Episode 63 – Misdiagnosis for Autism and Becoming an Olympian with Caragh McMurtry

In this podcast episode, Elizabeth Takyi shares her inspiring journey from a traumatic childhood in Ghana, where she was penalized for poor spelling and experienced the cane in the classroom, leading to feelings of inadequacy. After moving to the UK for secondary education and facing disassociation with schooling, she eventually left an abusive relationship.

Determined to prove her worth, Elizabeth enrolled in a college HR course but faced initial failure. It was only later that she discovered her Dyslexia and Dyspraxia, leading to a search for answers in the pre-Google era. With college support and assistive technology, she excelled in subsequent years.

With newfound confidence, Elizabeth founded “Aspire2 Inspire,” offering support to dyslexic business owners and others. She now serves as a neurobox ambassador, raising awareness about dyslexia and intersectionality. Despite being a single mother of three, Elizabeth continues to inspire through her resilience.

Key topics covered include childhood trauma, leaving an abusive relationship, discovering and overcoming dyslexia, supporting dyslexic entrepreneurs, navigating job searches with dyslexia, and finding one’s sense of belonging.

In this podcast episode, we discuss the often-overlooked potential of individuals with dyslexia in improving their reading and writing skills. Our guest, Russell Van Brocklen, founder of Dyslexia Classes, specializes in teaching students, especially those with dyslexia, how to overcome reading, writing, and comprehension challenges. Leveraging his background in Neurological Communications and personal experience with dyslexia, Russell has developed a unique system that not only enhances writing skills but also strengthens reading, organizational abilities, and long-term confidence in motivated dyslexic students.

Host Matthew Head explores the role of AI in bridging the skills gap for individuals with dyslexia. As AI becomes more prevalent, it raises the question of how future job opportunities may favor the strengths of dyslexic individuals. This podcast episode sheds light on the potential for these individuals to excel in a changing landscape.

In this episode of The Dyslexia Life Hacks Show, Dr. Brock Eide discusses the unique strengths associated with dyslexia and how they can lead to amazing success. As a neuro-learning expert and co-author of The Dyslexic Advantage, Dr. Eide has spent years researching dyslexia and the positive attributes that come with it.

Dr. Eide’s interest in dyslexia began when he noticed his children struggling with reading and writing. This sparked his curiosity, and he began to research dyslexia and the unique brain structures associated with it. What he found was surprising – people with dyslexia have a predisposition to important skills and special talents.

Dr. Eide’s book, The Dyslexic Advantage, has been instrumental in shifting the paradigm of dyslexia from a deficit to a strength-based approach. The updated edition of the book includes new research that further supports the dyslexic advantage, providing a fuller and more balanced model of dyslexia.

Throughout the episode, Dr. Eide shares his insights on dyslexia, including how it is viewed today compared to 12 years ago when the first edition of the book was published. He also offers prescriptive advice for parents, educators, co-workers, and dyslexics on how to leverage the strengths associated with dyslexia.