107. Writing to Read: How Russell Rewired Dyslexia Education (and What Changemakers Can Learn From It)
About this episode
Russell Van Brocklen discusses his journey from struggling with dyslexia to developing a successful literacy education method.
What happens when someone who was never “supposed” to succeed in traditional education ends up building a method that helps students leap multiple grade levels in literacy? Russell shares his unlikely journey from struggling with severe dyslexia to law school, government-backed research, and a writing-first framework that’s helped students dramatically improve reading and writing outcomes in months rather than years. Along the way, we explore why neurodiverse learners often thrive through specialisation, how to use universal themes and structure to communicate ideas more powerfully (including with the help of AI), and why the changemaker mindset of pushing forward without a perfect plan can be the difference between a good idea and real-world impact. About Our Guest: Russell Van Brocklen is a dyslexia educator and researcher focused on accelerating literacy development through a writing-first approach. After navigating dyslexia himself and beginning with a first-grade reading and writing level, he went on to law school, learned to read rapidly, and later secured public funding for a multi-year program that helped struggling high school writers achieve significant gains in writing…
People in this episode
Host: Humanitarian Changemakers Network
Guest: Russell Van Brocklen
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: Humanitarian Changemakers Network
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