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Living with Dyslexia · Stronger With Sophie

• 0:08
  Speaker A: Hey, guys, and welcome to the podcast Stronger with Sophie, where we talk about comeback stories from young people who have experienced obstacles and have overcome them and learn lessons from them. Today we're going to be talking about dyslexia. My name is Sophie, and I'm here with my dad, Jimmy, and a special guest, Sadie Dixon. So, Sadie, tell us, what's your experience?
• 0:26
  Speaker B: Thank you so much for having me.
• 0:28
  Speaker A: Yeah, of course.
• 0:28
  Speaker C: Thank you so much for coming. Can't wait to hear your story.
• 0:33
  Speaker B: You know, dyslexia is really close to my heart because growing up, it was such a thing that nobody talked about. I didn't hear anyone say anything about it. So, you know, going into kindergarten and first grade, nothing really Kind of.
• 0:51
  Speaker A: Yeah. I mean, you're just kind of like, yeah, you're learning building blocks, and you're learning, like, a lot of these different. Like that.
• 0:58
  Speaker B: But I was kind of in the corner, like, didn't know exactly what to do because I didn't know how to do any of it. When I got to second grade, that's kind of when the obstacle started to happen. My mom actually went to go get me tested because I was held back. So I had to face reality and know that, okay, I'm going to be stuck another year having to redo the same grade.
• 1:23
  Speaker A: Yeah, so you got. So you got held back in second grade.
• 1:26
  Speaker C: So your teachers obviously started noticing that you were not making the progress that other students were making, and your parents were concerned as well, and so they end up holding you back. And then what happened?
• 1:38
  Speaker B: Well, my mom actually found this company called Linda Mood Bell, and it was based out of Jacksonville. I believe. She contacted them, they came to Maclay.
• 1:49
  Speaker A: So what's the. What's the company for?
• 1:51
  Speaker B: Sorry, the company is for learning disabilities.
• 1:53
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 1:54
  Speaker B: It's adhd, add, dyslexia, dyscalculus, everything in that nature.
• 2:02
  Speaker A: So it's for kids who are just facing those troubles. Yeah. Okay.
• 2:05
  Speaker B: But first, before I found Linda Bo, I went to a public school, and we thought that would help me. Turns out it wasn't the same. Maclay was definitely not the best choice in the beginning for me as well, but Noah really was, and I had to kind of just accept that. Okay, we're just gonna do this on our own.
• 2:25
  Speaker C: Well, I wanna, before we move forward about, like, what happened after you were diagnosed and you just. You decided to do something about it. I'd like to know what kind of struggles you had to go through.
• 2:39
  Speaker A: Yeah, like what?
• 2:40
  Speaker C: Knowing that you were held back, knowing that you were having struggles in school. Tell us about that.
• 2:46
  Speaker B: I think now I was kind of too young to remember anything or actually, like, put into perspective, like, okay, this is my life now. I look back, and it's really like, what did my peers think?
• 2:59
  Speaker C: Okay.
• 3:00
  Speaker B: And it was a whole thing on, like, okay, I'm different. Yes. It's gonna take me longer to do so. Like, how are everyone gonna think of me? Am I gonna be made fun of? Like, what is gonna happen? So that was definitely one of the biggest obstacles. And so did.
• 3:17
  Speaker C: Were you made fun of? Like, did kids.
• 3:20
  Speaker A: No.
• 3:20
  Speaker B: It worried me. It wrecked me.
• 3:24
  Speaker A: So you were. You were facing some, you know, pure. Yeah. Some pure criticism.
• 3:29
  Speaker B: Yeah, definitely.
• 3:32
  Speaker A: I know. I mean. Yeah, I feel like for me, personally, I think I've witnessed. I mean, you know, we were. We were in the same grade at one point, and so I've witnessed a lot of, you know, peers just kind of, like, drag You. Drag each other down. And, you know, it's. You could be the most different kid or even just like, slightly different in some way or. Or with, you know, some learning.
• 3:53
  Speaker C: Yeah.
• 3:54
  Speaker A: And they will. And they do not care that that will fly. Right.
• 3:57
  Speaker C: Kids can be so cruel. I remember kids when I was growing up where they had to be held back, and, boy, it was. It was embarrassing for them.
• 4:08
  Speaker A: So.
• 4:08
  Speaker C: Yeah.
• 4:09
  Speaker A: What happened, like, that year when you had to get held back? Did you. You know. Did.
• 4:13
  Speaker B: Well, I actually found out my dad was held back for dyslexia as well.
• 4:17
  Speaker C: Okay. Your dad, who's, like, a super successful guy right now. Okay.
• 4:23
  Speaker B: Never thought. But, yeah. To be held back and be with the grade that is below me now.
• 4:30
  Speaker C: Yeah.
• 4:30
  Speaker B: Is kind of humbling in my eyes. It's like, okay, that girl's stupid. Why is she getting held back for something that we just finished? So it's just, like. It was very humbling. And back then, I definitely think that I felt upset about it, but now that I'm looking back at it, I kind of think it's, like, something that makes me who I am today.
• 4:53
  Speaker C: Okay.
• 4:54
  Speaker A: So, yeah, that's definitely, like, a challenge that you had to overcome. And you. I feel like you've done pretty well. I mean, since then. So tell me a little bit more about this program that your mom got you into.
• 5:06
  Speaker B: It's called Luna Babel.
• 5:08
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 5:09
  Speaker B: And so how did it.
• 5:11
  Speaker A: Like, how did that kind of help you move forward? Like, what did you learn either about yourself or about your dyslexia and how to, like, work with it through that program?
• 5:19
  Speaker B: You know what I'm asking to change My brain completely and flip it to where I could understand it.
• 5:24
  Speaker A: Yeah.
• 5:25
  Speaker B: So they had different kind of fun little activities to do. So one thing that I had to do was, okay, I couldn't read and remember something that I read.
• 5:36
  Speaker C: So this is the main problem with dyslexia. Just for people who don't know, dyslexia is essentially a reading disability.
• 5:43
  Speaker B: Yes. The funny thing is about dyslexia, it's different for every single single person.
• 5:47
  Speaker C: Oh, okay.
• 5:48
  Speaker B: So there's not actually a real definition.
• 5:50
  Speaker C: Okay.
• 5:51
  Speaker B: And I can't tell you exactly what it is because mine's different than someone else's.
• 5:54
  Speaker C: Okay.
• 5:55
  Speaker B: So mine is reading.
• 5:57
  Speaker C: Okay.
• 5:58
  Speaker B: But, yeah, it's really interesting how that works.
• 6:00
  Speaker C: Is it? Essentially, my understanding from a layperson is that it's that when you read, things appear backwards, that's not the way that it is. Okay. Oh, okay.
• 6:11
  Speaker B: I mean, it might be a trait, but it's definitely not that.
• 6:15
  Speaker C: Okay. Okay.
• 6:17
  Speaker B: It's really obtaining, for me, obtaining knowledge,
• 6:20
  Speaker C: retaining the information, and it just.
• 6:22
  Speaker B: It takes me longer, and it's definitely a stumbling block.
• 6:26
  Speaker C: I see.
• 6:27
  Speaker A: So what kind of. What exercises exactly did you have to do? You. I think you mentioned earlier, you know, another time that you had to draw pictures in your brain. Yeah.
• 6:36
  Speaker B: I would read something and I would. Okay, let's say Sally was on a house. Okay. I would draw, paint a picture house and put Sally.
• 6:45
  Speaker A: Okay.
• 6:46
  Speaker B: So it was really like, play on, play words. So it was really just like that.
• 6:51
  Speaker A: So, like, what level do you think that has helped you since then? So, I mean, doing schoolwork and completing it now, and whenever you're reading, do you think that that's. You know, that's.
• 7:00
  Speaker B: Yeah, it's definitely helped me.
• 7:01
  Speaker A: I use it today.
• 7:02
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 7:02
  Speaker A: Okay. That's awesome.
• 7:03
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 7:04
  Speaker C: Here's what I want to know. How did you. First of all, how did you get the courage to face what you were dealing with and actually do something about it?
• 7:18
  Speaker B: Well, going into middle school was definitely hard for me. I got made fun of a lot for my differences. Going into high school was kind of just like, I didn't care. Like middle school, again, I didn't really understand the material they were teaching, so I was like, you know what? Why should I even try? I'm just gonna pass it.
• 7:39
  Speaker C: I can understand that.
• 7:41
  Speaker B: We'll just figure it out as we go. So freshman year came all F's, all D's.
• 7:46
  Speaker C: Oh, man.
• 7:47
  Speaker B: Yeah. I was not applying myself at all when I had the resources, like Ms. Sh, who was a great person who helped me through middle School and high school. She's a teacher at McClair. She is a really, like, learning disability person. Now. She is okay. But she is one of the main people who have helped me.
• 8:07
  Speaker C: Okay.
• 8:08
  Speaker B: Ms. Crosson as well. At McClay, they had to flip my mindset, like, okay, do you realize you're going to college in four years? I still did not think anything of it. I was like, you know what? I have time. I'll get there when I get there. Quickly. Sophomore year came. Same thing with that F's and D's. Didn't care at all.
• 8:26
  Speaker C: Okay.
• 8:27
  Speaker B: Was doing terribly. My mom and my dad were just giving up on me because they were like, this girl's no hope. We take away. We ground her, everything.
• 8:34
  Speaker C: There's nothing they can do, right?
• 8:36
  Speaker B: So I was kind of stuck, and I had to kind of flip it for myself. And beginning of junior year, I was kind of doing the same thing. But then I was like, no, I'm gonna change my mindset.
• 8:45
  Speaker C: Okay?
• 8:46
  Speaker B: I kind of fell off with some friends that just led me down the wrong path, unfortunately. And throughout high school, friendships have not been easy for me. I've kind of been in the wrong crowd. So junior year, the other half, I finally decided, you know what? This friendship isn't going to determine, like, who I am.
• 9:06
  Speaker A: What I'm going to do isn't motivating you to, you know, do well in school. And we've been friends, you know, I think, for a while, but we became really close junior year, and I really witnessed that kind of switch in your mindset sort of like midway through junior year when you did end up, you know, getting out of those terrible friendships and those just people who were dragging you down, who weren't. Who weren't guiding you or just being super helpful to you. And especially, like, dealing with your disability. Like, it takes extra, you know, application of yourself. It takes extra effort in your schoolwork.
• 9:40
  Speaker B: Like, the people who you would think, like, oh, football players or cheerleaders like yourself are so busy practicing, oh, I don't care about school. I'll do bad whatever. But really, you're at home studying. So I had to work twice as hard as anybody else and, like, study before bed, study before breakfast, every single thing.
• 10:00
  Speaker C: So what was it that clicked for you? Because. Because in your junior year, you ended up completely turning everything around. Is that right?
• 10:10
  Speaker B: Yes, sir. I definitely think, if I'm being honest, I got really close to my faith. I found a best friend who encouraged me to be better. Me and my mom got really close. I finally Started to listen to her. And, you know, we're younger, we don't think parents. She was right, unfortunately. But, yeah, I started listening. That's what the main thing was, is I listened to. I was being so, like, grudge.
• 10:40
  Speaker C: Yeah.
• 10:41
  Speaker B: I didn't want to listen to anyone but myself.
• 10:43
  Speaker C: Yeah. And, yeah, I think that this is one of the most important lessons in life, and that is that when we have a problem, when we should reach out to the people that love us and actually. Actually. And that. That really want the best for us and take their advice, actually do what they suggest that we do. And so that sounds like that's what.
• 11:10
  Speaker B: What I did. And I was being a stubborn girl. I didn't want to but myself. And unfortunately, I couldn't get out of that hole unless I had someone to help me. So I'm very grateful for Sophie and my mom and my dad. Just people who really, like, appreciated me and wanted to help me.
• 11:28
  Speaker C: Yeah.
• 11:29
  Speaker B: Wanted to see me succeed. They didn't want to see me, you know, fail.
• 11:31
  Speaker C: Yeah.
• 11:32
  Speaker B: So it was really rewarding.
• 11:33
  Speaker C: Yeah. Well, one of the other things that I think is an incredible lesson with every single comeback story is that you had a challenge. And it sounds like up until your junior year, you didn't really want to face that challenge.
• 11:49
  Speaker A: Kind of brushed it off, pretended it was just some other. Some other thing. And, you know, that, you know, that served you temporarily. And, you know, you were able to, like, have fun with friends and do a bunch of these things that, like, you know, normal teenagers do. But in the end, you know, you ended up stressing out in the middle of junior year when you realized, okay, shoot, I'm going to college and two years.
• 12:11
  Speaker C: Yeah.
• 12:11
  Speaker A: And I need. I need to figure that out and get it together.
• 12:14
  Speaker C: Yeah.
• 12:15
  Speaker A: So I definitely think that's. That's a big thing, like having those wrong people who are steering you in the bad direction. They. They didn't help you realize what. That you could discover your full potential, which you've discovered now. And she.
• 12:28
  Speaker C: Yeah. So. So how. So how have your grades been now? Like, it's your senior year. All A's. Okay. That is what it's all about. That's what it's all about. So you went from a DF student to AB with a dis. With dyslexia, with challenges, having to be held back. And now you are an AB student. Your last report card was all A's. That is a real comeback story.
• 12:57
  Speaker A: That's really great.
• 12:57
  Speaker B: You.
• 12:58
  Speaker A: You were able to stop ignoring it. And you. You were just you know, willing to start facing that challenge.
• 13:03
  Speaker B: Yeah.
• 13:03
  Speaker A: And I think that's really cool. And I think that you actually had a similar story that you. I mean, you just spoke today at our honor code ceremony, and you just told us about your.
• 13:13
  Speaker C: Well, so I was. I was similar to you in a. In a different way. My challenge was that I. Because I made terrible grades in high school, my challenge was that I didn't have any goals. I didn't know what I really wanted. And in fact, I. I tried to convince my parents that I was stupid. In fact, I even tried to convince myself that I was stupid. I literally would look at my parents and I would cry with real tears rolling down my face. And I'm just stupid. I'm stupid. And I was trying to justify the fact that I was making these terrible grades, but really, the fact of the matter is I was just. I didn't. I was not applying myself. And so at the end of the day, for me, it was. It did take a. And I think this is one of the other takeaways, is that it took me realizing. And it was through a motivational tape where a guy said, listen, any limitations you put on yourself, throw them out the window. You've been lying to yourself your entire life. If any other human being can do it, re. Enter within reason, you can. You can do it, too. There are people that are successful all over this world. There's no reason why you can't be one of those people. And so when I decided to shed the limitations that I had put on myself and to tackle my problem of being stupid and actually let go of the lie, then I decided I wanted to be a lawyer. And I took a. I took the remedial classes that could get me up to college level in the junior college. And once I took those remedial classes and I did my first semester in a community college of actual college courses, I got straight A's in that semester. And that's when I knew that I could do it. That's when I knew I was going to be a lawyer. Yeah, I had a little bit of a winding path after that. But. But. But it's important, I think. I think that your story is very similar, and I'm really happy for you because it sounds like you learned that before I did. I didn't learn until college. But now you have learned that you, even though you do have dyslexia, you can overcome that challenge and that you are going to. You have come back stronger now there are no more limitations, and you have Honestly, come back stronger, and that's.
• 15:43
  Speaker A: That's really awesome. And I'm just. I'm really proud of you. I mean, as, like, from your best friend's perspective. I just. I feel like watching you and, like, your growth and just.
• 15:52
  Speaker C: That's so crazy.
• 15:53
  Speaker A: Yeah. How much you've come over this challenge, and just, like, everything that high school and middle school and lower school even has brought to you, it's just. It's. It's really impressive. I'm really proud of you. And so I think. I think that's a great note to end it on. Yeah. So thank you guys so much for watching. I'm really glad that we got the opportunity.
• 16:14
  Speaker C: And listen, for anybody that is suffering from dyslexia, we would encourage you to go to lindamoodbell.com they have learning centers all throughout the United States. They have materials that you can use to deal with any sort of learning disability. Dyslexia, adhd, whatever kind of learning disability you might have. Because there is help out there for anybody that has a learning disability, and
• 16:40
  Speaker A: there are no limitations, you guys, Seriously. I mean, just learn to apply yourself. It's really.
• 16:45
  Speaker B: Once you.
• 16:46
  Speaker A: Yeah. And once you really learn to do it and once you really learn to get.
• 16:50
  Speaker C: Once you face your challenges. That's right.
• 16:52
  Speaker A: Like, it just. It makes your life so much better.
• 16:54
  Speaker B: Know that you're not alone.
• 16:56
  Speaker A: Yeah, that's right.
• 16:57
  Speaker B: There's so many people out there who, you know, are dealing with this every day, and you're not alone.
• 17:01
  Speaker A: Absolutely. So thank you guys so much for tuning in. Make sure to tune in for our future episodes. We're on YouTube, Spotify, Apple Music, all of your other podcast streaming platforms. We can't wait to see you there.
• 17:12
  Speaker B: Bye.