How to Help a Child With Dyslexia: The Mom Who Built a School | Ep 78

How to help a child with dyslexia — from the speech-language pathologist who built a school for kids like hers. Cathy Johnson shares what works, when to start, and why "they'll catch up" fails so many kids. If you're a mom watching your child struggle to read while the school says "let's wait," this one is for you. 🏷️ Tags: dyslexia, how to help a child with dyslexia, dyslexia early intervention, signs of dyslexia, structured literacy, Orton-Gillingham, science of reading, phonemic awareness, mom entrepreneur In this episode of The Manage Her® Podcast, host Aimee Rickabus sits down with Cathy Johnson, licensed Speech-Language Pathologist and founder of The Johnson Academy and the Speech, Language and Learning Center in San Juan Capistrano, for a personal conversation about dyslexia, early intervention, and what happens when a mother refuses to accept "let's watch her." Aimee's oldest son was diagnosed in first grade. After one day at The Johnson Academy he said, "Mom, no one ever taught me how to read before." Cathy's path started the same way: her daughter was diagnosed in kindergarten, and when that daughter woke up in fifth grade and said "I'm not going to school anymore," Cathy started a school. That was 20 years ago. Cathy shares the research she cites on the third-grade window, why a speech problem at five is a warning sign, what multisensory instruction looks like, and why more practice can reinforce the wrong pattern. Your child isn't lazy, dyslexia is a learning difference, and there is no such thing as too late. 🔥 IN THIS EPISODE: • What a dyslexic kid means by "no one ever taught me how to read" • The speech-delay warning sign that should trigger a screen • What Cathy did when the school said "let's watch her" • How a kindergarten diagnosis became a 20-year-old school • The third-grade window and why timing matters • Why accommodations are not intervention • Writing in the air: how a sound finally "files" • Screening at four, before a child sees a letter • Why more practice and timed tests can make it worse • "There really isn't a too late": teaching a 70-year-old to read 💡 KEY TAKEAWAYS: ✓ Listen to your mom gut — "they'll catch up" is not a plan ✓ Speech problems at five are a reason to screen, not to wait ✓ Before third grade is the window Cathy fights for ✓ Dyslexia is a learning difference, not a disability ✓ Look for year-long, supervised training (Orton-Gillingham, Wilson), not a weekend certificate ✓ Teach the way the brain learns; don't add more of what isn't working ✓ Sometimes the problem in front of you is pointing at your purpose 🎙️ ABOUT CATHY JOHNSON: Cathy Johnson is a licensed Speech-Language Pathologist who founded The Johnson Academy, the only school for children with dyslexia in South Orange County, after her own daughter's diagnosis. She consults for school districts and helped build an Orton-Gillingham teacher-training program at the University of La Verne. Her nonprofit, Ready to Read, funds scholarships. 🏫 The Johnson Academy: https://www.thejohnsonacademy.com/ 🗣️ Speech, Language and Learning Center: https://www.speechlanguageandlearning... 📸 Instagram: @thejohnsonacademyoc · @the_sllc 💼 LinkedIn:   / cathy-johnson-1554529a   🎧 LISTEN ON YOUR FAVORITE PLATFORM: 🍎 Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... 🎵 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/03FuFRy... 📦 Amazon Music: https://music.amazon.com/podcasts/91c... 📲 CONNECT WITH THE MANAGE HER®: 🌐 Website: https://www.themanageher.com 📸 Instagram: @themanageher 🎵 TikTok: @themanageher 🎬 YouTube: @themanageher 💼 LinkedIn: @themanageher ▶️ WATCH NEXT: • Ep 76 — LaVada English on women and AI:    • AI Could Leave Women Behind Economically. ...   • More episodes:    / @themanageher   ⏱️ CHAPTERS: 0:00 "There really isn't a too late" 1:22 Why this episode is personal for Aimee 3:52 "No one ever taught me how to read before" 6:11 Speech delays and dyslexia risk — why early intervention works 8:23 Cathy's daughter: the kindergarten diagnosis 9:50 "I'm not going to school anymore" — how The Johnson Academy began 14:30 The third-grade window: what the research says 24:30 How children with dyslexia actually learn (multisensory instruction) 28:05 Screening at age four and what schools are missing 41:54 Why more reading practice isn't the answer 45:16 The one-minute-a-day phonemic awareness activity 47:12 The moment Cathy decided to start a school 57:33 Risk, financing, and the Ready to Read nonprofit 1:05:28 "They'll catch up" — and teaching a 70-year-old to read 1:12:03 What early intervention changes, and what Cathy wants every mother to know #TheManageHer #CathyJohnson #Dyslexia #ScienceOfReading #StructuredLiteracy #DyslexiaAwareness #EarlyIntervention #Mompreneur #Podcast