Irina Sobrino Palet

I have reached 500 followers! Thank you for your continued support. I could not have done it without each of you. 🙏🤗🎉

World Autism Awareness Day 2024: World Autism Awareness Day is celebrated every year on April 2 ever since the day was designated by United Nations through a resolution. The purpose of this observation is to spread awareness around the condition and to enhance efforts in educating, empowering and supporting people with this condition.

My trip to Spain was bittersweet. I’m thankful to have been allowed to share that time with my mom. I saw my cousins, aunts and uncles, and childhood best friends.

Of course, the main person was my abuelita. We celebrated her 98th birthday, and seeing her so happy was worth the sacrifice. Until next time…

¡Que viva España!

Thank you to all my family and friends who passed by yesterday. I really appreciate your support ❤️

Celebrating my 7th year on Facebook. Thank you for your continuing support. I could never have made it without you. 🙏🤗🎉

It’s time to do the right things for dyslexia rights.

This was published 21 years ago. It’s taking the schools around the world a very long time to “ pay attention , try harder, get motivated “ or learn more about dyslexia.

Here are some questions that society needs to address:

1. Which educators feel responsible to learn more to educate the students with dyslexia ?

2. Which schools feel responsible ?

3. What factors allowed the schools to not study the past 75 years of educational information related to literacy, dyslexia and the science of learning ?

4. How do union negotiations around the world impact an educators mindset about lifelong learning and the responsibility to learn more ?

5. Why are some professions required to maintain lifelong learning and others only learn if paid more with time from work ?

6. How will educators ever keep up if they don’t adopt a lifelong learning code of ethics like similar professions ?

Too many educators are lightyears behind in knowledge with no accountability to prove they know how to teach Tier 1 literacy and numeracy.

7. Are students with dyslexia part of the whole school or only the responsibility of select teachers ?

8. What needs to be done in earlier grades when so many high school teachers express concerns about the amount of students arriving at high school with below grade level reading, writing, spelling and math skills ? Colleges express the same concerns.

9. Do schools take a longitudinal look at struggling learners in grades K-5 as they perform in middle school and high school ? Australia has looked into this.

10. Who is going to address the massive responsibility of better literacy instruction for the K-5 teachers ?

Should schools hire and train literacy experts for each grade because literacy is so critical ? It’s too risky for any child to have a general Ed teacher who is not skilled enough to teach literacy.

Should the school invest money and training for all teachers or focus on the teachers who have more skill, will and drive to learn the complexities of literacy ? Hire literacy experts. Let the gen ed teacher handle other class needs.

11. Should every elementary school offer a transitional kindergarten to support students who need more language-based help ?

What happens to all the children ages 3 to 5.5 who truly need pre-literacy supports from Speech and Language Pathologists?

The USA schools are suppose to serve those children. This is a massive dark hole in the system. Very few parents know about this. We need a much better system to identify and support all the children who may be at risk of learning struggles. Early intervention is truly missing.

12. Wouldn’t it be better to hire literacy and numeracy experts for all grades while the USA teachers get up to speed in teacher training ? What can we do to train many more literacy and numeracy experts to coach all educators ?

The pressure is now on the K-5 teachers who may have their own weakness in literacy and numeracy if they graduated from our schools. Maybe we need experts instead.

13. Can dyslexic students have full access to an education when the majority of educators do not have enough expertise in dyslexia, dyscalculia , dysgraphia and executive functions ?

14. How many students are moved from grade to grade with reduced expectations so they can graduate from high school without ever receiving proper remediation ?
How many of those students do not graduate from the Community Colleges they are encouraged to attend?

Do high schools ignore the true transition goals knowing they can send any struggling student to a community college so their statistics look good ?
Does instant access to community college allow schools to drop the responsibility to prepare students with proper reading, writing and math skills ?
How many students need remedial help at college ? Where is all this data ? Is it even collected ?
Some countries have far more supports at the college level than the USA offers.

How many dyslexic students graduate from high school without getting proper remediation for reading, written expression, math, executive functions or life skills ?


What factors are at play that allows a mindset of passing students from grade to grade, encouraging lower level classes, receiving lower expectations and accommodations instead of true remediation ?

15. How does all of this impact the academic, social, emotional, financial, vocational lives of the dyslexic students ?

Why is the well-being of the student and family so easily overlooked in this process even when concerns are voiced ?

How does the concept arise to make a collective group decision of moral exclusion ?

How do statements such as “the system is broken, union contract problems, we are not funded, this is the best we can do” allow people to feel this is an acceptable set of practices for a group of students ?

How many unions are not supportive of literacy improvements or dyslexia /human rights because their main focus and agenda is on teacher salary, cost of living allowance, health care premiums, maternity/paternity/, pensions, tenure and all related benefits ?

How does outdated Tier 1 literacy instruction impact students with dyslexia in elementary, middle and high school ?

16. Which schools are willing to talk about this with transparency in different countries? Australia is looking at longitudinal studies to see how struggling elementary students perform in high school.

17. How can we get educational leaders to address all of these questions ?

18. What other questions do you have ?

19. When will they ask the creative dyslexic adults for input ?

20. How is it possible that 21 years have passed since this Time magazine was published and the USA schools are not held accountable ?

How is it possible that almost 150 years of dyslexia research and news is ignored by so many schools?

21. What are the factors that allowed schools to not study the past 75 years of information related to the science of learning, literacy, numeracy and more ?

Dr.Pamela Snow in Australia has written articles on how all other professions are held accountable by license laws, yet educators do not need to prove adequate expertise. No other profession gets paid professional development at work and instead must prove lifelong learning standards.

Here is a USA research article from educational leaders in the 1960’s expressing concerns that too many schools are not taking action to follow best literacy practices.

This 172 page document is still relevant today : https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED297290.pdf

What factors allowed them to ignore the journals, books, webinars, conferences, literature, seminars, workshops and more ?

How can they be light years behind in knowledge while private schools have implemented far better instruction with greater ease ?

What factors allow them not to feel the need to stay up-to-date even when free information was readily available ?

How does a percentage of educators get away with such a remarkable lack of knowledge while other educators have studied and developed expertise ? It’s so highly unprofessional.

The Google search bar is 25 years old so people can look anything up to know better and do better. The ERIC has offered free education news since 1962. Numerous professional organizations have given free education news for 50 to 75 years.

How is it possible these people made a choice not to learn when their job is to help kids learn ?

22. How will society come to terms with this pocket of shame that excellent schools with fabulous teachers have created a system of moral exclusion and dehumanization? We hold our schools in such high regard. However, society will need to address the historical way students and families with learning differences have been treated.

23. All concerned people should review this critical document from the 1950-1960 era showing the same concerns were discussed back in that time by educational leaders.
They actually put in writing they are deeply concerned about the lack of action towards helping dyslexic students who are “ ignored, mislabeled denied help, not properly educated “ by schools.
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED297290.pdf


24. We can only hope that a neurodiversity rights movement will help students feel valued, welcomed, supported, accepted, understood and fully educated. Clearly schools will need to hire dyslexia experts. Society will need to find ways to encourage more young adults who want to enter education fields.

25. It’s a shameful situation that students with learning differences plus families have suffered so much trauma that society has not yet talked about. The USA had to create laws and state agencies to protect parental rights. It’s very sad that people had to develop support groups to survive. Educator Sanford Shapiro addressed this before he passed away. We honor his integrity, honesty and compassion.

26. When discussing dyslexia, we must also include related topics of students with dyscalculia, dysgraphia, dyspraxia and executive function needs. All of these are interconnected. The terms may vary based on each country.

27. The questions listed here have been written about in books and discussed by large agencies. A number of movies have been produced too. People are familiar if they are part of the global dyslexia community. However, most of society is not yet fully aware unless a celebrity makes a public statement about their childhood school trauma from unsupported dyslexia.

Anyone can learn more here :

International Dyslexia Association

National Center on Improving Literacy

EarlyBird Education

Center for Reading

Reach Every Reader

Five From Five

Sortegories

Understood
Reading Rockets
Reading Universe

MTSU Center for Dyslexia

Decoding Dyslexia-MA
Decoding Dyslexia,

The Reading League

95 Percent Group LLC

Dyslexia Canada, Dyslexia Ireland, Dyslexia Scotland, British Dyslexia Association , European Dyslexia Association

Made By Dyslexia,
Dyslexic Advantage.
Landmark Outreach
Cox Campus
TX Reads
Iowa Reading Research Center
The Florida Center for Reading Research
University of Florida Literacy Institute

People who need professional advocacy help can go here : Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates, Inc. and Wrightslaw

Anyone can get supports from Decoding Dyslexia.

Do the right things for neurodiversity rights from 2024 onward.

The book “ Overcoming Dyslexia” by the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity was published over 20 years ago. It’s time⏰ to do the right things to help the 1 in 5 dyslexic students in each classroom. Dr. Shaywitz testified to explain we don’t have a knowledge gap. We have an action gap.
145 years worth.

https://www.facebook.com/reel/3582953958583235?

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=unfATTTSiPk

🚀🚀🎤 https://www.readingrockets.org/topics/dyslexia/articles/dyslexia-and-brain-what-does-current-research-tell-us?

https://podm8.com/podcasts/science-of-reading-the-podcast

https://www.flipsnack.com/B88EAE88B7A/perspectives-winter-2024/full-view.html

We are volunteers. Please consult with professionals.

We don’t have all the answers to the questions we posed here. It’s up to each individual educator to decide that every brain matters.

The people who tell you the lack of dyslexia help is due to lack of funding, resources or staff are often the people who have a lack of desire and drive to learn more on their own.

As we reach the end of 2023, let’s take a moment to reflect and express gratitude for the many blessings bestowed upon us.

A heartfelt thank you to my friends and family for your continued support.

Wishing everyone a restful and joyous holiday season. May the coming year bring renewed energy and continued success. Thank you for being part of our journey. God bless!

Need last-minute gift ideas?

I personally always include books as Christmas gifts; the gift of reading is magical.
We now have the book available in Spanish!
Link in Bio

Si está buscando el regalo navideño perfecto, no dude en buscar más.
Yo personalmente siempre incluyo libros como regalo de Navidad; el regalo de la lectura es mágico.
¡Ya tenemos el libro disponible en español!

Enlace en la biografía

Happy Monday! My son has been asking me when we will make book number two.

He was my number-one helper during my book process. He helped with all the sketching and mock-up pages.

I promised him if I sold enough copies, we could start the process and write about Carmen's journey in Middle School.

If you have any last-minute shopping, please consider our book. It is now available in English and Spanish, or you can share this post with family and friends.

As always, thank you to everyone who has supported my writing journey and my son's love for creativity.

Happy Thanksgiving 🍽

We want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude towards you. We are thankful for the trust you place in us.

May you find moments of peace, surrounded by the warmth of loved ones and the strength within yourself.

We love drawing outside in the mornings. It is a great relaxing and fun activity.

Love Pinecrest!

South Florida teacher’s playbook: Using Dolphins stats to teach math Inside Ms. Mary Martinez's third grade class at Pinecrest Elementary, students are using the Miami Dolphins to help them learn.

1 in every 5 kids have some form of dyslexia. It is estimated that boys are more likely to be diagnosed with dyslexia than girls.

It’s Dyslexia Awareness Month. Wondering what you can do to support children with dyslexia?

Make sure learning materials are accessible to students.

October is dyslexia awareness month!

We just added Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tina Turner , Todd Bol ( inventor of Little Free Library) Tim Tebow and Benjamin Zephaniah to this very cool list.
This list has many more “famous” names from every sector of life. 1 in 5 people are dyslexic.
The most important people on this list are your friends, family, coworkers , school mates, neighbors, community members and possibly ….. yourself.

https://www.cooperhealth.org/services/cooper-learning-center/famous-people-gift-dyslexia

🙌

💯

The number of kids I've had on my caseloads over the years with "behavior plans" in place that were completely and utterly impossible for the child to actually meet...

Even more frustrating was when the "evidence" for the behavior plan was something like, "Well, we know he can do it, because he did it one time on a Tuesday when the stars aligned and he had 15 supports and an adult right by his side, so that obviously means he can do it all of the time." No. No it doesn't.

[Image description: An abstract background of soft greens and pinks, with text over it that says, "So many 'child behavior problems' are actually problems related to adults having unrealistic expectations of children. -Rachel Samson"]
(credit for image to )

Dear September,

Can we please get cooler weather?

xoxo,

Iry

Last year when I started my self-publishing journey, I created a space for others who wanted to learn about the industry.

The first thing I've heard from many people is how they wished they could also write a book.

Therefore, I changed my name and added my logo for my business IG.

I'm excited about this new school year approaching and for all the projects coming our way.

For now, continue enjoying summer! Hope everyone is soaking up this HOT summer as well 😍

The first day of school can be scary! Changes are complex, and many new things are being introduced on the first day that can make a child feel overwhelmed. I know this very well because it happened to me as a child.

Here are five tips you can start implementing before the first day of school:

1- Establish a new nightly routine
2- Go to bed early (don’t wait until the night before school starts)
3- Pack a bookbag and a lunch box the night before
4- If it’s a new school, visit the school or drive by and make it familiar to them; if not, find new buildings and classrooms (attend meet & greet, orientation events)
5- Start a small meditation routine. Depending on the child's age, you can start with 3 minutes daily.

Parents can also have many emotions, and children can pick up on them. Try to be mindful and wait after waving your goodbyes. If you are like me, I will be in my car crying; some parents have no emotions, and that's ok too. I wish everyone a successful school year!

Hello Monday!

Here are small habits to help achieve a mindful mindset ✨

Happy Father’s Day!

I ♥️ to hear kids are enjoying my book

Hi & Welcome to my account. I’m so happy that you are here!

First, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Irina. My friends call me Iry!
I was born in Madrid, Spain. When I turned 10, I moved to the US to begin a new life with my Mama and Stepdad.

Pink is my favorite color. I’m obsessed with Hello Kitty, makeup, and coffee. I love yoga and hiking, but most of all, I love being surrounded by nature.

I am passionate and dedicated to advocating mental health awareness, educating, consulting, reinforcing positive behaviors, and helping others, especially children and teenagers, to build resilience in our youth.

Which is why I'm here. I'm not too fond of labels. However, the information will help others understand me better. It’s a diagnosis that does not define me.
I have panic disorder, ADD (Attention-Deficit Disorder label was refined to ADHD in the DSM-III-R, and it’s included in the new DSM-5) and SPD (Sensory Processing Disorder).

Growing up, I had no support or resources. I navigated through life suffering in silence. Feeling like there was something wrong with me and feeling like an outcast. Hence, I decided to write and publish my first children’s book.

I have held various roles in my career and worked in different settings like domestic violence and r**e shelters, at high-risk middle and elementary schools, and helped low-income families navigate college life. I hold a master’s degree in Higher Education Administration.

Therefore, I’m NOT a medical expert by any means, but I am someone who has lived and seen different populations deal with life experiences. I share what I share in hopes that my story and resources can help others, especially parents who might not know how to support their kids best. I’m here, and I see you.

I want this to be a safe space. A space where I welcome everyone who wants to learn and grow with an open mind and optimistic outlook.

If any of this resonates with you... then please follow and share my accounts with others!

I want my book to reach as many kids and families as possible.

If you have read this far, thank you. I feel blessed and honored.

Always a good time at the Frost!