Innholdsfortegnelse for October 2025 i Dystinct Magazine

“Don’t use ‘dyslexia’ as, ‘I’m sad. I can’t do anything. I’m dyslexic.’ Use it as, ‘I’m really good, I can do everything. I’m dyslexic. Yay! This piece of advice comes from Bartek Pilarski, our newest Dystinct Journalist, who is featured on the cover of this issue. Such a simple statement carrying such profound wisdom for someone who has just turned nine. Sometimes it takes a child to remind us what pride in who you are really looks like. His joy, his confidence, and his sense of self are what we want every child to feel when they talk about how they learn. For his first assignment, Bartek interviewed Faye Theriault, the founder of Canada’s Science of Reading: What I Should Have Learned in College Facebook group. My dear friend Faye…

Gersten, R., Compton, D., Connor, C. M., Dimino, J., Santoro, L., Linan-Thompson, S., & Tilly, W. D. (2009). Assisting students struggling with reading: Response to intervention (RtI) and multi-tier intervention in the primary grades (NCEE 2009-4045). National Center for Education Evaluation and Regional Assistance, Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education. [ies.ed.gov] National Reading Panel. (2000). Teaching children to read: An evidence-based assessment of the scientific research literature on reading and its implications for reading instruction (NIH Publication No. 00-4769). National Institute of Child Health and Human Development. [nichd.nih.gov] I often remind parents: You are the expert on your child. If you sense something isn't right, dig deeper. Request documentation, ask for research citations, and don't be afraid to push for clarity. Missy Purcell…

Dr Samantha C. Sweeney Anxiety is one of the most common mental health diagnoses that affects children in the United States today. According to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), as of 2022-2023, 11% of children have an anxiety diagnosis. Anxiety is a treatable condition. Both medication and therapy have been shown to be efficacious in the treatment of anxiety. A recent study that looked at the treatment efficacy of anxiety interventions in young children (Fisak et al., 2023) indicated that anxiety interventions were effective in reducing symptoms of anxiety and that this reduction in symptoms was long-lasting. Although it is true that anxiety is treatable, it is still a condition that can be difficult to manage for kids and their families. Anxiety can affect a child in many areas…

‌Suzanne Diermann‌ I’m a literacy specialist, interventionist, and activist. In my private literacy practice, I utilize Orton-Gillingham methodologies to help students of all ages overcome dyslexia. Over the years, I’ve built strong, meaningful relationships with my students, having open conversations about what it’s like to live with dyslexia and how it affects them personally. I encourage them to share their honest struggles and successes, not only to inspire others but also to help fellow learners feel less alone. I know that many of my students have never met another person with the same learning difference, which is when I began imagining a social media project that could give them a platform to share their authentic voices and allow others to truly hear them. I’ll never forget when I asked one…

GROWING UP WITH DYSLEXIA AND TRAUMA, I FOUND STRENGTH IN STORYTELLING AND THE COURAGE TO SHARE MY VOICE. GOLDEN NAVARRO IS A BUSINESS OWNER, STORYTELLER, AND PROUD DYSLEXIC. FROM CHILDHOOD STRUGGLES TO ENTREPRENEURIAL SUCCESS, SHE NOW DEDICATES HER VOICE TO ENCOURAGING OTHERS WITH LEARNING DIFFERENCES TO STEP OUT OF THEIR COMFORT ZONES AND DISCOVER THEIR STRENGTHS. GOLDEN NAVARRO “I often felt like an alien, misunderstood, misplaced, and speaking my own language. Have you ever written something that made perfect sense to you, but when others read it, it looked like a secret code or a foreign language? That was me as a child, I often felt like an alien, misunderstood, misplaced, and speaking my own language. It wasn’t just in my writing; I would create entire stories in my head,…

Faye Theriault from Dipper Harbour, Canada, is a passionate grandmother driven to make a difference in the lives of individuals with learning difficulties. Faye has acquired extensive knowledge and expertise through her lived experience of dyslexia and specialised Orton-Gillingham training. Faye’s impact extends beyond her own family, as she actively engages with local schools, support groups, and international organisations. She makes wooden fish to sell as part of a fundraiser to send New Brunswick teachers through the Orton-Gillingham training at the Reading & Learning Clinic - MB, Canada. Dystinct reporter Bartek Pilarski has a chat with Faye about her life, work and her School of Fish. Excerpts from the interview Why did you choose fish for an animal and not a dog or anything else like that? I thought of…

Journalist & Illustrator Ava Eldridge Age 12 Dyslexia & ADHD NSW, Australia Ava loves art, animals, cooking, her family, playing the piano and she really enjoys reading! Her newfound love of aerial acrobatics keeps her busy. Journalist Bartek Pilarski Age 9 Dyslexia Calgary, Alberta, Canada Bartek is a grade 4 student who has embraced his superpower—dyslexia! He loves hiking in the beautiful Rocky Mountains with his mom, dad, twin brother, and two dogs. He plays on the defensive line of his local football team and loves the Kansas City Chiefs and Calgary Stampeders. Bartek loves to perform and is in his school’s Glee Club. He loves going to concerts, travelling and exploring new places. His family considers him a visionary. He loves problem-solving, fixing things, and being creative. Bartek loves…

Bar-Haim, Y., Ziv, T., Lamy, D., & Hodes, R. M. (2006). Nature and Nurture in Own-Race Face Processing. Psychological Science, 17(2), 159-163. [doi.org] Buttelmann, D. & Böhm, R. (2014). The Ontogeny of the Motivation That Underlies In-Group Bias. Psychological Science, 25(4), 921–-927. Child and Adolescent Health Measurement Initiative. (2022-2023). National Survey of Children’s Health. Data Resource Center for Child and Adolescent Health supported by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), Maternal and Child Health Bureau (MCHB). Retrieved August 8, 2024 [nschdata.org] Fisak, B., Penna, A., Mian, N. D., Lamoli, L., Margaris, A., & Cruz, S. A. M. F. D. (2023). The Effectiveness of Anxiety Interventions for Young Children: A Meta-Analytic Review. Journal of child and family studies, 1–12. Advance online publication. [doi.org]…

Why is the validation of the feelings of a child so important? There are many reasons for this. One of these reasons is that it will increase the child’s Emotional Awareness, which is crucial to a child’s development. Emotional Awareness is the ability for the child to recognize, understand, and label their own feelings and the feelings of others. Emotional Awareness is a foundational skill for emotional intelligence, also known as EQ. Emotional intelligence (EQ) enables the child to identify their wider feelings and better manage emotions, as well as express their needs. It also helps them to empathize with others and navigate social situations more effectively. “Validating a child’s feelings forms the foundation for psychological growth and for healthy relationships in the future. Some of the key components of…

Celebrating Neurodiversity Let’s take another look at the faces of ADHD; perhaps there is something we haven't noticed before. In this exploration, we may discover the untapped potential and unique perspectives that neurodiversity, including ADHD, brings to our world. ADHD deserves a fresh reconsideration, re-evaluation, and re-envisioning, and potentially, we will appreciate it in a new light from a new perspective. I was that kid who talked too much and moved too much. I forgot things, was lost, daydreamed, and often found myself in trouble for reasons I couldn't quite explain. I could never borrow library books as I never remembered to return them. I learned early that I was too much for some people and not enough for others. I walked out of class one day without my school…

When your child struggles to read, few words sound more reassuring than "evidence-based." Schools and districts often use the term, promising that the program selected for intervention is grounded in science and proven to work. But as many parents of children with dyslexia quickly discover, the phrase "evidence-based" can be slippery. Some programs marketed this way have decades of independent research behind them. Others borrow key terms such as "structured phonics," "multisensory learning", and "cognitive load theory", but lack the rigorous studies needed to show they truly help struggling readers. For parents, this blurred line can make it difficult to know whether their child is receiving what the research supports, or simply what’s available. This article unpacks what "evidence-based" should mean in schools, explains the critical differences between Tier 1,…

“For as long as I can remember, words have been both my biggest challenge and my greatest teacher. Growing up with dyslexia shaped so much of who I am today, not just the way I learn, but the way I see the world, the way I solve problems, and the way I connect with people. School‌ When I was at school, dyslexia wasn’t something people understood very well. There wasn’t much support or awareness around how it affected learning, and for me, that made things even harder. I often had someone sit beside me in class to help me write things down. To other students, that made me stand out. It looked like I couldn’t do my own work, like I wasn’t capable, and because of that, I was bullied.…