e038 – The Part-Time Jungle Podcast: Learning Differently with Delphine Rule

Delphine Rule is a mother, wife, teacher and strong believer that all children have the potential to make a difference no matter how difficult their learning struggle might be. Something else worth mentioning, she is Dyslexic, a disABILITY her children share. Does it define her? Absolutely not. It is simply just part of her journey, one she's navigated proudly. Learning to navigate both her own learning disability and her children's has led her to create Access to Education - an educational consulting business that supports families in finding their roadmaps to success.   In this episode: Learning differently comes with challenges, opportunities, & successes. All brains are wired differently. What works for one, doesn't always work for another.  When navigating learning challenges with your child, trust your gut & ask for help. Your child’s learning profile highlights their strengths & needs & can be created with insights from you, your child’s teachers, your child &, in some cases, a psychoeducational assessment.  Create a circle of support around your child. Build relationships & have open communication with your child’s teachers so that you’re all on the same page.   Connect with Delphine: * Instagram: @access2educationtoronto * Facebook: @Access2EducationToronto * Website: https://www.access2education.com/ * Podcast: Access to Education   Connect with Tiana and The Part-Time Jungle: * Instagram: @parttimejungle * Facebook: @parttimejungle * Website: https://theparttimejungle.com If you prefer to listen, check out Episode 38 of The Part-Time Jungle Podcast.  A LEARNING DIFFERENCE Delphine learned that she had a learning difference or learning disability when she was about seven or eight years old. This is mainly because she was put into a small class placement once she had a diagnosis of dyslexia. Prior to this, she moved around to different schools a couple of times. Different things were tried and things weren't working. This led to her parents having her assessed. With her diagnosis , Delphine’s parents were able to advocate for her, get her support, and put her on the right path.   HER DIAGNOSIS For Delphine, her diagnosis has almost always been a part of who she is. As a child, it wasn’t something that she wore proudly. When she was younger, kids made fun of her because she was in the small class. She had to come from out of area to attend the school. Delphine felt like it wasn’t okay to have her diagnosis be a part of who she was.    THE GIFTS As Delphine grew up, she learned that there were a lot of gifts that came from her diagnosis. She learned that she had a lot of abilities because of her disability. As well, her disability gave her some advantages. For example, she got time and a half on exams. As well, she didn’t have to write her exams in the gym in university with 400 to 500 other people.