S2E33: Navigating College Accommodations: Understanding Your Rights Under the Disabilities Act

Uncover the surprising truth about college accommodations for dyslexia and the unexpected challenges faced by students. Learn how to navigate the Disabilities Act to empower your advocacy efforts. Dive into the eye-opening journey of understanding and advocating for learning disorder accommodations in higher education. Get ready to be enlightened and stay tuned for the full reveal!

In this episode, you will be able to:

• Discover how to effectively navigate college accommodations for dyslexia and empower your student's academic success.
• Uncover the essential details of the Disabilities Act for students with dyslexia to ensure your child receives the support they deserve.
• Learn how to advocate for necessary learning disorder accommodations, giving your child the tools they need to thrive in a college environment.
• Explore the crucial support available for students with dyslexia in higher education, ensuring your child's educational journey is as smooth as possible.
• Master the art of managing dysgraphia in academic settings, equipping your child with the strategies to overcome writing challenges in college.

Transcript:

00:00:03
Welcome back to Word Blindness, Dyslexia Exposed. I'm Juliet Hahn, here with my co host, Brent Sopal. How are you on this Monday morning? It's not hump day.

00:00:15
Like the elephant, like the camel. Oh, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You remember you called it an elephant. I did. Because I couldn't see.

00:00:25
So many things. When you get to 50, start going out of the. And that was one of them. I was like. I, as I said on the episod, wanted to get close.

00:00:32
And then I was like, oh, that's going to be a really close shot. No one wants to see that. So I was like, oh, look at the elephant. Oh, that's still a camel. It went to the side.

00:00:41
Yeah, at the beginning, at the middle of the end. Still a camel. Still a camel. And camels and elephants don't look anything alike at all. Unless you're 50 and blind.

00:00:51
Then they. Like the hump kind of looks like an ear. The head kind of looks like a nose. That's where I was going. And then Grandma's talking about your.

00:00:59
You love your. You love your elephants to do your impersonations. Well, maybe that's what I was saying, right? I was like, oh, here's a perfect time. That's what you wanted.

00:01:08
That's what you wanted to do. Clearly, I love those elephants. Well, I feel like the last number of episodes have been stuff that I've been going through. I knew you're going there, so. But one of the things I have to say that I think is so good about this podcast, not to toot our own horns, but I'm going to, is the learning of experiences that we have.

00:01:39
Like, we are in a spot where we can educate others because of our own experiences. And it actually is really interesting as they keep coming out. It's like, oh, okay. Here's another experience parents and kids and people with the five Ds can learn from. And it's not, I'm going to go unicorn here.

00:02:00
It's not always. I mean, it's things that are brought to us because we're supposed to be sharing on what, you know, the outcomes or how we're navigating it. And so I'm going to bring it to the Disabilities act that is out there, that we all that are diagnosed with any of the five Ds can actually go. And a lot of us don't. Right.

00:02:27
We know that it's out there, but I don't know that a lot of people that I even talk to know the details of it. In certain things with the workforce when you're in college. And so I'm going to kind of leave it to you to kind of set up the last couple of weeks the things that you've learned. I mean, you knew, but then you were able to implement them. Yeah.

00:02:47
Things that you'd have known that you were able to actually put into action, which is kind of cool. So obviously we talked about, you know, last couple episodes, your, you know, your journey with Truman, you know, getting him diagnosed. Obviously being a junior in high school, feeling some regrets and you know, you know, shittiness as a mom and you know, you know, and obviously the last couple weeks I've had my own journey, personal journey with and somebody obviously in my, you know, in my family talking about they're in college. I've learned, you know, learning disorders also. And now we're now, what is it?

00:03:35
November 18th. Right. You know, the semester is almost over for, for college kids. You know, they'll be home in, you know, a couple weeks. And when's Montgomery come home?

00:03:47
He actually comes home for Thanksgiving and because his school is mostly international because of the sports, he gets to stay home and take his finals online. Oh, so he comes home next week and he's home for like a month. Yeah. Wow. I'm very excited.

00:04:04
I was just gonna say don't get me started jumping out of my seat excited. So, you know, college kids are just, you know, finishing up the first semester, right. So they're going to go back after Christmas in the new year and start the second semester. Well, I got word of they went in the middle of August with their neuropsych, you know, to get the accommodations that they're legally allowed to have. And we talk about here on, on the, on this podC podcast all the time.

00:04:45
Foreign language. I can't do the first language, so how the hell are you going to try and get me to use the second language? You right. So took that to, to the school and as of, I guess I'm just going to pull, trying to pull up a calendar. You know, as of it was the 11th, the 8th, 11th of November, they still haven't responded.

00:05:15
She has to take it and she's graduating soon. So it's not like she has like time where they had time to be like, oh, you could take it in another year or whatever. We haven't made the decision. This is like graduating in, I guess could graduate at the end of summer if, you know, if it took some summer, you know, summer classes with the four year degree. So haven't haven't responded, failed to respond to a couple emails.

00:05:42
Now you go into their disability center or whatever. I don't know what exactly the terminology they have in there for in that school was. I went down there, I think there's 19 people working in that area. There's a head and then it goes down to. And then you got student, teacher or whatever, you know, whatever they call.

00:06:07
I don't know the exact one out of the 19 had the credentials to be working there. One. One was like a bachelor's in English and one's a bachelor's in science. Nothing to do with learning disorders, nothing to do with special ed, nothing to do with disabilities. So getting paid, whatever.

00:06:31
They are trying to help people that they have no credentials to help with. So obviously that sent me going through the roof, you know, rightfully so. They're each assigned a certain, you know, guiHahnce counselor they have in school. You know, they have, you know, in disability center, they each have their own guiHahnce counselor will use those words. That guiHahnce counselor had zero clue what she was doing because she has no credit credentials.

00:07:06
They said, you know, when she brought the foreign language aspect up, she's like, ah, this is over my. My pay grade. I don't know. Took it to her boss and her boss said, stop poking the bear where the bear doesn't need to be poke. Never mind.

00:07:25
So also with dysgraphia, as you're. You well known, you know, the notes are supposed to be given to, you know, given to them before every class. Her guiHahnce counselor, we're going to use that as a reference, said, well, you're going to get pushback because not. Not all teachers want to apply. They want to do what they want to do.

00:07:53
So for you to tell them, for you to say those words tells me you've got zero fucking clue to be working in there. Because those two. This is under federal law. This is the dispute act by the federal government. You have no choice, right?

00:08:07
It's not. The teacher doesn't have a fucking choice. The teacher. This is by the federal government. Yo, this is the disabilities Act.

00:08:17
Oh, they don't have to comply. Oh, yes, they do have to comply. And for you to be a guiHahnce counselor working with, you know, individuals with learning disorders. That's what you say.

00:08:31
Ignorant, that's what it is. So you're getting paid whatever you're getting paid. And you have no clue how to do your job, so you shouldn't be there. How does a school that big with as many students going there, as prestigious as this place is, you've got 18 out of 19 people have no business of being in there and working for those kids. And to say you're going to get pushback, the only pushback you're going to get is a fucking punch in the face because you don't know your job.

00:09:08
So how. And you know and go and they make you. And this is what it is is they make you feel bad. Oh I'm sorry for asking. I shouldn't ask.

00:09:21
My fault. What's wrong with me? It was. I'm sorry. That's my fault.

00:09:26
You know, I'm sorry. It's my fault. I'm, you know, make us feel guilty. Make, make us feel less than worthless so they can have their job easier so that teacher, whatever that is that doesn't want to apply. What again?

00:09:45
Remember most people that are professors or teachers, school was easy to them. Not all. Not saying everybody from. For the most part you're not going to go and be a professor and be in school eight years or because it was, you know, he was miserable on top of your 12 years of school. No.

00:10:07
So you know, you talked about the dispute. Know what you're legally allowed, you know and never take what they say to heart because remember, you know we talk about school being a business. A college is even a hundred times more of a business. They don't care about your son, they don't care about your daughter but your grandson, your granddaughter, they don't care. They care about making money and that person, whoever you know that's working there for in 18 and 19, they don't care about your kids because you would know everything inside.

00:10:59
No, you would never say. And she, you know they also had a meeting with about the foreign language after she said it's above my pay grade. And there was another meeting had and family questioned, you know, if this is above your pay grade, why isn't your bosses in here so we can get that answered. She call? Yeah, that's probably a good idea.

00:11:23
Really? You think so these are the games that they play with you with your self esteem. They twisted on you. So I had to send an email to the school regarding the foundation, what we do and who we are and how we advocate for this. Lo and behold a week later, one week later she got the approval that you know, she was allowed to.

00:12:01
So doesn't have to take a foreign language but does have has to take another English. You know because it's not like we're asking for our degree in whatever in less credits. We're not asking that we'll do the exact same amount of credits, whatever that ends up being, no problem. But for a substitute, right? We'll substitute.

00:12:24
So she can say, I substitute, you know, a foreign language in for another English. Perfect. Thank you very much. Really appreciate it. But why'd it take me three months there?

00:12:35
You know, we got Easter. Easter, Thanksgiving next. Is it next week? We have Easter next week, right? Thanksgiving.

00:12:43
Do you want it to be Easter? Well, because Thanksgiving was last month. The real. I know.

00:12:50
Uh, so why did it take me? What they tried to do is just ignore it. It take took me.

00:13:02
I don't think. Correct me if I'm wrong, that email was pretty respectful, right? Was an. Like, obviously, the original email that I wrote did get changed. Grandma stepped in and helped out.

00:13:17
We had eyeballs to look at this. Um, but. So everybody listening out there like you are. All we're trying to do is level a playing field for us. You know, you trying to hit a baseball when you're 10ft in a hole 10ft deep, that's not the same.

00:13:41
Or in y'all, the, you know, Bonds and those guys talking about steroids, they're hitting the ball, you know, home runs with steroids, but nobody else. Is that fair? We're just. Well, let's just all have steroids in to be. You know, we're just asking for level playing field.

00:13:57
And we are allowed to by the federal government to have certain recommendations and accommodations for whatever we have. You know, Is that dyslexia? Is that dysgraphia? Dyspraxia, you know, Is that adhd? Every one of us, we just have to know what that is.

00:14:14
But always, again, I'm not trying to be Debbie Downer when it comes to the education system and. And who's in control, but they find ways around not giving us what we want, what we. What we deserve and what we need not want, you know. You know, excuse me for using that, because that's definitely not what it is. It's what we would rather not have to need anything.

00:14:40
Right? Yeah, no, I hear you, but yes. Is it. And then, you know, we can talk, you know, a little bit. Thank God Ashley is at Newberry, you know, with Montgomery.

00:14:51
But look how much stuff that you know, you have gone through to come off the heels of this. And you've got support. You've got somebody there like Ashley. Yeah, thank God. Oh, my gosh.

00:15:04
Thank God. Well, I want to touch on a few things that you said, because I think are really important, that are really important to highlight. And one of them is when we have to advocate for ourselves.

00:15:25
We don't. Let's think about personalities, right? Some personalities like to get into, like, some, some tussles. I, I don't mind a good tussle. I.

00:15:35
I'll come in and I'll argue. But my nature, I have to say, as I've gotten older, is I know I have to do that in some, in some atmospheres. Right. And I can, Can I bridge into what you just said? Yeah, 100%.

00:15:53
But a lot of people don't know how to advocate for themselves because this is exactly what happened. I had to explain to them why I want to send the email. Yo, this is why. Like, no, I don't want to fight. I'm like, no, no, no, no.

00:16:10
I'm not trying to start a fight. I'm trying to stop a fight. And I had to say it, you know, a few different ways, you know, and this is one of the ones I said. I said, well, if I go and kick, you know, a student out of the wheelchair, kick him over, that's not right. Right.

00:16:29
That's wrong. This is the same idea with not giving you the recommendations that you're supposed to have. Right. Like, so to your point was a lot of people didn't know how to advocate for the self and what that you and I, we can advocate all day long because we've lived it, but parents going in or the kids going in, they get bamboozled because they don't have the full understanding to advocate for themselves. Yeah.

00:17:01
And it's also like someone that has glasses. Another thing, like, right, you take the person's glasses off and you're like, you still have to take the test next to someone that can see. Is that what happens to you every day? I should be wearing my glasses. But I mean, you know what I'm saying?

00:17:18
Like, it's, it's very simple. It's. It's not that. Like, we're were trying to do more things. And to bridge off what you said is a lot of people don't know how to advocate for themselves.

00:17:26
They don't want to be the one that stand out because you're constantly. Especially if you're diagnosed when you're earlier, it's like, oh, my God, I have to have. I'm not kidding. I'm not kid, kid. Or I'm that parent or now I'm that.

00:17:38
I'm adult. Right. I always have to be the squeaky wheel. And there's times, I mean, how many times have I said to you in our. Since we've Known each other now for over two years.

00:17:47
I've said to you, I'm just tired of fighting right now. I have the personality that I actually don't mind doing it. I think I probably was even, like, I was born that way. You were born definitely that way. What are you trying to tell.

00:18:03
What are you trying to say? A little. A little feisty. A little feisty, like. But that's our personality.

00:18:07
And that's why I love personality tests. That's why I love all that. There's people that have the five Ds that don't have that. They don't want to stand out. They don't want to be that person.

00:18:18
They don't want to advocate for themselves. Remember when. Go ahead. Because you have something. No, Just wanted to go.

00:18:24
I've. I've never. I've never had that personality. I was always, I'll fit. No, you know, hockey, you get in, we fight.

00:18:33
Right? Like, that's hockey. But this side of things, I was never like this. I was always, how could I make it better? How can I make it better?

00:18:40
I don't want anybody mad at me. How do I do this? Right. As a kid. Yeah.

00:18:43
You know, as a kid growing up, you know, obviously, I've. I've become feisty. That's why I started the foundation. Why I get angry, and that's why you hear me say things I'm gonna beat out of people and punch teachers is because of my trauma. But I never want a kid to get to that, you know?

00:18:59
To get that, you know, and have these traumas that. That I do. Right. And so. Yes.

00:19:05
And I didn't mean that, like. Right. You were always feisty because you. Right. You wanted to hide.

00:19:08
But I have to say, when I was younger, I, I, I wanted to hide, but I did. I had a little bit more feisty where, like, if a teacher messed with me, I. I would have called them out. Not all the time. Yeah.

00:19:19
But there's people I never would have. Right. I would hide. I would, like, I would cower more. Yeah.

00:19:27
I cower. Yeah. I could put myself in a box. I would never. I was scared.

00:19:31
Right. And so I think there are people, right. Because of learned experiences that we know you have to do it because you have to be the squeaky wheel to get what you want. Now we take it back to a Montgomery was diagnosed. Right.

00:19:46
I went into that school like, mom, they're. They're friends of ours. Like, what are you talking about? Kathy would never. And Mary would, like, they would 100% do the right thing.

00:19:55
Because I really believe that people do the right thing. Now, when someone doesn't do the right thing and I see that, I'll rip a fucking head off. Rip your face off and your head. Because that is my personality. So, like, if I see things that are not, like the.

00:20:13
The, like, people doing the wrong, like, oh, we don't need to know they're not complaining, then I will advocate for people, because that's my personality. That's why I was put on this earth to be that person that would stand up, right? So think about even Montgomery when he was going to pick his. You know, thank goodness, right? He has Ashley, and he had to go and pick his accommodations.

00:20:36
And he was like, mom, can you know, we jump on the phone? I was like, yeah, sure. And as he's reading the accommodations, he's like, oh, maybe I don't need that one. H. For sake.

00:20:44
I need that one. And I was like, you know, I'm not saying anything because I'm like, I'm just going to sit there. He's like, I might as well just check all of them. And I was like, yes, honey, you might as well check all of them. And it was like one of them was like, sitting close.

00:20:55
So he's like, I don't want have to sit in the front. And he's like, you know what? If I need help, I'll just sit. So he did that. But that's him being a little bit more mature, right?

00:21:05
A couple of years ago, he would have been like, no way. Like, no, I don't want to. I don't want to be that kid again. I don't want to be that kid. I'm so tired of being that kid.

00:21:12
So the Disabilities act, when you have institutions, and I don't want to say, like, they're like, oh, like, they do it on purpose. Because I don't think anyone wakes up and is like, let's go fuck someone. Not in a good way. Let's. Let's.

00:21:26
Let's screw someone to that day. No. But they're told, don't go above and beyond, right? But there's person like, so it's. You have to know those laws because you're going to go in, someone's going to say, no, sorry, I can't do that for you.

00:21:39
And you don't want to be the person that's like, well, wait a second now. I actually do. Because the other person on the other side might be someone that doesn't mind conflict. And then you're in an argument and it's like, oh my gosh, like, this is so uncomfortable. I just need what I want to get.

00:21:53
So they bow down. Right. Okay. Sorry. I didn't mean to.

00:21:57
I don't. Maybe I'm not 100% sure. I don't really know. And then you're the kid that has the five Ds that is now working harder in class because you're not getting your accommodations because the person at the front desk didn't know the laws and was like, oh, I have to deal with someone again. Maybe they hate their job, maybe they hate their life, whatever it is.

00:22:16
And so you have to constantly advocate for yourself. And to. To that I wouldn't, you know, I'm not here to say a lot of it is they don't have the understanding. Yeah, right. As you, as you have you referenced in your.

00:22:30
Your party mouth is go somebody. Right? They didn't wake up and say no. And I don't think that a couple students them up. I don't ever think of that.

00:22:42
You know. Yeah. They find they don't have understanding about us and who we are, so they can't relate to us. So we get tossed aside now, yo, you heard relatability. How many times?

00:23:07
You know, so I, I think. And that's why I referenced earlier, you know, I started going off. Here is 18 of the 19 people don't even have any classes or anything to do with. So, yeah, they don't have any. Understand any understanding to have the empathy or at least a little bit of the understanding or care that goes with this.

00:23:31
And then you do get the. I'm getting old, I'm getting wrinkly here. We're gonna be 48 soon. And then you get the, you know, the people that maybe are the squeaky wheels that don't actually. They take advantage, right?

00:23:46
So there is the people that take advantage. And so you might be the person behind, you know, in line. The person that, you know, just got taken advantage of. The person that's trying to help, like that's supposed to help you is like another person trying to, you know, pull the wool over the system. And that's what sucks.

00:24:03
Like, that's where we're always like, just do the right thing. Does everyone be normal? Like, don't take advantage. Why? And so it gets all this mixed bag.

00:24:11
And so you can't be like, police, blame all in one place. Right? We're never doing that. There's like so many things that are put together here, but if you have the knowledge and that's what that's really what it is. If you have the knowledge and are like, okay, and have people like yourself and the foundation that can help a little bit, like, hey, I know you're in this situation.

00:24:33
Let me help. But for three months, this person has been stressing over, oh, my gosh, I might have to take, you know, a foreign language or I might have to do this, might have to do that. Right. So you've got into your heart. You're correct on everything.

00:24:48
Oh, there might be somebody taking care. You're trying to bend the system. Okay. Learning, Obviously, dyslexia is 1 in 5. Learning, certain is 1 in 6.

00:24:57
So look at the amount of kids that are. More kids are affected. So if there's somebody trying to take advantage, one or two kids over here. I'm not, you know, again, I'm not saying just let them go and get. Get away with it.

00:25:08
Right. But you're focusing so much energy in the wrong place. Does that make sense? Yeah. No.

00:25:18
You're talking five out of 20 kids. I have something more than that. Yeah. You know, so again, I'm not saying I'll just let them get away with it. No, but they're focusing so hard, so much energy on the wrong.

00:25:38
On the little, littlest things this way, but then they'll let us go that way. Yeah. Or we don't come back. Right. And I mean, referencing again, Newberry and Ashley.

00:25:53
I. I did a lot of research. I had my experience where I didn't have a lot of support in school. Right. And so I was navigating myself and figuring out, obviously, that's when I was diagnosed with a lot of stuff as well.

00:26:03
So that was really important to me being able to find that because I was like, most schools have a disability center. Right. And it will say, like, learning disabilities or whatever, or some sort of just a handicap disability, whatever it is. And that's where we, as a foundation, really want to help get, like, break it down, because it is really important. There's schools that will say, oh, yes, we have knowledge.

00:26:27
We have a disability center. We. But just go back off. The 18 of the 19 people that we just referenced don't have anything. Go ahead.

00:26:35
Right. And so it's like, okay, find that school that maybe says, I have a dyslexic. I mean, we're so fortunate because Ashley is dyslexic. I mean, that, you know, that was a godsend. You know, as I'm googling, I need to find something.

00:26:50
And how hard was it to find any information on any of that. Well, the thing that's crazy is Montgomery wanted warm. He wanted like a D2 school. So I had like a very specific search that I was like, let me just see. And then I was like, oh, this is so interesting.

00:27:06
I've never even heard of this. So they had a dyslexic program that was the second year. What. What did that. You know, what was, what was the heading?

00:27:15
Dyslexic program. It says. Yeah, no, it was dyslexic. I actually need to now look it up. If you go right, it's.

00:27:22
Hold on one second. I will look. It is.

00:27:29
Keep talk. Why I'm looking. No, because, you know, there's you, you know, and let's just go back to, you know, drinks, you know, coconut water. Obviously that's the fastest way to rehydrate, you know, hangovers, being sick, you know, but you'll, you'll get, you know, like, for an example. Dyslexic program.

00:27:50
Yeah. In statistics room. Instead of. Instead, you know, it says, you know, coconut concentrate or. Right.

00:27:58
So there's, there's different ways to use that terminology to get around it. So that's why I asked that question. Dyslexic program. Does it, does it have dyslexic support or they also, there's ways that people can just. Like I can say, I'm the number one principle in the world.

00:28:14
Right. Self proclaimed. Right? I can. There's nobody out there that monitoring it.

00:28:18
So, you know, along with these words. Right? And so this, when this popped up, I was like, oh, my God. And then I was reading and I was like, this is, this is incredible. Now, so for like, foreign language.

00:28:27
Because in South Carolina that's not waived, right? That was the first thing I said. Like, you know, Montgomery kept getting emails like, okay, you have to take your Spanish. Montgomery's like, I haven't, I haven't taken a foreign language because he's been waived. Because that was one of the things very early on, I was like, oh, honey, I failed every foreign language.

00:28:43
Like, and then, you know, out of Yale, where it says, you don't have to take it. I was like, we are running with this. You're not taking foreign language. And so Ashley just said to me, I'm handling it. You guys don't worry about the emails.

00:28:56
And I was like, great, I love that, because I don't want to have to worry about the emails. And so. And a couple of times one company's like, mom. And I was like, I know you keep getting it. Ignore it.

00:29:09
He's like, great. So we are very fortunate with that because we have an advocate that is there doing it because she has knowledge. But not only does she have knowledge, she also has the five Ds, right? Or not all five Ds. She does.

00:29:25
No, she does not have all five D. She's got dyspraxia. No, she does not have dyspraxia. So I think she might have three of the five Ds. We have to ask her because I don't think she's dyscalculia.

00:29:37
I don't think she's dysgraphia. Yeah, I was just gonna say I don't think she's just crappy either. I don't know if she's adhd. No, she might be just. I know her daughter's got four of the five Ds or three of the five Ds.

00:29:47
Yeah, she might have three of the five Ds, but so she has the understanding and she's fought and, you know, and as we say, like, you know, people don't go into education. She fought because she is also a feisty one. Right? She is like, I will fight, I will advocate. She is.

00:30:03
You know, I think that terminology, what you just said, you just said both those words instead of, you know, the word fight and that, you know, advocate. I think it's advocate. Right. I think the advocate word is, you know, is the key word to use. We're not here to fight.

00:30:19
We're not trying to start a fight. We're not trying. We're not trying to, you know, we're a bar room brawl. We're not on the ice line, bro brawl. We're here to advocate.

00:30:27
Right. I think that's better terminology. No, you're right. Because fighting, that, that sounds like aggressive. I'm.

00:30:33
I'm good with aggressive, but now. But it's just. It separates both. We're not, you know, we're here to stop a fight, not start a fight. Exactly.

00:30:42
And I love that so much because. Right. We're here to.

00:30:48
And to create and then the awareness of it. But advocate, because there's things that are just going to make people's lives easier, right? The self esteem, the understanding, the relatability, all the things that you say with the foundation and knowledge is power. Period. I mean, that is.

00:31:07
Period. We say that all the time. And it's in every aspect of your life. When you have knowledge, you have power, and you are more confident as a human to be able to approach something. It doesn't matter what it is there's no if, ands and buts, are there?

00:31:22
So the fact that you were able to get that letter out and just be like, this is actually the law. This is actually required right now. One of the things that I think is interesting that kind of came up with this is also private because I said to you, well, I don't even know I have to write. Like, that's just. Isn't.

00:31:44
They have to do it. And you're like, no, because private university versus public university versus what people follow versus states. Because some states don't. This is not a federal, it's not a federal law that you don't have to take a foreign language. Yeah, that's, that's a whole, that's a whole nother podcast.

00:32:04
That's a whole nother podcast. But it's, you know, and what this is, is your feelings are deserved, you know, And I mean, like, you're not wrong with your feelings no matter what, no matter how those feelings are good, bad, different. Left, right, center, your feelings are your feelings. But, you know, don't make anybody make you feel guilty or feel bad for having this. We are who we are, yo.

00:32:39
Yes. I got four to the five right. People make me feel bad all the time. Don't. Yeah.

00:32:46
And that's who we are. And that's really true. And that's a really important statement because unfortunately, when you do learn different, there are people along the way. You get teachers that huff, that roll their eyes, that make you feel, make you feel. And there's times where they don't mean to, you know, they're, they just are not.

00:33:10
They don't have the self awareness to realize how deep. And that's where when people just say, oh, isn't just sexy just flipping your B's and D's? It goes way deeper than that. And whether you were diagnosed early, you're going to have less scars. I mean, that's the other reason why we started word blindness is the reason why you started the foundation to give less scars than you have had.

00:33:35
Than I have had. But you're still going to go through it. I mean, Montgomery still had teachers that made him, even special ed teachers that made him feel less than. Because some people suck, period. Well, I think I've, I, you know, I think I've told this story again.

00:33:54
Majority not saying all of special ed teachers don't have the five Ds or don't have this or don't have that. So no, they don't have the full understanding of what you're Talking about or what you need or what you're advocating for. Always remember that the individual. Now, let's just talk about the 5ds. I've never met a superintendent.

00:34:18
I've never met a dean, a principal or a teacher to this time that have had my 4 to the 5Ds. Okay? So they have no clue what I'm talking about, but they're going to tell me what that I need. So always remember, remember that the individual. It's, you know, it's going.

00:34:38
It's like going to, you know, a foreign country. When I lived in Russia, trying to. I'll never forget that when I was at McDonald's trying to order McDonald's for the first time in. In Russia took like 10 minutes. They didn't have pictures.

00:34:51
There was, you know, I like Big Mac and fries. Why? And French fries in Russia is Kushki free? The French fries, not Katushki free. So it's the same thing.

00:35:04
When you're talking to one of those individuals I mentioned, it's. You're literally, like talking the same language. It took probably 10 minutes. Oh, I can. I can.

00:35:15
And Brad is clap. I'm like, I went over and there's a. We're at a restaurant. You know, they had basket bread. I went over and got the basket, brought it over.

00:35:22
I'm like, right. You just sign language. Right. But, you know, as funny was it. You know, as funny was, you got frustrating after 10 minutes of trying to do it.

00:35:34
Right. Yeah, I'm sure. Same. Same kind of aspect when you walk in that school, no matter if you're where you are in the world, no matter what school it is, no matter what level it is, middle school or high or college, that's kind of how you were speaking to them. Or you talk so slow.

00:35:50
Do you understand what I am saying? Or you say it louder and you use your hands. Right. And you're in a foreign country. I always talk louder.

00:35:59
My Hahn's always like, they're not deaf. I'm like, oh, that's true. Loud and slow, right? So same kind of aspect when you walk in to advocate, you know, for your kids or you're for yourself. Yep.

00:36:12
We're just going to leave it at that. I think that's good. All right, guys, don't forget to go to the soaplefoundation.org donate because that what's. What makes us, you know, makes us. Makes us move.

00:36:26
Make us be able to do what we want to do. We have big goals. We have a lot of Stuff in the plans. Lots of stuff in the plans. You guys have heard us talk about the golf event, Stanley cup dinner.

00:36:35
There's going to be another event that we will give you guys more information later. But that, that golf event happens every fall. We'll, we'll, we'll have other again things that are going to be repeating that are going to be really fun. But it is, it is really important to when you are donating to think, okay, it's not just flipping your B's and D's. There's a lot more to the five D's than just being like, okay, I learned a little different or I do this a little different.

00:37:07
And we're trying to really advocate for those kids in the chairs, the kids that are in schools right now in areas that they have no understanding of the 5Ds. And these kids are going in like with stomach aches because it's like, oh my God, gotta, gotta go through school. I mean I could start sweating and maybe throw up in my mouth a little bit even thinking about it. So we're gonna leave it at that.

00:37:30
Thanks for that image. I know, Really, I was like, oh, where am I going with this? I don't like it. So you guys know what to do, like rate, review and share. Because you don't know who is going through this right now.

00:37:39
You don't know who in your world has a college student or doesn't know about the disabilities act and doesn't know their rights, actually their actual God given rights to when you have diagnosis of any of the five Ds. So again like rate, review and share and we'll see you for another episode of word blindness Dyslexia exposed.