A book about raising children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and dyslexia has received humbling and overwhelming response, says author Elizabeth Casano, of Starkville and formerly of Columbus.
“Learning Differently — A Mom’s View of Raising Children with Dyslexia and ADHD” is available on all online portals, as well as Friendly City Books in Columbus.
The Casano family lived in Columbus for 12 years before moving back to Starkville, where they currently live.
As a mother of three children, two of which were diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia after they each completed the first grade, Casano has experienced confusion and faced challenging situations.
In the book, she tells her family’s story, taking readers through the highs and the lows of parenting a child with a learning disability.
“It is not a book with formulas or solutions, nor is it a book written on best practices for accommodations,” Casano said. “‘Learning Differently’ is meant to create a community of parents that will be brave enough to say, ‘My kid is different and it is my job to fight for them until he/she is old enough to fight for themselves.’”
She said readers’ response has been humbling and overwhelming at the same time.
“Adults that finally feel seen, parents who finally feel their emotions justified and a community of people admitting to what they simply did not know before,” Casano said. “Twenty percent of a population affected by dyslexia and ADHD seems like a large number, but the 80 percent is louder.”
She said she wants to empower that 20 percent to be heard and advocated for “what is contributing to our state continuing to fall behind.”
“When 20 percent of your classroom population cannot read or simply withstand attention in class long enough to master a subject, it’s only logical to deduct that eventually that same 20 percent becomes adults who struggle to find their place in this world,” Casano said. “Mississippi needs to recognize dyslexia as a learning disability and offer support to families.”
The book is just one of Casano’s ways of empowering parents to help change the state’s education system.
“Raising children that learn differently is hard. Why make it harder by isolating ourselves? So I wrote this book to break the silence,” she said.
According to Casano, the book was a top-10 bestseller in Mississippi for several weeks. While she has done some book signings, none are planned for the near future.
She recently attended a dyslexia forum in Champagne, Illinois, as the guest speaker and used her book as the discussion topic.
Besides being a mother and author, Casano hosts the business-related podcast, Honey Hush, and is a certified enneagram coach.
For information, visit EBCconsultingLLC.com. Casano can be contacted at [email protected] .
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