July 11, 2024
Interview with Savannah
Transcript
A long-standing goal at the Blue Orchard Bee is to improve the accessibility of our resources for all of our listeners and readers. This year will are working toward this goal by republishing some of your favorite episodes with new, fully edited transcripts. Originally from the Fall 2021 series, we're re-releasing this interview with Savannah with this new and fully-edited transcript. In this interview, Danielle talks to Savannah, who shares her experience with dyscalculia, anxiety, and her passion for supporting others.
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The following video is a product of the Blue Orchard Bee and the Charlotte Mason Institute who hold a copyright. You are encouraged to share this file with your friends, family, and colleagues. Do not republish this information in any format, including electronic or digital, without permission from the Charlotte Mason Institute. Ideas suggested in these files do not necessarily reflect the views of the Blue Orchard Bee or the Charlotte Mason Institute. Information provided here is not to be perceived or construed as professional advice in matters of mental health. You are encouraged to work closely with a mental health professional provider that meets your needs.
Intro
Welcome to today's session of the Blue Orchard Bee. This week, Danielle interviews Savannah Trevino-Casias. Savannah shares her experience with dyscalculia, anxiety, and her passion for supporting others. Let's listen to their conversation.
Interview
Danielle: So, I would love to start by just letting you tell us a little bit about yourself and kind of what you're enjoying right now, what are you working on, what's inspiring you right now?
Savannah: Yeah. So, I was originally diagnosed with dyscalculia in the sixth grade. And, but I struggled with math ever since I really started school. But it wasn't really - I had just struggled so much and I had been held back a grade up to that point. So I think, you know, my mom really wanted me to get tested for dyscalculia or some kind of learning disability or difference because she knew something was going on. And so that was when I was diagnosed.
And at that point, I started getting special education services. And that usually looked like, you know, just getting extra time on tests, quizzes, some modifications with different homework assignments or class assignments, and also getting to take more breaks. And really working with the special education teacher off and on throughout the week. I was never put into like a sole special education classroom. I've always maintained, you know, being, what was it, mainstreamed throughout my education. And I kept getting special education all throughout high school or up until the end of high school and I got my bachelor's degree in psychology from Arizona State University. And I received accommodations for that - or you know, in my undergrad through Disability Services. And now I am getting my master's degree in mental health counseling and I will be graduating in December. So, right now I'm just finishing classes. I'm doing an internship at a therapy private practice here in Phoenix. So, I have a small caseload of clients and I'm just chugging away.
I'm still doing all my classes online. I know a lot of people are still, you know, kind of home- based. So, I'll do that, I think through the fall or up till the fall. And I'm doing all of my internship via telehealth. And I have been working for Understood and the National Center for Learning Disabilities. I went kind of hand in hand with those two organizations and I was able to really, you know, be involved with them when I received the Anne Ford Scholarship through NCLD, the National Center for Learning Disabilities. And I received that for college. And so I was - that's where I really began kind of that journey. And that kind of led me towards being involved with Understood as well as a blog writer, content creator. And now I've worked, I've just done a lot of consulting work for them for both organizations.
And I've done a lot of - I've been a part of the Leadership Council at NCLD. So, we've talked to a lot of members of Congress to try and get legislation passed for students with disabilities. So, I've done a lot of work and that really has inspired me and my passion for working within the learning disability community. And I really see myself being a mental health therapist still, but more geared towards working with students within the education system or even specifically with learning disabilities. Because I feel like, and I'm glad you brought up that article, the one specifically about anxiety, because I feel like there's such a big push, rightfully so, for students to do well, to meet education needs and to make sure they succeed as best as possible in school. But I feel like mental health and emotional health kind of tends to be put on the back burner. And I know myself, I've really dealt with a lot of anxiety regarding math and just really low self-esteem growing up, which never - it kind of went unchecked for so long until I reached kind of high school, beginning of high school age, when I really started to just really think about it and kind of self-reflect and get some help for that. And so that's really where my passion for working within the community has come from. And I really see myself continuing on that work in my professional setting. So, I hope that wasn't too much all at once.
Danielle: No, it's perfect. I, when I found you through Understood - through that article, you know, as somebody with autism, we so often have that anxiety piece, too. And I find for me personally, that it completely changes the way that I experience, you know, those differences and how I am able to interact with the world. And I'm wondering if you find that too with dyscalculia, that when you have anxiety, does it change the way that you experience that difference as well?
Savannah: Oh yeah, it does very much so. It was really difficult because I feel like, you know, if I didn't really have anxiety that kind of stemmed from it, I think I would have just been able to just kind of jump into, you know, learning the math and really tackling that aspect, but also having to deal with the anxiety that came with that was just another, not a barrier, but just something that I knew I needed to work on. And I knew it would be kind of ongoing. Even, you know, now doing math and having taken like statistics courses now in graduate school, I still, it was as if, you know, there are some instances when I was back as, you know, in elementary school, it kind of felt like, you know, just really struggling with anxiety and stress when, and I was like, well, I've come this far.
And yeah, I know I can do it if I, you know, if I have extra support and work really hard, but it was, there are instances where I felt as if I was just that kind of afraid little person, I guess, you know. So, it's definitely ongoing. And something that I'm only striving to improve and just kind of work on, you know, throughout my life.
Danielle: So, would you say that - what are sort of the biggest challenges that you experienced, would you say they're more practical or they're more academic then?
Savannah: So, I think it's kind of changed. Probably in college, maybe towards the end of college, it was more academic, but now having been in graduate school and really I'm getting to enter, you know, kind of a professional setting, it's more practical. And things such as figuring out time differences, paying with money or, you know, making change. I don't even, I don't drive and I'm 25, so I haven't learned how to drive yet because of my dyscalculia, because sometimes dyscalculia affects depth perception and spatial awareness. And so I haven't really tackled that as of yet.
And it's things like that, you know, little things that I feel like people don't really realize can stem from a learning disability or difference. And I try to explain it to people and, you know, they just kind of brush it off. They're like, 'Oh yeah, you know, 'I'm bad with time, too' or, you know, like 'I hate making change. That's why I pay with a credit card' and I'm just like, 'No,' like, sure, I can pay with a credit card. But I want to know, you know, I want to make sure that I know how to do these certain things that I feel like adults know how to do, you know, or that that's kind of expected for me, so it's definitely shifted over time. And I feel like that's just kind of the natural progression of kind of just human development, you know, and growing up.
Danielle: So, in - within our context with the Charlotte Mason Institute, we tend to talk a lot, in terms of math curricula, we tend to talk about like 'playing with math' and having a positive 'relationship with math' and I know there are a lot of parents and teachers in our group that kind of struggle with that idea and whether it, like, is that actually a reasonable goal for a child that has a processing difference that affects math? So, I'm wondering what you think from your perspective when you hear those phrases 'playing with math' or having a positive 'relationship with math,' what does that mean to you?
Savannah: Yeah, when I read that question - at first I didn't really know how to think of it because I feel like I'm kind of, it could go both ways. Because now that I'm older, I can just say like 'yeah like that's a great idea,' you know, people should just embrace math and try and learn how to enjoy it. But having been in, you know, the shoes of someone with or having had a learning difference or growing up with one, I had a very strong hatred for math. And that just really, you know, no one really taught me or showed me that I could like math. And, you know, I just learned how to hate it. And I just, you know, never really changed. And it was always something that I was afraid of.
And so I don't, I don't know, because I don't know if I would have been able to change that if that makes sense or that would have been something that would have been kind of on the forefront of my mind. I think it definitely would have helped me if someone maybe would have reached out and just tried to show me how to enjoy math. I don't really know what that would look like though. I think what would really have been helpful would have been to just let me know that it would be okay to learn math maybe a different way, or it would have been okay if I was learning at a different pace.
"I think what would really have been helpful would have been to just let me know that it would be okay to learn math maybe a different way, or it would have been okay if I was learning at a different pace."
Because, you know, right now, I still don't like math. But I don't hate it. But I definitely - for me, it's always, or not always has, but as of kind of recently, it's been something that I want to, not overcome, but just kind of challenge myself with.
It's always something that I feel like, it's kind of a goal, you know, that I've wanted to work on. And I wrote an article I can't remember who it was through NCLD or Understood, but it was about the words, like, ‘I'm not a math person,’ because so many, you know, it's so common these days for people to be like, 'oh, you know, I hate math,' like, 'I'm not a math person' like, you know, it's just, it's just so common. But in my, in that specific article, it was, it kind of just struck me because when people tend to say that, especially people who aren't really within the community, it just kind of makes people with learning differences, especially in math, kind of feel like they're not heard and they're not really understood. Because, you know, it's just kind of minimizing the idea that dyscalculia does exist.
Kind of wouldn't in the first place because not a lot of people really know about it and they don't really think it's kind of a reputable or, you know, valid concern that so many students have. I don't really know where I was going with that. So I apologize. It's kind of all over the place.
Danielle: No, I appreciate your perspective. It's really, I think, important for people to see - and kind of one of my missions is to make sure that we all with, you know, whatever kinds of challenges we're dealing with that we have a platform where we can share that with, you know, the parents and teachers and people who really need to hear those perspectives, especially I think as adults we have, you know, a different perspective looking back to and having grown. So, I think that's really helpful.
What is it that you, maybe you've already answered this, I'm not sure, maybe I'm being redundant, but what is it that you really would want caregivers, whether they're parents or teachers, to know about the student with dyscalculia? You know, what's kind of the nugget that they need to hear.
Savannah: Yeah, I think kind of the main thing would be to really teach self-advocacy skills, especially for something like dyscalculia, because it's very hidden and it's just something that is not, kind of like I said, it's not really valid and people don't understand it. And so I feel like just really allowing, you know, their child, their children to understand what dyscalculia is and to understand how they can advocate for themselves and kind of what resources they have that are there for them, kind of, and even across the lifespan. Because, you know, so many, even in the classroom setting, and even if the teacher, you know, their teacher might understand that the child has a learning difference, but they don't really, they might not really know what it looks like, or they might not know what the child deals with on a, really on a daily basis. Kind of all the different components, it's, you know, it's not, it's way more than just doing math problems or figuring out, you know, math language, that type of thing. It really spans across the life span and just kind of the child's, you know, world and environment. And so I would say, yeah, definitely just teaching self-advocacy skills and not being afraid to really learn about what dyscalculia is and kind of the specifics that, you know, that certain child might be dealing with because it looks different for everybody.
Danielle: What is it that you would like to, is there anything different, I guess, that you would like to say to kids or teenagers that are struggling with learning differences?
Savannah: Yeah, I would say, just don't be afraid to struggle and don't be afraid to reach out for help. Because there are people out there, you know, who can help you and who are willing to listen to you. And also, you know, just really, I've always been the type of person to encourage people to embrace their learning difference and not really shut it away or try and cure it because it's not really something that can be cured. And it's really something that follows you throughout your life.
So don't, you know, don't be afraid of it. And, you know, I've always been a person to, you know, try and have people understand how they can incorporate it into their own identity and their own personal story because it's a part of them. And I feel like, you know, people should just embrace those parts of themselves, you know, whether or not they want to be, you know, outspoken about it or talk about it on a daily basis, you know, that's a personal choice. But just really being able to incorporate it and embrace it within their life and their identity, I think is pretty essential.
Danielle: Yeah, that's such a, I think, a healthy perspective to take. And similarly with autism, it's kind of something that I try to think about - and I have children with autism too - and just really talking about like, this is a part of who we are. This is just part of our personhood. And it's not something to be afraid of or ashamed of or...
Savannah: Yeah, exactly. Yes. You know, it's nothing that's bad, you know, and I really feel like just being able to embrace the uniqueness of it and the way that it makes you different and unique, but also it's very special because, you know, we learn differently and that there's nothing wrong with that. We think differently and, you know, that's perfectly fine. It makes us who we are.
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