South End resident Emma Lopez immigrated to the U.S. with her mother from Mexico when she was a child and has two siblings who have dyslexia. She watched her brother and sister struggle through school and saw how it affected the trajectory of their lives as their confidence in learning and hopes to be successful waned.
"As an immigrant where mental health and learning challenges weren't really discussed," said Lopez, "you were referred to as lazy, stupid, or not liking school."
Later, Lopez learned her son had dyslexia and navigated a harsh school climate as a BIPOC teen mom seeking help for her son.
Lopez said that a student of color who's an immigrant and has dyslexia will have a different experience than a Caucasian, non-immigrant student with dyslexia.
Lopez is a curriculum specialist at Hamlin Robinson School (HRS), a private institution on Rainier Avenue South (on the former Oberto property), which specializes in serving children with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences. All of their students struggle with learning to read and write, and some experience difficulties with math. Dyslexia may also coexist with ADHD or a difficulty perceiving nonverbal cues. Stacy Turner, head of school at HRS, said the way HRS students' brains process information is different from what's expected by most educational methods.
Turner said when some students realize they're learning differently than others in class, they start to identify as a "slow learner, or as stupid." They can also develop coping strategies. They might become "teacher's pet," "class clown," or "always distracted." They can become defiant or "sick," needing to go to the bathroom often to keep their struggles or inability to read from being discovered. By second, third, and fourth grade, teachers may label them as "disengaged."
Seattle School District scores show 40% to 45% of children in Southeast Seattle are unable to read at grade level. This generally matches reading literacy rates nationwide. One out of five people has dyslexia in the U.S., a neurodiversity that can affect word recognition, spelling, and word decoding, which is the ability to sound out unknown words.
Turner said students with dyslexia can learn to be "exceptional readers, but they need to be taught in a way that makes sense to them." Teachers show a student a strategy on how to spell a word first. From there, they identify the predictable sounds of a word and how those words fit together, creating meaning by offering information about who, when, where, why, and how in a sentence. The journey to literacy and writing takes off from there with appropriate methods, which meet the needs of the child.
Lopez recounted her son coming home from school after a test, distraught and describing through tears how a school staff person, who noticed his struggle, said, "It's easy, you can do it." Her son told Lopez, "It wasn't easy, and I couldn't do it." Lopez spoke to the impact of familial and school expectations on a child. "As students get older, we [often] assume there's a level of understanding, because of their age and size," said Lopez. She says teachers at HRS are trained to approach a child's learning needs with curiosity and give space for students to process the material.
Lopez said a lot of the students at HRS have experienced educational trauma like her son, since they've usually gone to other schools before they arrive at HRS. "We don't have a kindergarten because there isn't a lot of early diagnosis [for dyslexia]," she said.
Lopez said teaching at the school has left her with a takeaway: "Words matter. When people use expressions like 'Good job!' or 'Yay! You did it' — phrases you can copy and paste — students want to know what was good about what they did." Lopez recommends being more specific, like saying, "Thank you for following the directions," or "You did really well with persevering through that sentence." "That way, they remember 'I was praised for doing something that was really challenging,'" said Lopez.
Turner said HRS is committed to working with families in the larger community who may not be able to attend the private school. HRS offers close to $2 million in tuition assistance for families.
HRS's director of outreach, Rod Walton, said there are opportunities for parents to access resources for their children's learning needs without enrolling in the program. HRS offers tutoring help for students, regardless of school affiliation. They also offer screening for dyslexia and other neurodiversities. This includes a follow-up conversation with parents after the assessment.
Walton said the school also offers educational resources for families and teacher trainings, and HRS works on community initiatives that help empower families to navigate individual education plans (IEPs) in public schools for students with learning needs. Discussions include how IEPs work and the roles and responsibilities of people involved with students.
Turner said students arrive at HRS with an understanding that other students at the school have struggled in similar ways. Because the students have been on the receiving end of mean comments or accusations, they create a safe space for making mistakes. Turner said, "They're taught mistakes are where the best learning happens."
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