FAMILY

WHAT WE FOUND AT HOME

In a year that could have counted as loss, we found the missing piece for our daughter.

BY JENNIFER ASHTON RYAN

> I’m a journalist; my husband is a rocket scientist.

How was it possible that our 7-year-old couldn’t read? And that I didn’t see it until the shutdown? From an early age, our daughter baf ed us with her stage presence. The talent show was the highlight of our daughter’s pre-pandemic school year. All by herself, she choreographed and performed a dance routine to a song from the Descendants 2. She was truly wonderful, well beyond her 6 years, and although neither of us can relate, we couldn’t be prouder. When we moved to Pasadena from the Westside in 2013, our daughter was months old, and I’d just given up my magazine of ce job for full-time mothering. (We’ve since welcomed a son in 2016 and another daughter in 2018.) I started parent education classes right away. After the infant class I took the ones for preschoolers and elementary-age students. The WholeBrain Child, co-authored by neuroscientist Daniel J. Siegel and Pasadena’s own parenting expert Tina Payne Bryson, became a bible. Child rearing by the wisdom of neuroscience. While the perspective did wonders for helping us manage emotional little kids, I never imagined that I’d later be looking to brain science to address signs of dyslexia in my second-grader.

Big sister takes center stage with her younger siblings, Conversations with friends and even teachhelping them with a backyard ers about our daughter’s low test scores and craft project during a 2020 academic resistance left me without answers. stay-at-home order. When she was in kindergarten, I’d assumed she couldn’t read because we came from a progressive preschool. In rst grade, it made sense that she tore up her notebook because another kid was poking fun at her. What could be wrong? Our curious extrovert had been read to, socialized, and extracurricular enriched up the wazoo. But then distance learning began, and I could make no mistake. From my new vantage as her teacher’s aide, I could see that the same girl who’d been thriving in dance and gymnastics class was in fact having a very dif cult time in school. After opening up to my parenting class instructor, she suggested an hourlong cognitive test that swiftly lled the void of explanation. Reviewing the results—which did not diagnose her but identi ed lagging skills such as auditory analysis and selective attention—felt disorienting. Hearing words like “dyslexia” and “attention de cit” brought a gut punch of grief. Shock, denial, anger, and shame ared up as I became ravenous for information. I read articles and listened to podcasts such as Emily Hanford’s Educate. Hanford’s reporting on the “science of reading” exposes a gap between new brain research and literacy instruction. In her 2018 The New York

Times op-ed, “Why Are We Still Teaching Reading the Wrong Way?” she explains that many students require explicit, systematic phonics instruction to read pro ciently. “You’ll hear teachers telling kids to guess at words they don’t know based on context and pictures rather than systematically teaching children how to decode,” Hanford writes.

Following our daughter’s low test scores in September, our public school provided a small-group reading class with a specialist over Zoom. We debated a third-party tutor, but from what I understood, she didn’t need to read more—she needed to develop her parietal and occipital lobes and capacity for phonological processing. So we hired a cognitive trainer to, as we explained to our daughter, “make the muscles in your brain even stronger.” After months of one-on-one meetings multiple times a week, the strength of her brain muscles would be permanent. It’s been three months so far, and for the rst time, she’s testing at grade level in reading.

With the help of nonpro t organizations like Made by Dyslexia, I’ve learned to reframe learning challenges as superpowers. I’ve heard stories about kids who, instead of believing bullies, can articulate how their brains work and nd acceptance. My shame has faded into the acceptance of a genetic brain difference. Did you catch that? I’m saying that despite initial fears, these challenges are decidedly not my fault.

As capable as she is in after-school activities, where preCOVID I daily sat and watched her succeed, our daughter was struggling in the classroom, where I just couldn’t see. There were reasons to think she didn’t need help. She’s well-liked and excels in plenty of areas. We could have missed it. She might have slipped under the radar until junior high or high school, getting by, believing the bullies, and not understanding how her brain works. Through cognitive training, she knows how she’s smart and where she needs to work harder. This isn’t where we expected to be, but we see the path forward.

BOOK BRAG

Despite dyslexia a ecting an estimated 5 to 15 percent of students, Edinburgh, Scotlandbased book publisher Barrington Stoke (barringtonstoke.co.uk) believes every child can be a reader. The independent, award-winning company hires fantastic writers like Julia Donaldson, author of bestseller The Gru alo, to write dyslexiafriendly fiction that’s printed in a proprietary font on a particular color of paper to increase readability. Games and jokes decorate the first and last pages of the Little Gems series to get young readers laughing and excited to engage with the books even before they start reading. —J.A.R.

Local Resources

Accurately identifying and addressing learning challenges can be the key for children to become independent, successful learners. These local partners specialize in identifying and improving underlying cognitive abilities.

CENTER FOR CONNECTION This interdisciplinary center founded by bestselling author and parenting expert Dr. Tina Payne Bryson is “a place you can turn when you don’t know where to go. When your child is struggling—in terms of handling emotions, making good decisions, succeeding socially or educationally, dealing with physical or health limitations, or anything else,” says Bryson. thecenterfor connection.org

STOWELL LEARNING CENTER Since 1984, students have worked one-on-one with clinicians trained under founder and author Jill Stowell to become independent and empowered learners. The center’s customized programs help clients overcome dyslexia, learning differences, and attention challenges. stowellcenter.com

STRETCH YOUR BRAIN COGNITIVE TRAINING This boutique rm draws on 20 years of experience to customize sessions for clients facing learning challenges such as dyslexia, ADHD, and memory de cits. Learning skills specialist Vicki Rekedal works to strengthen weak areas of the brain using results-driven programs including PACE, Master the Code, Brain Gym, and Sound Therapy. stretchyourbrain.org

LCPC PARENT EDUCATION An outreach program of La Cañada Presbyterian Church, Parent Ed has welcomed parents of all faith backgrounds since 1978. Classes expose parents to a range of parenting styles, often incorporating the latest in brain science, and are tailored to speci c age groups from 0 to 18, so curriculum is immediately relevant. lacanadapc.org

VITAL HEAD & SPINAL CARE The 12-week Vital Brain Training program guarantees signi cant, measurable, lasting results. Dr. Giancarlo Licata uses high-quality qEEG brain mapping and neurofeedback to identify and address challenges, including attention, anxiety, sleep, and memory. Clients sit comfortably in the center’s home-theater room and essentially play a video game while wearing a special cap tted with sensors. As the brain responds to the visual and auditory feedback from the game, the brain trainer directs it to so-called Goldilocks frequencies, where people feel the most relaxed and lightly focused. vitalheadandspine.com

—J.A.R.

ACTIVITES, PROGRAMS AND MORE

THE LITTLE THINGS

Coral, lilac, and lime are among the new, brighter colors from children’s clothing line Sweetgood. The brand’s classic styles and new releases are made locally from Sweetgood’s gauzy, double-woven organic cotton. “Our pieces have old-fashioned details like pu -sleeves and ru es; they’re also minimal with modern lines,” says founder Leah Bieltvedt. Bieltvedt started out sewing one-o pieces for friends and family and maintains the quality she first envisioned for Sweetgood through the personal relationships she’s built with the dye house she uses, as well as her LAbased cutters and sewers. From $38–$68; sweetgoodclothing.com

—JENNIFER ASHTON RYAN

PLANT LIFE

A partnership between Compton-based Alma Backyard Farms and Pasadena’s Southern California Children’s Museum teaches junior farmers how to grow, prepare, and nourish their own food. Staying true to the museum’s mission of serving people ages 8 and under, interactive video lessons are play-based, targeting young children from preschool to third grade. Families download detailed lesson plans and watch the four-video series on the museum’s website to learn how to plant a seed, make healthy snacks, and compost.

The lessons are also distributed with the grocery bags kits that Alma supplies monthly to food-insecure communities. “These are activities you can do anywhere,” says Museum Manager Allison Venable. “You don’t need a yard, just a seed bag and simple compost bag that can be taped to a window.” Since closing its doors to the public on March 14, 2020, the museum has focused on free, virtual programming, relying on community donations to make up for lost revenue.

Next up, a 10-week Story & Craft: Trailblazers video series honors leading females such as Kamala Harris and Greta Thunberg. Missing the in-person experience? You can now book semi-private contactless sensory play and story-time sessions ($32 per family) outdoors by the museum’s landmark rainbow sunshine mural by artist Amy Tangerine. socalkids.org —J.A.R.

BLESS THIS MESS

Dino Dome and Fairy Terrarium kits from crafting experts Maker’s Mess encourage kids to go outside and forage. With the company’s art studio in DTLA open only to small-group pods, at-home projects like these keep its youngest clients—known as Mini Makers— growing creatively through the pandemic. Via YouTube, Lewis’ team created a series of kid-friendly video tutorials for projects that can be made from common household supplies like paper and scissors for making flower bouquets and cloth napkins, rubber bands, and tea bags for tie-dye designs. From $30 per kit, makersmess.com —J.A.R.