanding? We'll be sharing the solution so that we can achieve that result. Join us as we uncover the key to improved support and understanding for dyslexic individuals.

In this episode, you will learn about:

• Mastering strategies for overcoming dyslexia challenges.
• Discovering the crucial impact of early dyslexia diagnosis.
• Navigating life transitions while managing dyslexia.
• Boosting self-esteem in children with dyslexia.
• Unveiling effective ways to support dyslexic children in education.

Early Dyslexia Diagnosis Impact

Early diagnosis of dyslexia is crucial in ensuring timely support and interventions for affected individuals. Identifying dyslexia at a young age can significantly impact a child's self-esteem and academic progress. With early intervention, children with dyslexia can learn to navigate their challenges and flourish in educational settings.

Transcript:

00:00:05
Welcome back to word blindness. Dyslexia exposed. I'm Juliet Hahn, and I am here with my co host, Brent Sopel. How are you?

00:00:14
Am I going to answer that or are we just going to jump right in? Haven't you seen. I recently did a ig post. When I ask you how you are, I genuinely want to know, how are you? I just asked you, what are we going to do?

00:00:29
We're going to do this game. Okay. We could just. We could just jump in. I feel like.

00:00:36
Right. We don't, as we say on some of these. Right. There's some days that are. That flow better and then some weeks that are a little bit heavier.

00:00:44
I'll leave it at last week. So whenever this comes out, it was the last week of June. I had two graduations. Cause we haven't recorded since then. Right.

00:00:55
Prom and a car accident. It started with the car accident, two days later, led into the prom, then led into two graduations, and then I was at a lacrosse tournament, so I hadn't had a chance to, like, get my legs underneath me and really fun. Since I'm not drinking or doing anything, it's just having to go with it and not numb it. And it's just been a lot. A lot on the brain, a lot on the emotions.

00:01:20
All good, you know, but just a lot to process. I think it's one of those things. It's a lot to process to be like, okay, where I'm. And I'm walking, I'm yoga ing it, but I'm not, like, intentionally being in it. And I'm working to do that because that's really hard to do.

00:01:37
I mean, that's not an easy thing to do. And I'm. I'm better at it sometimes. This was a little much. And I kind of got lost.

00:01:45
I kind of got lost in myself of not being ahead of it or handling it and kind of being. But if you take a look back last, you know, twelve years, you have this every year because it's school, you know, um, in a school, obviously, you know, with Montgomery graduating, obviously it takes on a little bit of a different, you know, twist to it, a little different emotions, but it's all generated from, you know, from your trauma of school. Yeah, yeah. So you, you know, saying that you haven't got ahead of it, you've never gotten ahead of it. So let's be clear.

00:02:30
I feel okay, you're right. I was gonna. I had something to say and then I was like, no, that's not true. Yeah, yeah, we'll call. And then obviously, the graduation added, you know, added another layer of dimension on top of it.

00:02:44
And that's why we do what we do right now, is to be able to recognize that and grow from it, you know, because you still got kids that, you know, in school, you have an help. You just hop on walking into high school. So it used to got, you know, four more years of that. So the better that you can handle these things and understand them, the better your days are going to be. Yeah.

00:03:09
And. And so I will, 100%. And, you know, it's really funny because usually the last day of school is, like, my favorite day, like, ever. Like, you know, I'll talk to parents. They're like, you like the last day of school?

00:03:19
I'm like, yeah. They're like, there's no schedule. Kids are all. And I'm like, are you kidding? I like, I take a deep breath and I love it.

00:03:26
And I think that's part of the weirdness this year, because I was like, because Montgomery's graduating and now going to college, so I couldn't be like, oh. That whole kind of, like, when you just get to breathe, you know, you just get to, like, everything goes out. I wasn't like that. And I like to like, you know, that's the other emotion that we talked about, right? Being a mom and having your kids go off to.

00:03:52
Go off to college. It's hard, God know, for fathers. Whatever. Go, beat it. I don't want to see it.

00:03:58
So. Yeah, now, yeah, yeah. So you're yo. Obviously, you know, obviously that's all tongue in cheek, you know, for most part, you know, dad's traveling. I was on my home.

00:04:09
You know, my kids will, so it's easy for us because we're used to that. So it's a big adjustment, you know, and I don't think you realize how big it is until you take a step back and, you know, obviously, thank God you're not drinking, because the train would have been terrible. Oh, my God. It would have been terrible. It's actually, you know, the whole week, it would have been a really bad.

00:04:32
It would have been bad. It would actually have been really bad because one of the things that, as you said, you know, I was like, okay, montgomery is now graduated. He's going off. But then. And I'm not going to get too into it because we're going to be in it for the next four years.

00:04:45
But then I had, like, some issues with, like, the new guidance counselor for some of my other kids, and I was like, wait, what? You know, I'm going to jump in on this one. It's always hard. It's always hard. It's just a different hurt, you know, going from a baby move all the way up.

00:05:01
So, you know, as you think he's going in college, um, it's gonna be easier. No, he's still calling when he wants money. He's still, you know, it's, it's always hard. It's just different stressors. And as they get older, the stressors are magnified, you know, from the binky hitting the floor and sitting there for 5 seconds, or you'll having sex and getting a girl pregnant at 16.

00:05:23
You know, the stressors are hard, but they don't, they don't go away. So don't think they're going away anytime soon. Well, but that, and that's what the interesting thing is. And this will actually be a really good lead into what we want to talk about today. But I think in, in part of my head, I had been like, okay, when Montgomery goes off to college, now he's going to a program where there's great support for dyslexia.

00:05:45
So, like, I'm like, okay, this is great. Like, I feel so good about that. But then being like, okay, I don't have to deal with the high school kind of stress that, like, you know, being on top of, like, helping him with the IEP and making sure the teachers. And then it kind of was like, my other two kids, their new guidance counselor, I was like, I had to, like, go back and forth with, like, 15 emails, and I'm like, wait, why? Why is this happening?

00:06:07
Like, what? Like, and I hadn't, for Truman for two years, hadn't had to deal with this guy. It's been like, you know, every three times a year, it's like, yep, we're all good. But we had, like, things that I need, like that Truman wanted to change. And then I was like, wait, is this.

00:06:19
And I'm not going to go into it, because, again, I have to deal with them for a long time. But I think there was a part of me that was like, oh, my God, now I'm going to have to get back into this fight. And it. So it wasn't like this. My question to you is, why did you think it was going to change?

00:06:38
Yo, we're the dyslexic one, so we're dealing with non dyslexia. So why did you think that was going to change? Just curious. Well, I think because the other two don't have ieps. Right.

00:06:52
So I was like, okay. And I've been, I have to, I mean, probably wrong enough, right? And we're going to figure. Be figuring some stuff out. But there's, there's one of the things that I think I've been very, and I know so many parents can relate to this.

00:07:06
Like, when you have one kid that, you know, really struggles and then maybe other two that really don't, or maybe one that kind of does, but you're like, oh, you're not as bad as the other one, so you're fine. And then all of a sudden it's like, oh, wait a second. Okay. I didn't realize that you were struggling that much in this. And it took me back also feeling a little guilty, right?

00:07:24
Like, oh, my God, I'm so sorry. And then, you know, I know my family has gone through it with my older sister, myself, my other couple siblings have been like, no, we weren't really that great either. I think we probably weren't dyslexic, but we weren't as bad as they were. So it kind of, so it's one of those things. All of a sudden, it was like, oh, my gosh.

00:07:41
Okay, now I know. And, and this is going to be interesting because I've talked about this with my younger sister, who each of her kids have struggled in some area, and I was like, we kind of joked about it. Like, oh, I got one that really struggles. And that's all, like, God knew I can handle one. If I had, like, a kind of across the board, I might have, like, lost my mind because that's just not like, my personal.

00:08:00
She kind of could dabble in all of it. And then it's like, oh, was I kind of turning my head and not thinking, well, maybe you are struggling a little bit here. Maybe I do need to look into it. So it was all those kind of emotions at the same time. At the end of the year, which I never had, the end of the year is usually like, we are partying like we are excited, and.

00:08:18
And it was kind of like, I'm excited, but I'm not excited. And I don't like any of these feelings are going on and then dealing with the new guidance counselor and being like, wait, why don't you understanding me? No, this is what, this is what we need him to take. And I understand that there's a path that they're supposed to do. However.

00:08:35
Where's the black and white? And it just took me back, you know, where's the gray? I know there's gray, like, you don't have to do it. And then it took me all back to, like, all Montgomery. And that was my question.

00:08:43
How did you. Why'd you think it was going to change? Which is kind of interesting timing that had happened. I think it was like, oh, don't get too relaxed there, Juliet. You know, and, you know, that's, you know, that's what it is.

00:08:54
You know, obviously, I talk about here on time being misunderstood. That will never change. It's hardest thing in the world is being, you know, misunderstood every single day. And you'll. It's kind of like when I.

00:09:11
When I had sober, you know, I changed nobody else around me, so I had to adjust. I had to do this, I had to. That, yo, nobody else did. It's exhausting. Welcome my life.

00:09:25
Right. You know, so it's. We're always gonna be misunderstood. And, you know, obviously, right now, it seems to be more and more prevalent with the kind of world the way it is. And people seem to be a lot more closed minded.

00:09:46
And it's. It's hard not thinking. It's kicked me, you know, it's kicked me down many times.

00:09:55
People can't get out of their own way. They can't see past themselves. They look in the mirror all day. Nobody else. And, um, it's hard, but that's, you know, that's why we're.

00:10:06
That's why we do what we do here. Um, so that whoever's in that same position we are right now, because there's plenty of people. Oh, yeah. You're not. You're not feeling the feelings alone.

00:10:18
No, you're not. And, you know, it's. It is kind of interesting, as I said, like, why does it have to happen now? And it kind of just clicked in my head as you were just saying that it's because these are all the stuff that we're documenting, right. So when we can then really help the next person be like, okay, this is what.

00:10:33
This is my profile. These are the things that we just learned because we are in it right now, and this is what's happening. And you're in it in a way. We have other people that are working with us that are in it in a different way. And so we're kind of coming from all these different angles instead of from just one side.

00:10:49
And that's exactly what it is. I going back and forth, emailing with this new guidance counselor, and I was like, I just need to get on the phone with you because I cannot go through all of, like, back and forth I'm like, voice texting, and then I'm reading it, and I'm like, am I doesn't. That's not what I'm trying to say. Oh, it was like. And it was right on top of, you know, the car accident and trying to get ready for the prom and having family coming in and then the two graduations and me having all these emotions and basically telling everyone, maybe just stay out of my way, because I don't know what's happening right now.

00:11:22
It just was like, jesus. Like, yeah, on that, you know, and that's it. You know, those feelings, right? That's the awareness, you know, the self reflection and the understanding. Like, you have these same feelings every year.

00:11:37
Obviously, this year has been magnified because of the graduation. Yeah. You know, so it's knowing. Knowing it's coming. How do I handle it?

00:11:47
How you know that, you know, that's kind of goes back to. I always talk about if you're creating that binder, right? So. So that you can, as it comes up, you can put it in there, get ready for next year. It's.

00:12:04
Because it's. Makes it so it's smooth. Now, if you go and, you know, buried in the bottom of the counter, you know, bottom of the drawer, you know, and pop it open, seven, eight weeks, now you go. Now. Now you get hit in the forehead with those feelings again, and, yo, you spiral.

00:12:21
Yep. And that is what. But when this episode goes out, the website will have the back to school checklist. So anyone that is going back in July, which just. Or, like, early August, which, you know, I know, colleges, but, like, we just.

00:12:34
We just finished, so it's like, oh, but we'll have that on there in New York state. So just. You guys are on your own little island over there. Literally. So, so bizarre.

00:12:45
Totally. But one of the things that we did talk about that we wanted to address, and you and I, we've had discussions about it, and it's interesting because we have the same thoughts but different ways that we express it. And it is that dyslexia has tons of embarrassment behind it. And so there's a lot of people that we have come across, whether it's to be on the podcast, whether it's to help us kind of organize stuff, whether it's to be, you know, to don't donate, like, some people that really. Or like, yeah, we want to get involved, and then it's like, oh, wait, I don't want to talk about my own dyslexia because I'm not ready to go there.

00:13:24
And then, you know, you'll say, like, it brings the most embarrassment up. And I a couple times have said to you, well, I understand that. And then it's like, okay, I don't know that I've ever put those words behind it to then think about it. But, yeah, there's, like, a lot of. There's a lot of embarrassment behind it because it's every day that you're like, as I just said, like, I didn't want to say to the guidance counselor, can you just get on the phone?

00:13:49
Like, I just told you that we have these learning disabilities, and you're saying, well, we need to work harder. And I'm like, okay, wait, you need to. I'm gonna poke you in the eyes, like, right? And then you get this feeling, and then it's like all these different things. So I'm gonna let you go off of there.

00:14:01
I always say, nobody hurt. Nobody hurts longer, stronger, harder than us. You know, for an example, Robin Williams, everybody talks about, no mental health, suicide, right? But we're porn with dyslexia. That's why I call dyslexia gateway drug.

00:14:19
It kicks everything off, right? But there's nothing else. Again, I always say kids don't bully kids in wheelchairs. Again, I'm preferring. They build kids like us because it's.

00:14:38
They can't see it. It's not, you know, having, you know, one arm or I'm in a wheelchair, you know, that's a figure. That's the physical elements that you're able to see and understand. Now, us, when you're grade five, you just want the cute little blonde like you, and you can't do the simplest things. And I have people all the time.

00:15:08
I'll bring out, you know, I'll help you raise money or do it this way or do it this way. I went, when I ran this golf tournament, they did it this way or they ran this. Unfortunately, none of that works for us because that embarrassment. I know some billionaires that are dyslexic that will not donate to the dyslexic foundation. And everybody here listening to this, it's not just, like, sick.

00:15:36
You're like, why? No big deal. It's just a slack. That's the embarrassment that goes with it. Because it's only.

00:15:44
They can just donate on the side. Yeah, you can, but they won't. It's almost like putting, you know, hydrogen peroxide in that cut wide open. Donating to dyslexia on the side when you're still not okay with it. And it's just a faucet, just, you know, burning.

00:16:08
Because no matter if it's on the side, privately, publicly, I donate to this foundation, or I don't, or just silently wrote a check, you still did it. That wound is still wide open, you know, so the.

00:16:27
The embarrassment is what controls us in the negative way, because that's where the, you know, feel stupid, feel dumb. And I don't know how many arguments that I get into. I guess the argument is not the right way. It's. It the same approach to whatever that, you know, if that's fundraising or if that's a proposal or if that's a meeting doesn't work for us.

00:16:59
We think differently, we go at it differently. And I told every day, and this is. People in school are told every day by non dyslexics, this is what you have to do. This is what you have to do. This is what you have to do.

00:17:12
This. What you have to do. You have to do this. And the exhaustion from that is debilitating to me sometimes. But that's literally what I'm doing here.

00:17:25
And this is why I do what I do, is we're all driving down a gravel road right now. We all want to drive on that brand new paved road. And that's what I'm trying to do with the foundation, is getting that road paved so everybody can be comfortable and ride smooth. And right now, sure the fucking isn't. It's hitting Barney rubble, flintstones, boulders every day.

00:17:55
Because that's the thing. So, like, and there has been studies and statistics. If you look at kids that are remediated at an earlier age, they have less of the embarrassment because it is. I mean, and a lot of it is studies coming from schools that are specifically, specifically for dyslexia, which most just entire point is just like cancer. You want to find out in stage one, not stage four.

00:18:20
Yeah, same. Same kind of terminology. Yes, we want to find in grade one rather than grade four, because that's three years later, three mirror scars. So, you know, same kind of proverbial concept of. And then, I mean, I've gone where, you know, when Montgomery was younger, we knew and we really wanted to work with the public school.

00:18:38
But my, one of the things that I said, though, and I do think there is something there behind it, and I know that there's a philosophy behind this because I've talked to people about this also, is his self confidence was still strong, so I knew that he was also going to learn some life lessons that weren't taking him down. But it's like, you know, it's one of those things like you're walking on the thin ice, like, how far do you go out? How much do you test? And I did this pretty, like, I was aware I was doing it. I was like, okay, I'm going to really work with them.

00:19:13
And to me, it worked because he kind of, I could see what the year that it was like, oh, we need to make a big change now. But the things that he learned now when he went to the dyslexic school, they said, I've never seeing someone that knows how to get out and knows how to change directions and do all these different things and talk his way out of things and take the, you know, take us off topic that we're like, wait, why are we talking about dinner that we just had with our family? Like, how did you just do that? So he got some really big life lessons where I know that there's kids that, you know, in first, in kindergarten, went right to dyslexic school. And I know them, still know them.

00:19:51
They didn't learn a lot of those life lessons because they didn't know how to get out of things. However. So there's like this, this, and I know this will be interesting because I know, I know your thoughts on this, but, like, there is a very interesting fine line. And I know, again, with dyslexia and spectrums, there is that fine line of, like, okay, when you say about the bullying in the wheelchair and things like that, there's also the kids that someone might be listening to this and be like, wait, I was bullied. I wasn't dyslexic, but I was.

00:20:20
And I wasn't in a wheelchair and I got picked on because, I don't know, they didn't have any friends because they were awkward or they were socially inept. Whatever it is, there's so many different things that happen. But even if you have tons of friends and you're going to stand up and you're going to read out loud, you're going to get teased even from the people that care about you, because they also sometimes don't realize that you're really actually struggling that much. They don't believe that you actually can't do it. And, I mean, this is what I ran into.

00:20:56
And it was like, okay, you're just being a jokester. And I was like, no, I actually can't do, like, I can't do this. And so that's where it's like, you almost have to kind of go inside and be like, how can I get out of this? Even the people that I know care about me are actually not believing that this is really happening. Even though my friends are like, wait, that was so funny how you said that in english class.

00:21:16
I loved how you messed with the teacher. And I was like, but I wasn't messing with. And they're like, oh, yeah, yeah, whatever, because they don't get it. They don't get it. And that's.

00:21:25
It's all about understanding. Right now, you said something interesting. You know, you talked about, you know, kids. I went right into dyslexic schools again, remember, majority of those people aren't dyslexic. Don't have learning disorders either, you know?

00:21:44
So, again, no matter if you're paying $95,000 at a private school, they're not dyslexic. So they're still not doing it right. You know, in my opinion, calculation views, 99.9% of schools, private, public, charity, foundations, advocating groups, whatever, aren't dyslexic. So they're still doing it wrong. And, you know, it comes down to understanding.

00:22:25
You know, if you understand what so and so is going through, you're not gonna laugh at them, you know? And that's what isn't in the world, is understanding. And the dyslexia, it's not talked about because most of people are non dyslexics running the schools or the superintendents or the deans. So they're doing it all wrong anyways, you know? And there's not enough education behind to do it, to do right.

00:22:55
So it's. It's a frustrating point.

00:23:02
And the academia world, oh, my God, some of the most selfish people I've ever met in my life. I was a pro athlete, you know, but it comes down to not enough understanding and not enough compassion. And, you know, a couple points that you brought up that also are interesting. And this is where we've also talked about, you know, dyslexia being not top of mind. And there's.

00:23:31
There's a couple things here that always stand out to me because of the narrative about dyslexic, super successful, you know, the CEO's, and then we go to, you know, 50% in prison are dyslexic. But when you're in academia, there's. There's kind of two ways. There's like, there's. There's not a lot of, like, oh, let's think outside the box.

00:23:53
So it's like, it's either this way, or it's this way, and they can't kind of think outside. So if you're nothing good in school, that just means you're dumb, right. If you're good in school, you're smart. And they don't think of. And when we are saying this, anyone that's listening, like, no, I do.

00:24:08
This is a generalization. We know that there's a lot of things. There's a lot of gray in between here. We. We know about the gray, so we're not talking about the gray right now.

00:24:17
We're talking about the black and the white. So if you go into school and a kid is like, okay, they're just not getting it, right. They're not getting it. There's no understanding in that district about learning disabilities. There's no understanding in that teacher about learning disabilities, rightfully so.

00:24:34
They're going to be like, okay, that kid is just not smart. So this is what I'm going to get. And that's one of the reasons why we are doing what we're doing with word blindness and you're doing with the SoPO foundation, because it's not that. Right? School was brought around, and I don't even want to.

00:24:53
I don't even want to go down this path. But school hasn't changed since the beginning. Before I jump it, you know, I'm going to jump on you. It hasn't changed. You'll on, you know, in the dyslexic world, you know, dyslexia purpose dysgraphia, you know, delculia, because it's non dyslexics running it.

00:25:13
So why they. They've got no clue. They waste money. They don't care about the kids. They care about their paycheck.

00:25:19
So, you know, I don't mean. Didn't mean to jump in, but nothing can change if you don't understand. Yeah. And that's. And that's the thing.

00:25:28
So that teacher is not. Is not getting it right. They're not getting the point of like, okay, this kid needs. Needs something different. It's like, I'm just gonna keep going at the same time.

00:25:39
Did I share on here the story about the kid in Cincinnati? You might have, but, I mean, so I had somebody reach out, hockey coach, social media, been watching canadian. He lives in Cincinnati. Started, you know, we started talking on the phone, and he had some kids struggling, started walking them through dyslexia and how to coach them and how to coach these kids, and immediately the kids thriving. And there's one kid that was just just struggling.

00:26:14
He was always going the opposite way, always getting frustrated. And he's like, you know, I said, the parent, you know, I think there's something here. I think you should get your kid tested now. I send some signed pictures and things down, you know, for kids. So I sent one down to.

00:26:30
To him and granted, granite. I've never met the kid. Never talked to parents, know nothing.

00:26:40
Just what the coach was telling you, things that the kid. Kid was doing. Didn't know his name. And, you know, about six months later, they end up getting tested. He's severely dyslexic.

00:26:51
And the coach says to me, he goes, how did you know that? So here's. Here's my point to this whole thing is he's in grade six, so every goddamn teacher that that kid had failed him. So don't tell me you guys know what you're talking about. How do I help a kid get him tested?

00:27:11
Had his self esteem going skyward. Never met the kid, never talked to the kid. Don't know his name. Is he left to right? Is he white?

00:27:19
He's black. Is he green? He's a purple. I had no idea. How can I do that from 500 miles away?

00:27:25
And you teachers couldn't do that. So don't tell me you guys know what you're talking about because it's a goddamn lie. Yeah, I mean, and that's the thing. That's. But that's you talking right now about, like, the teachers that.

00:27:38
That basically just pushed you through, right? I mean, and you knew a couple different things. Right? So how many teachers did he have through? Right?

00:27:45
You know, obviously you're talking six. And then there's obviously other teachers that come in and. Right. You know, so he saw what, let's just say ten teachers, nobody. Right?

00:27:56
And so that's a district that has no understanding. And that's those kind of districts. Oh, Ohio. Oh, so little buddy here has, like, Ohio. They got these.

00:28:06
All these new implements that they put in Ohio. Yo, bite my left, tweety bird. Right? Because Ohio is, as a state, is doing a lot of things that are ran by non dyslexics, right? That are my drop.

00:28:24
That are. That are trying to do the change. But that's, you know, one of the things as you. I mean, you heard how passionate you are about it, how frustrated you get, because these are the things that come time and time again, and you're like, okay, how is no one? It's very simple.

00:28:37
If the kid's doing x, y, and z, why isn't dyslexia being looked into. Why isn't that? And if a parent has no understanding because the parent wasn't diagnosed, the parent's not going to. And so it's these kind of things where there needs to be something changed, where there's more understanding. And that, I mean, is exactly what we talk about all the time.

00:28:58
That is what your foundation is about. That is what you're about. That is why we do word blindness. That's why we. Come on, share.

00:29:05
I mean, sometimes it sounds silly, like what we're sharing in the beginning where I'm like, it's been a rough, you know, a couple days, but there's so many people afterwards that will say to us, thank you for being vulnerable and just sharing that, even though, you know, you don't have to. But there's someone out there that's like, oh, my God, okay. That's why I get so crazy about the end of the year and the beginning of the year, and I get all this anxiety when it's, you know, around these things or why I get so much anxiety when I'm going into work. And I know it's going to be a day that I have to present or I have to write a big, long email or do all these different things. It's those kind of conversations that we're having that are going to let people know that they're not alone, you know, and I get told all the time.

00:29:48
I piss people off. I'm stubborn, you know, you've been on calls with me, and people like, you know, fuck, you're hard headed. Like, you eat. You have such an ego. Oh, you think you know it all.

00:30:03
It's the most exhausting thing in my life when every one of those things is 125% wrong. Yeah. And it really is. People that don't know you are assuming, like, yeah, and they want to argue, they want to fight. You know, obviously, the one lady a couple weeks ago, I've never been so insulted in my life, you know, just because you married a rich guy and you think you got a big business, great, I don't care.

00:30:37
But people learn differently, people read differently, people walk differently, people pee differently, people do everything, sleep differently. Like, nothing. There's a reason. You go to doctor, somebody breaks your wrist, and they say, four to six weeks, each one of us is different.

00:30:59
And don't be, oh, it's gonna be that. Say, you know, great, just do it respectfully and don't be a know it all, yo. Because anytime you're the smartest guy in the room, you're in the wrong room. Yeah. I mean, one thing I do want to talk about is July, because this will be out in July.

00:31:25
Well, today's July 1, so this will be out in July. Oh, Canada. Oh, my God. I'm so sorry. I didn't say happy Canada.

00:31:33
I texted you happy Canada, but I didn't say it in the beginning and that was very rude of me. Yes, it was happy Canada Day.

00:31:42
So this obviously was recorded on June 1. July 1. But so in July, there's some really big things that have happened. We touched on this on the last episode, but we kind of got more legs around it and more ideas around it. And so the number seven.

00:32:00
And I enjoy kind of, like, the fun number stuff, but I really have no idea. Like, oh, this number means this or this and that. But so anyone that's kind of, like, into the numbers, they're going to be like, oh, this is actually really fun. I know. You have no idea.

00:32:12
I get cool. And to that point is, I love how you said certain things at school you're good at. I'm like, I. What happened to me? I didn't get any of those.

00:32:24
Well, I know. Well, there's things that I was a little bit stronger. I mean, not really. I mean, look at my great porn average. Yeah.

00:32:29
Sitting there batting your eyes to the boyfriend. See how women get it all you guys just get what? Always get what you want. Yeah, I don't know about that, but. Well, listen, it might not be right away, but it comes.

00:32:43
But it comes. You plan it out. You strategically use Connive, you find a way to get it done. I don't like that word. Connive, manipulate, change.

00:33:00
Where is this going? I'm talking about the sevens. That was a little bit of a tangent, but we'll just. We're going to leave that over there. Wherever this is.

00:33:10
If you're watching this on YouTube, I'm leaving that over there. However, sevens. So this month is seven years sobriety for you. You're in your 7th year, July. It's also seven years of the foundation.

00:33:27
It's also July is the 7th month, which I didn't think about until later because, you know, you say discount. What I say again, July 17 is the official day of when the foundation was created seven years ago. So seven's involved there, too. Oh, I didn't know that. That's enough time.

00:33:50
Upside down hockey stick. That was my next thing I was going to say. Yes. And so there's so many. So this month we are doing like a fun where we donate $7, share it with as many people as you can because we want to hit seven.

00:34:05
Seven, seven. So 7777. And the person who gets that. No, because obviously we can see who know who gets it. The person that hits that number for us or gets it, gets it over will get something from me.

00:34:23
Yeah, that would be fun. We actually, we need to post that more. And so this month we'll also be posting. I'm sure when this is out, you'll be like, oh, this is fun. Because this won't be obviously today, but it is.

00:34:36
And then what did I say to you? I was like, wait, am I wrong in this? And I hope as I say this, this isn't wrong. I was like, but doesn't this line up now that it's like the 8th month of August next year will be eight eight eight. And you were like, yeah.

00:34:49
And I was like, okay, that's weird. But that's like very cool that it kind of came. You sent me something, something that a foundation was doing. And I said, why does August next year got to do with July? No, because it will be your 8th.

00:35:02
Yeah. Year of the foundation. This is, this is the only golden birthday. He said it's the golden birthday. But I'll explain later because there's more thoughts there.

00:35:12
But I'm not going to do it. I'm not going to do it here. I'll explain that later because I think that there's something fun in that. But that's just my creative mind as this was going, I was like, and then this and then that. But one of the things that you had sent me, something that kind of started me thinking about it because I have done in the past a lot of work with a boxer rescue.

00:35:33
So I'm obsessed with boxer dogs. And we're not, we're not going to go down. My obsession. Obsessed is not even. That's just putting it.

00:35:44
I love them so. And they're actually loudly, they're psychotic. Maybe laying right here, right here just staring at me. No, they're sleeping. But.

00:35:53
And they've done some really good stuff with their foundation on how they raise money. And I, and it got me thinking, when you sent that to me, I was like, there's so many different things that we can do to raise awareness as we are doing, but then having some fun things tied with it. So, you know, stay tuned. Share this, though, because it is, as Brent said, seven, seven, seven. I mean, it's also, if 1111 people donate $7, that's how we hit 7777 that, like, look at you.

00:36:28
That, like, hurt. No, that, like, hurts my brain. And the only reason I know that is because we had our. Somebody told you? Yeah, someone told me.

00:36:36
I did not come up with that, but I just thought that's even, like, that's really cool because what we're doing is so important, and there's so many angles. There's so many things that we have that we're ambitious that we want to do. There's so many things that are needed, and we need the funds to be able to take this and change people's lives. I mean, that, that's what it is. Everything takes money to do it.

00:37:02
And that is something when people ask us, how can I help? Donate that $7. Donate more. 77. Seven.

00:37:10
Whatever you want to do, do it in sevens and then share it with as many people in your network to get us past that. I want to go past that. I want to blow that number out of the water and see what number comes up, because that will also be fun on the, is it 31 days in July or 30, whatever that last day, I'll just say, yeah, you know, you never know. $1 makes a difference. Can't get to two to get to one, so.

00:37:38
And you never know. Yeah, I just had somebody, you know, but current said, he goes, it's been crazy when I mentioned dyslexia. How many people. Oh, I know. You know, so and so, so and so, so.

00:37:52
But nobody's talking about, yeah, you know, so that's, that's why we're trying to, I'm trying to show it from the rooftops. So I am trying to put, you know, this campaign, the fundraising, we had some massive marketing plans, but obviously, unfortunately, it can't be, it can't be done without the almighty dollar. But there's a reason why they always say what, you know, lower, low to mid income donate the most because they're affected the most. Right. And one of the things that you said just now when you said Kern said, oh, yeah, I know this person.

00:38:27
I know this person. This is my, my point. They know someone that maybe has been successful, or they don't talk about the traumas, because that's a lot of people. We, I mean, we don't like to talk about that. Right.

00:38:39
We don't like to go back to that, to those times. So we see where our genes, especially when we get older, we see where our dyslexia was positive for us. You know, like you, we've talked about this on the ice. You saw the ice different that's why you were such an, you know, such an amazing defender, because you were able to see that, because your dyslexia actually gave that. I mean, that's.

00:39:02
That's one of the things. A lot of athletes are dyslexic. A lot of people that are. And not. It doesn't have to be professional, but, like, that is one of.

00:39:08
It's a gift. They can either be very gifted athletically, art, and musically. I mean, there's some interesting things when you talk to people that are like, it's sometimes that really high, but they don't go back and kind of say, well, where was I first, second, and third grade? Right? Like, where were those things?

00:39:27
Where was I in 9th grade when a teacher called me up, you know, to do, we don't like to go back because it hurts and it's not fun. So when people say, oh, yeah, I know this person that's dyslexic, they might only know the positive parts of that. And what we are doing is shedding light on the. Not the great stuff. Right.

00:39:45
I mean, I've talked about things that I haven't talked about. You know, even in all my podcasts, I kind of touched on things, but I never got deep until I did this with you because it was like, okay, I need to talk about that. You know, when I was five, and I've now said this, the last couple times I said to my mom, or how old I was, you know, why did. I'm so glad God just made me dumb on the inside, not on the outside, you know, that, like, you hear a little kid say that, and that was early on, that school had already affected me, and that sucks. And that's what we want to prevent you, you know, just being on your own island, not.

00:40:18
Not having anyone to be able to talk to about, you know, how you were struggling in school and just kind of. Just kind of going through the motions, being like, I guess I just am dumb, and. And not having that support, that is what we want, and we will be changing. You know, as you touched upon, there's people that look out there and say, oh, you know, they were successful. You know, this dyslexia was a gift.

00:40:45
Find me one person that is, you know, billionaire, millionaire, whatever, that talks about their dyslexia, soup to nuts, like I do none. You're not gonna find one person. So really, is it that much of a gift? Oh, let me. Let me clarify.

00:41:10
It can be 100% what comes with understanding and diagnosis. You know, there's a lot of things that come with that early detection. So people that, you know, look at those articles, you find me one, just one that talk about their dyslexia, the way to and why I made him successful. Not going to find anybody. And I'm going to bring this.

00:41:36
Now, usually we don't. I don't like to talk about individuals, but there was this clip of Richard Branson and it was. I think we actually talked about this already. But if you are just tuning in and this is new to you, I'll share this again in. It was like a father's day thing.

00:41:51
And the made by dyslexia woman asked him kind of a question about, like, his traumas and he skirted it. It was so I was like, he never answered the question. And like, I was like, he never answered that question. Why didn't he answer that question? And it is, again, who wants to go and talk about it?

00:42:08
I mean, it's not fun for you, right? It's not like I'm going to wake up and talk about my shit today. No, it doesn't feel good. However, it is a healing process, and it does help you get to that next. That next kind of the next side, the place where you can help more people because you can be real and be like, yeah, you know what?

00:42:27
This happened to me when I was younger. It sucked. And I'm going to try to prevent it from happening to the level. Because in school, whether you're dyslexic, whether you're not, whether you struggle, whatever, you learn disabilities, you're going to have hard times, you're. Everyone's going to have their scars.

00:42:42
It doesn't matter if anyone has a perfect life. We all have our scars. Whether, you know, small, big, whatever they are, we're here to help those scars be a little less because of the understanding, you know, 100%, you know, sexy. Makes us dictates who we are, can be, can be such an amazing thing, but nothing can be amazing without understanding. Boom.

00:43:12
Mic drop. Leave it there.

00:43:17
All right, I'm gonna do. Have anything else you want to add? Nope. All right, me either. I'm just going to abruptly stop.

00:43:25
Thank you for joining another episode of Word Blindness. Dyslexia exposed. I say it every single time. Brent always giggles. But, like, rate review and share, share, share.

00:43:36
Let us get to that number. Be that person that hits it, gets it over. Let's have fun with this. Let's make the 7th month July. Let's hit all those sevensite and we'll talk about it.

00:43:49
We're going to talk about this more often. Check out social media. You can check out Brent Sopel on any of the social medias. And you can also check out me, I am Juliet Hahn, and then the Soppel Foundation Sopel foundation on IG, also on LinkedIn, but also sopolfoundation.org dot. You can find links to share, but just keep sharing this share because you do not know who needs to hear it.