Author: Matt

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In this episode of The Dyslexia Life Hacks Show, Matt is talking to Carol and Alana Blumenstein from KidsRead2Kids.

KidsRead2Kids offers audiobooks, as well as other study resources which are read aloud by teenage children. This is to provide role models for young children when it comes to reading there is also video content along with the audio. They have won a parents choice award.

Carol is the mum to 5 neurodiverse children ranging in age from 17 to 25. She spent most of her early life unaware that she was dyslexic, but this didn’t stop her getting a BSEE in electrical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania. Now she works in consulting.

Alana has ADHD and used to have selective mutism when she was at school. She is also the scribe of the family. I very often help her siblings with getting their ideas on her page. She says that they are always coming out with a new story and she helps them with this.

Selected Links

• KidsRead2Kids
• BSEE Electrical Engineering
• Chemical Engineering
• University of Pennsylvania
• Bain and Company
• Programming in C
• Selective Mutism
• Cosmetologist
• Anna of Green Gables
• Audible
• Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy
  • Audiobook by read by Stephen Fry
• Otter.ai

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In this episode of The Dyslexia Life Hacks Show, Matt is talking to Ekua Cant. She is a career coach and author of Be Your No.1 Cheerleader.

In this podcast they talk about Ekua dyslexia and dyscalculia and its effect during her education. She had a career with the civil service where she had to learn how to write in a different way to watch, used to which she took on as a challenge as she enjoys long words however, her grammar is not her strong suit. She Started as a Personal Assistant, and left as a Senior IT and Digital Transformation Project Manager

Like many dyslexics Ekua can generate lots of different ideas but sometimes that can make it hard to focus on just one thing. Hear, how a small robot may have not been the best plan for a drinks business.

Now she works as a career coach specialising in underrepresented talent, and provides one-to-one coaching for senior women from diverse backgrounds.

Selected Links

• Ekua’s
  • LinkedIn
  • Website
  • Book – Your No.1 Cheerleader
• Robots of London
• Dyscalculia
• Mini-disc Player
• Whitehall
• Civil Service
• British vs American idioms
• Furlough Scheme

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In this episode of The Dyslexia Life Hacks Show Matt is Talking to John Rinaldo, he is an author and works in sales.

He had always wanted to write a book but felt that his dyslexia got in the way, this is also reflected in his career starting in a manual job before injury changed his life and he went to university and has never looked back.

Hear in the podcast how John worked it through university and got to grips with his dyslexia. How is after isolation due to Covid-19 he found that having some alone time help him work through things and put this into a book, where he is donating some of the proceeds to Children with Dyslexia (https://www.childrensdyslexiacenters.org/about/). Now he has published his second book, charting his recovery from a serious bike accident.

Selected likes

• Books
  • Surviving COVID-19: Being Alone Was the Best COVID-19 Medicine
  • The Bike Accident: Working Through the Low Valleys of Blessings
• John on TikTok
• Smart Buildings
• Pipe Fitter
• Hack – Fast, Bad, Wrong
• Why you should wear a cycle helmet
• Anthracite Aneurysm
• Primary Aldosteronism (Conn’s Syndrome)

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In this episode of The Dyslexia Life Hacks Show, Matt is talking to Armelle McGeachie, founder of Girls with Dyslexia.

During this podcast you will find out that Armelle had a feeling that she was dyslexic from a very young age, but did get a diagnosis until age 21. Interestingly, she had already been employing lots of dyslexic, friendly tactics that she had found through self-discovery during her time at school, particularly during her GCSEs. But having the official diagnosis allowed her to get the appropriate coaching, making her final year of university a lot easier.

When she started in the world of work, she kept her dyslexia to herself, this has presented challenges during her career and Armelle and Matt go into some peoples negative stereotyping of dyslexics. Later when She became more comfortable with her dyslexia, she became Diversity and Inclusion Board Member – Neurodiversity Subcommittee Leader for the company she worked for, this drove her to embrace her dyslexia, and start to understand the benefits of community when neurodiverse.

Armelle set up Girls with Dyslexia, where she shares her lived in experience, great tips and tactics to help not just women and girls with dyslexia, but anybody who needs some support. She is very talented in the use of infographics to convey useful information.

Selected Links

• Armelle’s LinkedIn
• Girls with Dyslexia on;
  • Instagram
  • TikTok
  • Twitter
• Foundation and Higher Tier at GCSE
• Mind Maps
• Dyspraxia
• Access to Work
• Succeed with Dyslexia Articles;
  • Women with Dyslexia, Diagnosis and Work
  • Dyslexia in Girls
• Iceberg infographic

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In this episode of The Dyslexia Life Hacks Show Matt welcomes Alex Onalaja, he is an entrepreneur, author, and speaker. He has been featured in Forbes and been voted on of the top 50 influential black voices in tech by Tech Nation.  

In this podcast they talk about Alex’s education in Nigeria and how as a dyslexic he struggled in school, this was made more painful as he watched his younger brother thrive. His time at university once he had moved to the UK and how as a keen young person he wanted to get into the world of work and was excited to join a company. However, he had many rejections from all the jobs he was applying for and faced prejudices in the recruitment process. This led him into depression, Alex started documenting his return from dark days and has now turned it into a book LOST, NOW FOUND – The Secret to Unlocking Your Hidden Potential in 30 Days. 

Now he is an entrepreneur working in tech and has been featured in major publications. He now is turning his focus to coaching others. 

Selected Links:

• Alex’s
  • Website
  • LinkedIn
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
• Book – Lost, Now Found – The Secret To Unlocking Your Hidden Potential In 30 Days
• TAD360
• Alex in Forbes
• Tech Nation – The 50 most inspiring, prominent, and influential black voices in UK tech
• KYSO
• Williams F1
• Dragon Speech Recognition Software
• Lagos Nigeria
• Microsoft word – word to text functionally
• Solopreneur
• Intrepreneur

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In this Episode of The Dyslexia Life Hacks Show, Matt is talking to Natalie Brooks, the founder of Dyslexia in Adults, which has the mission to increase the conversation around dyslexia in adults. Part of this includes The Hive, which is an online membership program that includes monthly masterclasses, tips, and advice, and as access to a community. Natalie has over 60,000 followers on TikTok and has a big Instagram following too.

In this podcast, Matt and Natalie talk about her background at school and comparing the attitudes of different education institutions to her dyslexia, her career in politics, and then her move into sales. Natalie has some interesting and funny stories of how she came across dyslexic barriers at work. She particularly struggled with her self-perception of dyslexia and you will hear in this episode how often “I can’t because I’m dyslexic” has become a barrier to her. Ultimately, somebody else’s negative attitude towards her, gave her the drive she needed to create Dyslexia in Adults.

Selected Links

• Dyslexia In Adults
• The Hive
• Dyslexia at Work Playbook
• Dyslexia In Adults
  • Instagram
  • TikTok
• Lisbon
• The Palace of Westminster
• Psychometric Test
• API System
• Access to Work

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In this episode of The Dyslexia Life Hacks Show Matt is talking to Jacquelyn Davies, she is the Founder, CEO and Mum-In-Chief of Clever Noodle.

Clever Noodle creates tabletop games to help children to read. Their first game Kangaroo Cravings is currently on a Kickstarter campaign which ends on 30^th November 2022. 

During this podcast Matt and Jacquelyn talk about her career in politics, how her passion for education grew, and why she decided to leave her politics and law career to pursue a successor in education. During her career in education, she found her passion in helping children who are struggling when it comes to learning to read. Jacquelyn details her beliefs in the errors in the American education system, when it comes to learning how to read.

When her son came along, she discovered he was dyslexic. Her and her husband moved him around various schools before finding one that would help him in the way he needs. During Covid lockdown restrictions, she discovered how to game the learning process. During this episode Jacquelyn goes to detail how Kangaroo Cravings can assist children, parents, and teachers alike in bringing their children’s reading up to grade level.

Selected Links

• Clever Noodle
• Contact Clever Noodle – hello@clevernoodle.com
• Kickstarter campaign for Kangaroo Cravings ends 30^th November 2022
• 2006 Washingtonians of the Year: Jacquelyn Davis
• Jerry Lewis Telethon
• Phonemic awareness
• Phonics
• Social Capital
• US School Districts
• Gay Su Pinnell
• Fountas and Pinnell level reader
• Lucy Calkins
• Article – Experts say widely used reading curriculum is failing kids
• Article – Reading Workshop ‘Unlikely to Lead to Literacy Success,’ Researchers Say
• The three-cueing system
• Orthographic mapping
• British International School of Washington
• Paddington 2
• High frequency sight words
• National reading panel
• New Leaders – Charity
• Dyslexia Black Children Association
• Emily Hanford – Sold a story podcast

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In this episode of a The Dyslexia Life Hacks Show, Matt is talking to Lisa Heleniak the founder of The ZOOM Genie. The provides co-hosting, support and coordinate online virtual events, leaving the host to focus on their course or presentation.

Lisa, as most dyslexics struggled at school, but found that her abilities in sport and other creative subjects, helped her to have a positive experience through education, although as you will hear during this episode, her boarding school peers have taken a very different routes through life. 

During this podcast, you were here Lisa’s story from having tutors at school, working as a PA, through to setting up your own business. Lisa also enlightens the listener on the contrast between her and her Neurotypical daughters, especially as they find things easy, but then can’t understand how Lisa is able to do other things. 

Selected links

• Lisa’s LinkedIn
• Boarding School
• BT Cellnet now is O2
• BAE Systems
• Cambridge Art College
• Voice Memos on an iPhone
• Made By Dyslexia
• British Dyslexia Association
• Success with Dyslexia
• Dyslexic thinking on LinkedIn
• Matt Hancock – Dyslexia Bill
• Andy Barden Episode