Alyson Young
IEP allows a child to be eligible for services, services meaning different instruction, accommodations, which means ways that we level the playing fields for them, and then modifications, which literally mean we're modifying parts of the curriculum. And that's what an IEP can allow. 

Elaine Taylor
Welcome back, everybody, to another conversation in the Parenting with Impact Podcast. My guest is Aly Young, and we're going to talk about learning issues and learning differences. And I said to Aly, we haven't, in a long time, I don't think, explained really what's the difference between remediation and accommodation. And so, um, so I'm really excited to have this conversation. Aly, welcome to the podcast. 

Alyson Young
Thank you. Thanks for having me. 

Elaine Taylor
It's great to have you here. I'm going to let you explain who you are. We don't read bios here. So I've kind of set the stage. Everybody, we're going to talk a little bit about dyslexia. Aly has an expertise in a company that works with students, mostly elementary and maybe middle school-age students with dyslexia and ADHD. So that's kind of your framework. Aly, how'd you get to be doing this work?

Alyson Young
So, my name is Aly Young. I am the owner of The Learning Lab, which is a specialized tutoring and learning center in South Florida. We have two offices, one in Fort Lauderdale and one in Davie, and we are growing and expanding. There's such a need for what we do and our services. I started off as a teacher in college. I studied psychology and sociology. I never really knew like what I was going to do with that. And, um, the universe just sort of paved the way and I fell into education. So, I was a teacher in the primary grades for about 10 years. I've taught kindergarten, first grade, second grade, um, in private charter and, and public. So I've done sort of all of it. And something that I learned early on and from mentors and just exposure is that you know, this particular demographic of students, Dyslexic and, and ADHD and what I like to call the right students that struggle in a traditional learning environment really became my passion because it's very much a gray area where I worked in the public school setting. I started to realize that. These are very, very. These are the kids that just slip beneath the cracks and fall under the radar. They're usually very smart. They're usually very savvy and charismatic and, um, and lovable. And so they don't always, they're not usually this big cry for help. They're not typically the big-behavior kids or the big, huge red flags. So it takes a little bit more of a deeper understanding of what's going on beneath the surface to really recognize what's going on and then, more importantly, how to help them. So that's kind of how I got into this was just this, like.

Elaine Taylor
I can totally relate. So I was saying to Aly, my, one of my kids totally fits this demographic, right? She's a dyslexic kid with anxiety and ADHD. And I remember so vividly in second grade when we were having her evaluated. And, you know, to such an extent that the learning specialist came out in the middle of the session and she said, I never do this, but this is a classic. This kid needs to be evaluated for dyslexia. This is just textbook, right? So, we had her evaluated. We get her diagnosed, and I'm sitting down by her bed on her bed one night saying, You know, sweetie, we got this information. Now we know how your brain works, and we can really help you. And the tears started to flow. And she said, Oh, Mommy, I've been trying so hard. And that was this moment where I realized this really, really bright kid was pulling everything she had. Right? But, you know, we often say you can't try harder when you got these things. You have to work harder. You got to figure it out. And so I guess this is very typical for, for this population. 

Alyson Young
Yup, exactly. They're the kids that are getting by, but they're working 10 times harder. And I always use the metaphor for parents and teachers that, you know, they're running, they're swimming in a race, but they're wearing 10-pound ankle weights. Yeah. So they can swim in the race, and they can maybe, you know, do okay in the race, but they're wearing these 10-pound ankle weights that are just making them have to work 10 times harder. So, and it's heartbreaking because the system is sort of set up to help the kids that are the runners and the behavior kids and the cognitive disabilities and all of that kind of stuff, and it's really not set up to support these particular type of learners because the way the system works is if you're not failing badly enough not eligible for the support and how sad is that right? It's like we know That this child is dyslexic, they get a private evaluation, or other sources are showing us this information, but in the public school system, at least in Florida, if you're not failing badly enough through the RTI (response to intervention) process, you will not be eligible for the IEP.

Elaine Taylor
And so, the distinction I want to make here, everybody, and this has changed some about 15 years ago, but really, it's the same, which is there's a difference between a diagnosis and eligibility for services. So, will you speak to that a little bit, Aly, because what you're saying is he can be clearly dyslexic, but still not eligible for services. So, what does that mean? 

Alyson Young
Correct. So, there's something called the response to intervention process, the RTI process. And the RTI process starts with what we call Tier 1. Tier 1 is the 100 percent of the classroom. So, it's what everybody's getting in the classroom. Um, and of course, teachers are always monitoring progress. And then let's say he noticed that there's a struggle for a particular student, whatever it may be, behavior, academic, some sort of red flag goes up to the teacher that this child is struggling. So then we put them in what's called Tier 2.

Alyson Young
Tier 2 is when we start to gather data. So we're starting to gather some data to understand what's going on and what could help this child. And then possibly they move on to Tier 3. 

Alyson Young
And the Tier 3 intervention is that, okay, finally, we're like, okay, this child needs, ideally, maybe, an Orton-Gillingham intervention, which we'll get into later, but overall, the RTI process is the data gathering process where they're trying to understand what's working, what's not working, um, and then if they do enter that tier 3, then best case scenario, there's also a psychological, educational evaluation done by the school psychologist. But again, they have to reach that worst-case scenario part to even get there. Sometimes, the schools will say, Oh, well, we did tier 2, and they really responded. They're doing better. We're seeing progress. So we're shutting it down. But what I try to advocate for my students and for our families is can we just get all the information? And, and what happens sometimes, too, is that we'll have families that have the resources to go get a product evaluation. And they'll pay the $3,000 to $4,000 to get a diagnosis, and the diagnosis will clearly state specific learning disability with a reading impairment, which is dyslexia and or ADHD or whatever it is. 

Elaine Taylor
Wait, wait, wait, slow down, because you just said something that I was going to ask you, so. What is dyslexia, exactly? What you just said?

Alyson Young
Yes, so dyslexia is a specific learning disability with a reading impairment, so sometimes it'll be more about fluency or more about comprehension or whatever it is, but overall, a specific learning disability is an umbrella term for dyslexia which impacts reading dysgraphia, which impacts writing and dyscalculia, which impacts math. And there's also another one called dyspraxia that impacts more of like the speech development. Um, but overall, it's a difference in how the brain processes language. It's a language processing difference. That is rooted in the wiring of the brain. 

Elaine Taylor
So somebody was saying to me the other day that I was, I don't even know if I was interviewing them or they were interviewing me, but what they said was that the schools can't exactly diagnose dyslexia. Is that true?

Alyson Young
Yes, correct.

Elaine Taylor
So what does that mean?

Alyson Young
So their public schools can't diagnose anything at all. What they do is they determine eligibility. And that's what your initial question was, the difference between a diagnosis and an eligibility. A psychologist, a pediatrician can diagnose, a pediatrician can diagnose ADHD, a psychologist can diagnose things like dyslexia or autism, they can officially diagnose. But even a school psychologist can't diagnose; a school cannot diagnose; a school will determine eligibility. And so that's the tricky part because just because a child is dyslexic doesn't mean they necessarily meet the criteria for eligibility. And that is literally why The Learning Lab exists because of that breakdown. 

Elaine Taylor
So there's this disconnect because there are so many kids with needs for additional services, which is, you know, maybe we can do a whole other conversation on universal design. And if we got all the kids learning what works for everybody, but it's another topic. The point here is that because there are so many kids who need services, the schools have to have some threshold for what requires them to deliver. Who gets it, and who doesn't? Right? 

Alyson Young
Correct, correct. And so then it comes down to, let's say, they do meet the criteria for eligibility, meaning they're failing badly enough to be eligible for services. So, for an IEP, an Individualized Education Plan, the IEP allows a child to be eligible for services. Which my husband always says there's so much jargon, right? But services, meaning different instruction, um, accommodations, which means ways that we level the playing fields for them. And then modifications, which literally mean we're modifying parts of the curriculum. And that's what an IEP can't allow. Yeah. 

Elaine Taylor
Okay. We're going to take a pause. We're going to take a quick break, and we're going to come back.

Elaine Taylor
Okay, welcome back. My guest is Aly Young, and we are kind of breaking down an understanding of learning differences in a school environment in terms of what supports kids can receive. And the distinction that Aly just made was between accommodations, modifications, and you didn't even, I don't think you mentioned yet, remediation. Let's start a little fresh on this. Okay. So, kids got complex issues. If they are in need of additional services, they can potentially get an IEP, which is an individualized education plan, right? And within that plan, it will identify whether they need accommodations, modifications, or anything else? 

Alyson Young
Or the services, which would be the remediation. 

Elaine Taylor
Remediation. So, let's define the differences between accommodation, modification, and remediation. 

Alyson Young
Sure. So services, so on an IEP, you, the team, uh, designs goals. So based on the data that they find through that RTI, response to intervention process, there are goals that are set up each year, and this is something that is reviewed annually. So, those goals might be, you know, so and so has a goal of reading 80 percent of their words, so and so amount of the time, it's always very, it's measurable, it's a, they're usually SMART goals, specific, measurable, obtainable, realistic, and timely. And then we check in on these things every year. So, those services or remediation are the different instructions. Those are the times where parents or kids are pulled out in a small group setting, where they're having, very ideally, in a best-case scenario, explicit, systematic, sequential, and multi-sensory instruction. And that can be for reading, math, writing, um, it can be for language, it could be for speech, or the multitude of, of different types of remediation as far as these children are concerned.

Elaine Taylor
So let's stick with that for a minute just because I really want to slow it down because you really know this, and I don't want us to speed through it because parents are like, wait, what? So I don't, I don't, right? So remediation means we're going to catch them up or help them learn in a way that works for their brain work, the way their brain works, whether it's math-related or language-related or speech-related. We're going to figure out where the disconnect is in their brain and help them catch up. So, in the dyslexia world, the terms that people know best, um, if you've got a kid with dyslexia, you've heard of Orton-Gillingham. I hope, I hope, yeah. Most of us have, or there are a couple of others. Sometimes, you'll have programs that do a hybrid between Orton-Gillingham and, I'm blanking on the other one. You can probably tell me.

Alyson Young
Like a structured literacy approach, but Orton-Gillingham is the method, and there's Wilson, Barton, and SPIRE to all fall under that umbrella, but Orton-Gillingham is the method. 

Elaine Taylor
Right. So, a remediation is, you know, it's teaching them skills to help them learn to process information the way their brain works. Is that fair? Correct. So, some kids are going to get services that give them remediation if, whereas, indication. Then there's modification. What's modification? 

Alyson Young
So, an example of a modification might be, let's say, in reading, for example, if a student is working on a Wilson reading intervention program, those spelling words that they get for that week should have nothing to do with what they're doing in their reading Tier 1 classroom, it should be primarily focused on those words that they're learning in Wilson. So, Johnny sitting next to Susie might have different spelling words, but Johnny's getting the modified spelling words. It could also be less spelling words. So instead of getting 20, he's getting 10. And they have to follow the program that he's getting in his reading intervention time. Um, another example could be in math. Instead of doing front and back of a worksheet, They're doing just the odds or just the evens because, for a child that's working 10 times harder than the traditional neurotypical student, it could take them so much longer to get that paper done. And the idea is homework should really be about 20 minutes of independent work. So for Johnny, what 20 minutes looks like might be different than what it looks like for Susie. And we want to really empower them to be able to get this done. So, um, modifying the amount is a big piece. 

Elaine Taylor
Okay, so let's just dive into that just a little bit, like double click a little bit more because one of the objections that parents hear from their kids and one of the objections that I hear from parents is, well, I don't want them to feel like they have an excuse. I don't want them to do less. They're not going to learn. They're not going to learn if they're not doing what their peers are doing. And so help people understand how accommodation actually, how modification actually supports and enables you to stay on par. 

Alyson Young
Yeah, it's about, again, it's about leveling the playing field and it's about showing what you know. So, if the idea is to show that you've mastered this math skill, and it takes you 20 minutes to do the odds, and it takes somebody else 20 minutes to do the front and the back. We both showed what we know, and we gave the same amount of effort. So it's, you know, for me, it's about just really helping meet the child where they're at. And what is your goal? Is your goal to, to like, you know, drill them down to the core, or is your goal to just see what they know and see that they mastered the skill? So, another modification might be a different type of alternative assessment. That's another one is alternative assessment. So instead of a written paper-to-pencil test, maybe the child shows that they know the three branches of government through a song or, a rap, or a video. Did they master the skill? Did they master the concept? That's the course.

Elaine Taylor
Or sometimes, sometimes in our realm, when there's a lot of executive function, sometimes you'll have a kid who gets an oral exam instead of a written exam. Exactly. It's another example of an alternative assessment. Okay, so we've done remediation, we've done modification. Now, what's an accommodation? 

Alyson Young
So accommodations, again, people get scared, you know, is that a crutch for my kid, blah, blah, blah, and I like to just say, if you think that way, then we need to educate you a little bit more on really what's going on and how this can be helpful because, again, it's just meeting them where they're at, right? Like, you know, extra time on tests. Or, like, parts, like, let's say, for a math word problem. If you're quizzing a child on math, but they have to read the word problem, that becomes a reading test, not a math test. So something like reading the word problem to them, or if a student needs something kind of rephrased or paraphrased, copying from the board instead of just copying from their notebook, or copying, like, just all these barriers that are in the way of this child showing what they really know. Anything like that. So, like I said, uh, you know, paraphrasing, teacher paraphrasing things, extra time on tests, different setting for testing, proximity to the teacher, maybe like buddy notes instead of copying from the board. There's lots of ways to support these learners and allowing them to still be challenged and show what they know, but taking away that barrier that's just getting in the way of them really showing what they know and feeling confident.

Elaine Taylor
So, based on what you were saying before, a modification would be an example of an accommodation, but then there are other accommodations that may be offered as well, is that correct? 

Alyson Young
Modifications are modifying the curriculum. Accommodations are taking a barrier away based on how the brain, how that child's brain processes.

Elaine Taylor
Okay, taking a barrier away. Okay. I know that was a lot, but it's so helpful to break it down because it really gets very confusing for people, and you want to do the right thing and the fair thing by your kids. But you don't always if you don't understand the nuances of it. It's hard to know what that is, and it's hard to advocate. I had a Mom I was working with the other day as a new client. Her kid was just diagnosed for the first time, and so she's going in for meetings for the first time and is completely overwhelmed, right? And then they want her to sign something before she walks out and she doesn't even like know what the process is. Right? So. What else have we not talked about? Actually, let's take a minute. Tell people how they can find out more about you. Let's do that. 

Alyson Young
Sure. So my, my favorite platform from where I share all the empowering information for families is on Instagram. And it's @learninglabfl. 

Elaine Taylor
@learninglabfl, we'll have it in the show notes. Everybody fl is Florida. 

Alyson Young
Yes, and then, of course, our website, which I'm sure you'll share in the show notes as well. We have lots of, you know, impactful blogs that are very inspiring for parents as well, parents and teachers. 

Elaine Taylor
Right? So that's if you want more resources if you want more information. There's a lot of stuff that they've got available for you @learninglabsfl. What have we not touched on that you want to make sure we cover that you share with parents? 

Alyson Young
Yes, the most important piece is for parents to not be scared. Find a community. Find someone that is your cheerleader, and that can go to these meetings with you. I can speak from first-hand experience. My daughter right now is in second grade. She's eight. She's been going to the Learning Assistance Kindergarten because I know it's just the best practice for all learners to start with this foundation. But I started to realize recently that there are these sort of like underlying signs and symptoms. That there may be something else going on as far as maybe like an ADHD or dyslexia. And I don't feel scared about it because I know what I know, and I do what I do. 

Alyson Young
And my husband also feels pretty empowered knowing that she's in the best hands. But, but I feel like it's really important for parents to never be afraid of that. Information. All right, you want to call it a diagnosis. But I like to call it information. If you go to a doctor, they can't treat you until they have information or a diagnosis like we wouldn't wear glasses if we didn't have a prescription. So it's very important for parents to understand and gather that information and never be afraid. That it's some sort of like negative thing, or I don't want to label my child. It's nothing to do with that. It's really just about gathering the information to find the right solution to encourage your child to be there by himself. So that's something that I 100 percent tell everybody all the time, and that's my number one message in what I shared. 

Elaine Taylor
I love that. I say to parents all the time when they call, and they say, my kid's been diagnosed with XYZ. I'm like, congratulations. Yes, you know, you're dealing with, and maybe you don't know all of it, and maybe there'll be more down the road, but now you get to have a direction. You have a direction. And it's not about an excuse because you're not talking about holding a 10-year-old accountable to who they're going to be in 15 years. It's about helping your 10-year-old figure out how to be a 10-year-old, right, based on the way their brain works. And so we got to slow it down in order to speed it up for these kids. 

Alyson Young
And like you said with your own daughter, too, I think it's like that name it to tame it, right? Like. 100 percent of the students I work with that when they find out that they're not dumb, that there's nothing wrong with them, that they're not stupid, that they're not, you know, bad at school, they just, right, this is how your brain works. This is it. Uh-huh. And, um, every single one of them has been like this sense of relief, this deep breath of wow, that's very good to know, you know, and then helping them understand people like them and all of that. So. 

Elaine Taylor
Two things, one is I'm gonna put in the show notes y'all if you've never seen it on our site. My daughter did a video now a dozen years ago because she's now 27. She was 15 at the time Um, and it was a video for a group called Kids Enabled about talking to how parents can talk to their kids about having a learning disability. It is a brilliant five-minute video, and I will share it. And I encourage you to watch it because it was. It's just so inspiring if you've got a kid with dyslexia. The other thing I want to ask you, Aly, one more thing before we wrap. One of the things that I've noticed in the years I've been doing this is that very often, I see that kids with dyslexia and ADHD. In my experience, they tend to actually do better than the kids with just ADHD without the dyslexia. And I have a theory about why I think that is, but I'm curious if you've noticed anything like that, what your thoughts are on that.

 Alyson Young
I have two thoughts on that. I think one reason is the effort that they have to put into their day-to-day life develops grit. I think that's one reason. Um, and then I also think the other piece is dyslexia is a gift. It's actually like a superpower in the brain that allows all the wiring to create language-processing issues overall. It's a gift as far as visionary thinking and big picture thinking and, you know, very out-of-the-box problem-solving skills, you know, there's, oh my gosh, the guy who owns Virgin, I think I cannot think of his name right now, coined the phrase dyslexic thinking on LinkedIn as like a benefit on a resume. And there's a reason for that. And it's because these are, these problem solvers and entrepreneurial people. So, I think it's twofold. 

Elaine Taylor
I think that's really accurate. And I would definitely describe my kid. The other thing that I've noticed is that if you can remediate young enough. If you can help kids who struggle with learning math or writing or language or whatever, if you can give them tools and structure early enough, they learn that structure supports them. And so I see them lean into using systems and structures in a way that kids who don't have that challenge are often resistant. So, a lot of kids with ADHD resist structure, but the kids with dyslexia with ADHD – if it's been identified and treated early enough – they tend to lean into structure. 

Alyson Young
They find it valuable. Yeah, I love that. 

Elaine Taylor
All right, my friend. Thank you for being here. Thank you for this amazing you do in the world. My pleasure. Thank you. And for sharing your expertise with my community, as you know very strongly about finding your community and leaning in, so thank you for being here as part of ours. We appreciate it.

 Alyson Young
Thank you. My pleasure. Thank you. 

Elaine Taylor
To those of you, wait, I forgot to ask you, Do you have a favorite quote a lot or that you want to share? 

 Alyson Young
Oh my gosh, I guess maybe it takes a village. I think it takes a village is what's coming to mind right now, and the theme of this conversation, you know, never being afraid to ask for help as a mom as a teacher and, and always feeling confident to ask for help and know that it's just gonna benefit you and your child.

Elaine Taylor
Beautiful. I love love love that. Huge premise of ours. Thank you again. Thank you. Thank you. My pleasure. Those of you listening, take a minute and ask yourself, what's your insight from this conversation? What are you taking away? What's the gem, the glimmer, the aha that you're leaning into as you lead this conversation that you want to take forward with you into your week? And as always, y'all, thank you for what you do for yourself and for your kids. It makes an enormous difference. So take care, everybody. We'll see you on the next one.