Episode 138|“If You Can Write It, You Can Read It”: Rethinking Dyslexia with Russell Van Brocklen

Is dyslexia a limitation — or a strength that schools never learned to teach? Dr. Adam Rinde talks with Russell Van Brocklen, a severely dyslexic researcher whose writing program was funded by the New York State Senate, about the method he says takes struggling readers from randomly placed, misspelled words to reading and writing years ahead of grade level. In this episode: the brain science of dyslexia (and where Russell disagrees with Yale’s Dr. Sally Shaywitz) • the “specialty” — why kids will do 1,000 pages of work in their area of obsession • a live demo of the three-word sentence method • why typing beats handwriting every time • the rule that changes everything: if you can write it, you can read it. Get Russell’s free guide: https://dyslexiaclasses.com (click “Download Free Guide”) 0:00 Cold open — "Are you ready for your epiphany?" 0:21 Show intro & disclaimer 1:05 Why this episode: for the stuck parent 2:43 Welcome, Russell Van Brocklen 3:09 "Dyslexia is a superpower" — the brain scans 3:55 The NY Senate-funded study: middle schoolers to grad-level writing 6:39 Reid's turnaround: 20 points in six months 8:31 The five-paragraph essay gap — and disagreeing with Dr. Shaywitz 10:03 The specialty: why a kid will read 1,000 pages on Disney 13:10 How to find your child's specialty 15:10 Specific-to-general questions: the MLK example 17:02 Live demo: the three-word sentence method 19:47 Adam's epiphany — what dyslexia actually is 21:54 Ten likes, ten dislikes: retype until perfect 25:53 Motivation, frustration & Casey's eight-grade-level jump 28:48 The golf accommodation analogy 30:15 "If you can write it, you can read it" 31:33 Why typing beats handwriting 33:13 Scaling it: the NY Dyslexia Task Force & the book 36:21 The emotional payoff — motivated or crushed 38:48 Advice for parents 39:41 The video game ban 40:41 The core message for teachers 42:10 Wrap-up & how to reach Russell 43:57 Outro