This week on the TiLT Parenting Podcast my guest is Tia Smith, a former business executive and current in-the-trenches mom of three, including at least one differently-wired child, her twelve-year-old twice-exceptional daughter who has several processing and learning differences, including dysgraphia, dyslexia, and dyscalculia, as well as being gifted.

I think it’s important to hear how other parents whose children are wired differently in a variety of ways are carving out their own path. Tia is one of those parents who is relentless in trying to figure out how to best meet her daughter’s needs. In our conversation, she shares her story, as well as tells us about her own roadblocks along the way of coming to terms with how unique her daughter was and finding a place of accepting what is.

 

About Tia: Tia Smith is the mother of at least one ‘differently-wired’ child. She traded in her MBA and career in Global Advertising for a more glamorous life shuttling kids all over town, spending weekends at swim meets or baseball games, and supervising neighborhood Nerf gun battles. She is passionate about shifting misperceptions of Dyslexia and is actively involved in helping children (and their families) overcome the stigma and celebrate their unique gifts. Tia lives in Bellevue, WA with her husband, three children, Labradoodle puppy and two very old cats…but she still calls Colorado home.

 

THINGS YOU’LL LEARN FROM THIS EPISODE:

  • How Tia first identified her daughter’s dysgraphia and dyslexia
  • Tia’s approach to dealing with FEAR in her parenting
  • The ways in which Tia uses a strengths-based parenting approach and focuses on effort and attitude over results

 

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

  • Overcoming Dyslexia by Sally Shaywitz (Tia says, If you do nothing else, start here in my humble opinion!)