The LDA Podcast

LDA board chair Mark DiPietro talks with Ronnen Harary, co-founder of Spin Master and co-creator of PAW Patrol, about his new book, No Experience Necessary: Why Betting on Yourself in Your 20s Is the Best Decision You'll Ever Make. Ronnen was identified with dysgraphia at age 10 in Toronto's public schools in 1979 and credits his accommodations with getting him through high school. He also describes growing up ashamed of his learning disability, hiding his extra exam time from classmates, and never having a single conversation with his parents about it.

Ronnen now calls his LD a "learning gift." He explains the workarounds he built over a 32-year career: running meetings as live problem-solving sessions instead of using PowerPoint, visiting partners in person to read body language and environments, and protecting his mornings, when his thinking and handwriting are strongest. He argues that having a learning disability makes people more creative, because they have to keep inventing ways around obstacles.

The conversation closes on failure. Ronnen says growing up as "the king of the Cs" taught him that he could get through anything, and he walks through three toy flops Spin Master had in a row, including Don't Free Freddy. His advice to young adults, and to anxious parents of kids with LD, is that failure carries more useful information than success, and that the bigger risk is never trying at all.

Michelle shares her granddaughter’s lead poisoning story, provides tips, and emphasizes resources for families struggling with (affected by? Or dealing with) lead poisoning. Michelle is a parent ambassador with the Healthy Homes Coalition of West Michigan.

LDA’s Healthy Children Project thanks our podcast co-sponsors Healthy Homes Coalition of West Michigan and the Ecology Center. Tracy Gregoire, LDA’s HCP Director, chats with guest speakers Jameela Maun, Michelle Eason, and Meli Garcia. 

Jenny Ponzuric is a licensed educational psychologist, educational consultant, IEP master coach, and certified leadership and mindset coach. In this episode, Jenny discusses the importance of understanding a student's full learning profile, factors school psychologists should keep in mind when performing learning disability evaluations, and how to ensure that parents and practitioners are on the same page. 

Dr. Douglas Sims is a scientist, entrepreneur, author, and learning disability advocate. Dr. Sims discusses their experience in school with dyslexia and ADHD, and shares how they harnessed their strengths to reach success. 

Dr. Rachel Rubin is an internationally-recognized college admissions expert, and the founder of Spark Admissions. In this episode, Dr. Rubin discusses the latest trends in college admissions, how students with LD can prepare, disclosing a learning disability in an application, and more!

Jeremy Didier is an ADHD coach, parent, immediate past president of CHADD's board of directors, a clinical social worker, and addiction counselor. Jeremy explains the importance of recognizing ADHD, shares how parents can support their neurodivergent children, and discusses her own ADHD diagnosis that came later in life. 

Katrina Huels, founder and CEO of Applied Harmony, discusses how burnout can impact educators and administrators. 

Breanna Raborn is a speech language pathologist specializing in pediatric private practice. Breanna discusses NVLD, and how speech language pathologists can help improve social communication and understanding of receptive and expressive language. 

Ryan Buggy of The Reading League is a PhD student in cognitive psychology, and is currently using eye tracking technology to study how the brain processes language. Ryan discusses the cognitive processes that impact reading and language and what the latest eye-tracking research can tell us about how we read. Based on this research, Ryan also shares best practices for educators and practitioners. 

Mentioned in the episode:

The Road to Running Records

The Reading League Journal: Measure What Matters

ACT: Reading Between the Lines

Carlin Graveline Ku discusses developmental language disorder, and shares how language skills and reading skills intersect. Carlin explains why DLD is hard to identify, and the importance of understanding the root cause of difficulties in reading. 

Read Untangling DLD and Dyslexia