01/03/2026
☕️ Saturday morning reflections ☕️
My 5th-grade self brought her dyslexia evaluation to our early morning meetup.
The notes describe a child who needed structure and routine to thrive—who struggled with organization, focus, and consistency.
They said it wasn’t ADHD. Just dyslexia.
Reading those words brought tears.
I recognized myself in every line.
Those traits followed me through middle and high school—years when structure faded and support slowly dropped away.
I refused the tools recommended in that diagnosis—not out of defiance, but out of a deep desire to belong.
That little girl learned the truth today: that she would struggle, that school would feel heavy at times, and that she would mistake difficulty for failure.
But I also told her this—she grows into an adult who never stops learning, who finds her way back to loving academia, and who becomes the kind of mother she craved…one who makes sure her child is supported, not silenced, when learning and emotions feel hard.
Now, as a parent, I raise my son with the assumption that his brain may work like mine—not to limit him, but to protect him from the shame that comes when kids feel “too different” to ask for help.
/..../ To the parents reading this: /..../
Some days it can feel like you’re not doing enough.
My mom had her own demons to deal with, but she at least gave me more than she had as a child. That little bit of advocacy gave me the strength to push onto becoming a college graduate.
Every little bit helps your child. Don’t ever feel like you could have done better—just trying, showing up, and caring is enough. I probably wouldn’t have a high school diploma without her advocacy during my childhood.
And maybe—just maybe—we need more schools, systems, and spaces designed with dyslexia and ADHD in mind from the very beginning.
✨ For the neurodivergent kids reading this someday: ✨
You are not broken.
You were just never meant to learn in one narrow way. 💛
- Iręnę
