Dyslexia Duo Podcast

The Dyslexia Duo:  Dr. Tiffany Hogan on Developmental Language Disorder (DLD), Dyslexia, and Language Comprehension
 
On the Dyslexia Duo podcast, hosts Melissa Dean and Aimee Rodenroth interview speech-language pathologist and literacy researcher Dr. Tiffany Hogan about the relationship between dyslexia and developmental language disorder (DLD). Dr. Hogan describes her training and research, including analyses from the NIH-funded Iowa Study that followed children from kindergarten through 12th grade and helped determine DLD prevalence. She explains that dyslexia primarily involves difficulty reading words accurately and fluently, while DLD involves difficulties learning vocabulary, grammar, and discourse, with a high but not one-to-one overlap (about 50–80%). The conversation covers early indicators such as late talking (fewer than 50 words and no two-word combinations at age two), the need to directly screen language (e.g., sentence repetition, story retell), overlap with ADHD, and the importance of systematic, explicit instruction for both word reading and language comprehension, including MTSS approaches. Hogan shares resources including DLDandMe, Empower DLD, RADLD, and her See Hear Speak podcast.
 
00:44 Introducing Dr Tiffany Hogan
01:42 Her Path Into Research
03:11 The Iowa Longitudinal Study
04:38 Dyslexia Versus DLD
06:39 Overlap And Real Examples
10:23 Two Pillars Of Reading
12:19 Early Signs And Late Talkers
14:57 Building Language At Home
18:45 Beyond Phonological Deficits
21:02 Screening For DLD In Schools
23:44 ADHD Comorbidity And Systems
27:05 Tumbleweed Reading Tools
27:25 Dyslexia Services Spotlight
28:25 Research on Dual Deficits
30:11 Language Curriculum Results
31:09 Training and Fidelity
34:15 MTSS for Language
35:56 Why DLD Gets Missed
37:12 Integrating Language in Therapy
40:55 Partnering With SLPs
43:11 Parents Next Steps
44:38 Best DLD Resources Online
47:14 Lightning Round and Wrap
49:47 Final Sign Off

The Dyslexia Duo: Neuroscience of Dyslexia: Genetics, Brain Differences, Stealth Dyslexia, and Early Identification with Dr. Fumiko Hoeft
 
Aimee and Melissa host the Dyslexia Duo podcast and interview Dr. Fumiko Hoeft, a psychiatrist and neuroscience PhD who is Campus Dean and Chief Administrative Officer at the University of Connecticut’s Waterbury campus and a professor of psychological sciences, about dyslexia research and identification. Dr. Hoeft describes her path from psychiatry and cross modal integration research to dyslexia neuroscience at Stanford, and shares personal connections through her younger son’s dyslexia and her own suspected symptoms. The discussion covers polygenic, multifactorial genetic risk; variability even among twins; evolving definitions emphasizing neurodevelopmental basis, continuum, context, and psychosocial consequences; “stealth”/resilient dyslexia as strong comprehension despite weak decoding linked to dorsolateral prefrontal cortex; brain networks involved in reading and compensation; overlap with auditory processing disorder and ADHD; evidence cautions for interventions; and why early, written school referrals and early intervention reduce costs and social-emotional harm.
 
01:06 Introducing Dr. Fumiko Hoeft
02:38 Career Path to Dyslexia
04:12 Family Connection and Early Signs
06:20 Convincing Parents to Test
08:25 Genetics and Risk Factors
11:09 How Genes Are Studied
15:08 Defining Dyslexia Today
22:55 Stealth Dyslexia Explained
28:35 Brain Networks for Reading
37:12 Auditory Processing Overlap
43:19 Neural Noise Hypothesis
44:34 What Brain Noise Means
48:17 Diagnosing Dyslexia Right
51:15 Parent Documentation Tips
53:35 Working Memory Reality Check
57:09 Why Early Identification Matters
01:01:17 Preschool Risk vs Diagnosis
01:06:57 ADHD Dyslexia Overlap
01:13:45 Strength Based Remediation
01:17:19 Resources and Mentoring
01:20:45 Final Wish and Wrap Up

The Dyslexia Duo: Dr. Margie Gillis on Dyslexia, Structured Literacy, and Why Teacher Coaching Matters
 
Aimee and Melissa introduce their podcast, The Dyslexia Duo, and interview Dr. Margie Gillis, founder of the Connecticut nonprofit Literacy How, which provides coaching support for teachers from pre-K through high school. Dr. Gillis shares her personal and professional connection to dyslexia through family members and explains dyslexia as a neurobiological, hereditary, language-based learning disability often co-occurring with challenges such as ADHD, anxiety, dysgraphia, or dyscalculia. The conversation distinguishes instructional programs from instructional approaches like Orton-Gillingham and alphabetic phonics, clarifies structured literacy as language-structure content plus explicit, systematic, data-driven pedagogy, and discusses universal screeners, diagnostic assessment, and progress monitoring. They address insufficient teacher preparation and professional development, RTI/MTSS implementation problems, COVID learning loss, “dys-teach-ia,” and why districts avoid using the term dyslexia due to service costs, and Gillis recommends books and describes her Professional Learning Series.
 
00:00 Meet the Dyslexia Duo
01:06 Why Margie Gillis Matters
03:05 Interview Begins and Literacy How
04:51 Training Roots and Structured Literacy
08:01 Margie Origin Story and Family Dyslexia
10:25 School Pushback and Defining Dyslexia
19:56 Programs vs Approaches OG Explained
27:43 Structured Literacy and Curriculum Must Haves
32:47 Coaching Teachers and Better PD
39:51 RTI MTSS and the Wait to Fail Trap
47:30 Beyond the Score Report
50:33 COVID Learning Loss Debate
54:29 Dyslexia or Dyslexia
58:28 Why Universal Screeners Matter
01:03:16 Sharing Data With Families
01:08:22 Why Districts Avoid Dyslexia
01:12:24 Training Teachers Better
01:14:44 Advice for Parents Teachers
01:18:41 Book Recommendations Roundup
01:24:33 Comprehension and Vocabulary Focus
01:25:53 Closing Thanks and Signoff

The Dyslexia Duo: Megan Pinchbeck on Dyslexia on Demand, CALT Training, and the Emotional Experience of Dyslexia
 

The Dyslexia Duo (Melissa Dean and Aimee Rodenroth) interview Megan Pinchbeck, a Certified Academic Language Therapist and founder of Dyslexia on Demand, about her path from special education into CALT training at Scottish Rite in Austin and how intensive training and practitioner rigor affect student outcomes. Megan emphasizes widespread confusion about dyslexia services nationwide, differences among states in identification requirements, and the need for better legislation implementation, educator training, and systemic checks and balances. She explains Dyslexia on Demand’s pre-COVID origins to expand access for rural families, its virtual therapy model, the importance of therapist-student fit and relationship building, and its reach (over 1,000 served; currently about 200 across about half of U.S. states, plus some abroad). She discusses her “Don’t Call On Me” podcast’s focus on shared dyslexia stories and emotional impact, and previews webinars on simulations, teachers, SEL, accommodations, and “no dumb questions.”
 
00:00 Welcome Dyslexia Duo
00:42 Meet Megan Pinchbeck
01:33 Path to Dyslexia Therapy
04:10 Inside CALT Training
06:42 Who Counts as Certified
08:49 Emotional Side of Dyslexia
13:34 What Schools Get Wrong
17:58 Medical Diagnosis Confusion
22:09 Building Dyslexia on Demand
25:58 Making Virtual Therapy Work
31:54 Program Reach and Growth
32:53 Starting the Podcast
35:12 Emotional Side of Dyslexia
36:31 Generational Dyslexia Stories
38:48 Building Confidence in Kids
39:32 Spreading Awareness and Policy
42:57 School Funding Front Lines
44:40 First Steps for Parents
48:20 Adults as Dyslexia Mentors
53:10 Webinars and Core Basics
55:55 Resources and Where to Find
57:50 Lightning Round
01:02:52 Final Thanks and Sign Off

The Dyslexia Duo:  Maryanne Wolf on the Reading Brain, Deep Reading, and Digital Wisdom

Hosts Melissa Dean and Aimee Rodenroth interview developmental cognitive neuroscientist Maryanne Wolf, director of the Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners and Social Justice, about how reading is an invented, plastic brain circuit shaped by environment and medium. Wolf argues screens encourage skimming and reduced focus, contributing to a decline in sustained book reading among students, and describes retraining deep reading through print habits. She stresses the importance of reading aloud to young children, including by dyslexic or bilingual parents, to build language, cognition, and positive emotional associations with books. Wolf outlines core reading-brain components using the acronym POSSUM (phonology, orthography, semantics, syntax, morphology) and says multi-component instruction outperforms phonics-only approaches. She discusses dyslexia indicators including phonological awareness, rapid automatized naming, and orthographic factors, urges expansive science-of-reading practices, calls for research on wise AI/technology use and deep reading, and highlights evidence linking music—especially rhythm—to reading gains.

00:00 Meet Dyslexia Duo
01:29 Introducing Maryanne Wolf
04:59 Deep Reading Matters
06:37 Screens Change Reading
09:47 Losing Focus and Retraining
14:07 Reading Aloud to Kids
16:57 Dyslexic Parents Can Read
20:39 Schools and EdTech Debate
26:42 Sponsor Break
28:23 Possum Reading Brain Model
33:31 Research Proof and Ravo
36:17 Targeted Strengths Approach
38:12 Reading Wars Elbow Room
43:04 Dyslexia Signs and Screeners
44:08 Three Key Dyslexia Markers
51:19 Future Research Priorities
54:10 Music Rhythm and Reading
56:45 Message to Struggling Families
01:01:35 Lightning Round and Farewell