LOCAL SPOTLIGHT: Cassidy Highlights Dyslexia Awareness Month in Conversation with Louisiana Mother

WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), for his monthly Local Spotlight, recognizes October as Dyslexia Awareness Month through a conversation with Sarah Hanly, a Louisiana mother of two children with dyslexia. Hanly shares her family’s experience recognizing her children’s struggles with reading, getting them screened, and finding the specialized education that helped them succeed. Cassidy has championed dyslexia awareness through his work on the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee, including legislation such as the 21 st Century Dyslexia Act . Read the full interview transcript below: CASSIDY: Hey, Senator Bill Cassidy here doing a Louisiana Spotlight with a mom of two children with dyslexia. Her children attend Louisiana Key Academy, and I know from personal experience it can be really hard for parents in their journey to understand why their bright child doesn’t read. And, by the way, in the HELP Committee, which I chair, we’re working on legislation that would help the parents understand if their child has dyslexia, and then make sure they get the resources. But Sarah, tell us about how you learned about your children having dyslexia, your journey, if you will. HANLY: Good morning. Thank you, sir. Started off with my son, who is now 13. He always seemed to struggle in school slightly. He was always a little behind with his reading. And when COVID happened, that had a big setback for him. CASSIDY: Okay, stop for a second. But did you otherwise think that your son was bright? HANLY: Oh, absolutely, yes. CASSIDY: You got a bright child, but the child can’t read that well. That’s the story. Okay, keep going. HANLY: Okay, he is, a very bright child. He excels extensively in math, but the reading was always a setback. We would spend hours doing second grade homework. And after COVID, his school in Virginia had inclinations that he possibly was dyslexic, but they did not do official testing. But the entire school started teaching in the Orton-Gillingham method to help bring everybody up to…because they knew there was learning loss with reading because of online schooling with COVID. And then when we moved to Louisiana, we saw a big drop in his progress. Even though he was in an inclusive classroom, because he has ADHD as well, it just…it wasn’t clicking. He wasn’t getting the services he needed, and we knew we needed more extensive help for him. And we found out about Louisiana Key Academy, we found out about the Dyslexia Resource Center, and we got him tested, and sure enough, he was very dyslexic, very profoundly dyslexic. He struggles a lot, but he is making absolute strides within that. And at the same time, my daughter was struggling as well. CASSIDY: How old is your daughter when she was first diagnosed, if you will. HANLY: She was in second grade as well, so I noticed by second grade that both of them at that point in age, were struggling, or not where their peers were. CASSIDY: So let me pause for a second. You point out that if the appropriate intervention is given, in this case, Orton-Gillingham, that your child’s progress begins to increase. And so, that point being that, you can actually make a difference in how a child learns and help them achieve their potential if you make that early diagnosis and give them the appropriate curriculum. Fair statement? HANLY: Absolutely. CASSIDY: Now, for that mom out there who’s not quite sure, maybe her child’s dyslexic, maybe not. Doesn’t sound like you were aware of the potential diagnosis with your son, but by the time your daughter came along, you were aware. What should a mom out there be looking for? HANLY: You notice that your child is not getting it. They’ve reviewed everything with you, maybe one day they get it, the next day they don’t. it’s kind of learning loss over a day period. It takes time for them, and they realize that they need a different system to break down, to decode words for them. The traditional method that is taught in schools doesn’t always sink in for them, and that’s why schools like Louisiana Key Academy have made such a huge difference because they get the actual language therapists that break it down and make it work for them. CASSIDY: But the key thing is your child was bright, but your child was just having a difficult time. When you say getting it, it sounds like getting it out of a book as opposed to playing with Legos and being able to put them together. Again, I don’t want to put words in your mouth, but help a mother out here. HANLY: Yeah, I mean, it was, you know, you go over spelling words again and again all throughout the week, and they’ll progress, and they’ll seem like they get it, but then you also have to bring their test back, and they’re not doing well on their tests. Because when they’re in that testing environment, sometimes their stress gets to them, but then they also have to just…they’re hearing it audibly, which letters sound differently. You know, the English language is actually a very hard language, and so they would revert back to how they were taught specifically the sound is, but then when it’s in conjunction with other letters, you know, they make a whole new sound, and so that would be a difficult point for them. CASSIDY: So once your son and daughter begin to get the appropriate education, what happened to their self-esteem? HANLY: They blossomed extremely. CASSIDY: Second, what was their self-esteem like before they began to get the appropriate curriculum? HANLY: They would cry at small activities that they would have to do anything related to school. Their behavior sometimes would, be negative because they just were carrying such a weight of feeling like they were a failure. Primarily in school. You know, I would go over things, we would try to re-evaluate it, get them to access the information that I knew was in their brain, but sometimes they just couldn’t pull it forward, they couldn’t get it. A big thing is, in kindergarten, my son had a teacher who didn’t put confidence in him. And that’s the only thing I can relate to, is he then began to have that behavior at home, because he was not being treated correctly at school. And so then, as it kept going, I realized, well, this is the pattern that’s happening when he’s not getting the reading, and he’s not understanding it. But as they got the learning that they did from Louisiana Key Academy, they absolutely became confident with themselves. They had more friends, more peers, because they felt like they were on the same level as kids, and that’s a big thing, you know, when they feel like they’re so alone because they don’t have the connection. Just as simple as school and with reading, it can really affect children. CASSIDY: So, they were crying before, how do they behave now? HANLY: They sit down and do their homework. I mean, no kid really likes to do homework. You know, they know that they’ve got to get it done. It makes a big difference the way that it’s broken down and they’ve got those tools now to use, so it’s able for them to work through it. CASSIDY: That’s wonderful. How old is your son now? HANLY: He’s 13. CASSIDY: So is he still at Louisiana Key Academy, or is he now into regular junior high school? HANLY: This is his last year at Louisiana Key Academy in 8 th grade. CASSIDY: And the point is that once you teach the child with dyslexia how to read, they remain dyslexic, but they have the tools, and now they can go to a regular school. Is that your understanding? HANLY: Yes, he will go…we are in Central School District and he will attend Central High School next year. CASSIDY: That’s great, that’s great. What else would you add as a mom, speaking to other moms or to a dad, but moms often make the decisions on a child’s education, that could help them understand how to navigate a potential diagnosis of dyslexia? HANLY: I would say that if you think your child potentially has dyslexia, don’t wait. Get the testing done early, request for it, don’t stop fighting for it, because it will make the biggest difference in your child. The sooner they can get tested and get a diagnosis, the easier it becomes for them because they can learn those tools, those strategies, so much earlier on, and they know how to use it throughout the rest of their life. CASSIDY: And so, who do they ask to give the test? HANLY: Here in Louisiana, you can contact the Dyslexia Resource Center directly. CASSIDY: But you were in Virginia, so how did they…did they ever screen them in Virginia? HANLY: So in Virginia, when we were there, I talked to his school after his psychoeducational evaluation, they said, well, he has dyslexia tendencies. And we left it at that because the school was switching to the Orton-Gillingham method. But once we got here, it was specific. I was like, no, we’re definitely seeing signs we need it. So, I went through the school district. And they kind of, unfortunately, they kind of shut us down. They just wanted to hold them back. So, I would say, I found out about Louisiana Key Academy and the Dyslexia Resource Center from a friend down here, and they’re the ones who pointed me in that direction. CASSIDY: But schools are supposed to give kids who need help in IEP, which I think is an individualized educational program. I think that’s what it stands for. And so, if your child, wherever your child is, they should be able to get an IEP. HANLY: It’s individualized education plan. And he already had one because of his ADHD diagnosis. But unfortunately, the school was looking more at that than they were contributing to his… CASSIDY: ADHD. HANLY: Right. But you know, ADHD and dyslexia are very, most of the time, a lot of kids have them together, so they’re cohabitants. CASSIDY: Okay, so you got 15 seconds. What’s one thing you would tell the parent of that struggling child? As a parent who found solutions for your struggling children. HANLY: If you feel like your child has dyslexia or difficulty with readings that are not being met through a traditional education, request a dyslexia screening, and then from there, dyslexia testing. And then, you will be able to sort through and get the help that your child needs. CASSIDY: Sarah, thank you very much. Not only have you helped your children, but you’ve helped other parents who are going to help their children. This is Dyslexia Awareness Month. And so we ask you just to be very aware if your child, bright child, is having a hard time reading. Make sure your child is screened. It may be that they may not have dyslexia, but it affects 20 percent of the population. It could affect your child. If you get them screened, it could make the difference in the rest of their life. Thank you. Background In September, Cassidy highlighted the story of New Orleans native Walker Beery and his family’s work through Kids Join the Fight, honoring Walker’s legacy of kindness and generosity during Pediatric Brain Cancer Awareness Month. ###