Welcome to My Journey: When a Literacy Teacher Becomes the Parent of a Struggling Reader

Hi there! I’m Kayla.

I’m a wife, a mom, and a teacher. For years, my biggest professional passion was teaching primary students how to read. I didn't just love it; I immersed myself in it. I earned a reading endorsement and became a Nationally Board Certified Literacy Teacher. I felt fully equipped to handle any reading challenge that came my way.

But it wasn’t until I became the parent of a struggling reader that I realized just how much more I had to learn.

A Spark of Wondering

My husband, Shelby, and I met in college. While I always knew he was dyslexic, it wasn’t until we started our own family's journey that I truly understood dyslexia and the profound impact it has on a person's life. (I’ll be sharing more of Shelby's story in a future post!)

Knowing his history definitely sparked some early wonderings for me when our oldest daughter, Sophia, began showing a slow progression in reading.

Before she even started kindergarten, Sophia struggled to learn the alphabet song, recall letter names and sounds, or recognize her own name in print. As a first-time mom, I didn’t have a personal baseline to compare this to. But once kindergarten began, the gap became undeniable. Thanks to my background as a former kindergarten teacher, I knew exactly where a child should be at that developmental stage, and I could see she was falling behind.

Right around that time, the state of Washington began implementing a new dyslexia screener called the RAN (Rapid Automatized Naming). Sophia was flagged as having potential indicators of dyslexia.

That was the moment everything changed. Armed with her assessment results and the everyday struggles I was witnessing at home, I became a mom on a mission!

From Insight to Action

I completely immersed myself in learning. I read every book I could find, listened to podcasts, and began taking specialized courses through the Dyslexia Training Institute (DTI). Since that turning point, I have become Orton-Gillingham trained, earned a Microcredential in Dyslexia, and completed the DTI Dyslexia Program.

Ultimately, I took the knowledge and passion born from our family's struggles and brought it back into the education system. Today, I develop and lead professional development classes across my district, support my fellow teachers in planning and implementing reading interventions, and act as a fierce advocate for any student who is struggling to decode the world around them.

Bridging the Gap

My next big goal? To create a bridge between school and home that helps close these literacy gaps for good.

Discovering Sophia’s dyslexia completely transformed our parenting approach, and it opened my eyes to a beautiful truth: understanding the "why" behind your child’s struggle is absolutely life-changing.

If you are a parent navigating these same waters, or an educator looking for practical ways to support your students, please know this: you are not alone, and you are in the right place. I am here to share what I've learned, offer support, and walk alongside you through the challenges and the victories.

Thank you so much for being here. I can't wait to connect with you in the comments!