Unmasking Dyslexia with Carleen Ross, M.Sc.

Send us Fan Mail In this deeply personal episode of Unmasking Dyslexia , Carleen explores the grief process that can follow a late dyslexia diagnosis and why so many dyslexic adults experience emotional upheaval after finally receiving answers. While society is beginning to highlight the strengths and gifts associated with dyslexia, this episode creates space for the other side of the journey — th...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Unmasking Dyslexia, Carleen explores why receiving a late dyslexia diagnosis can feel emotionally overwhelming and deeply life-changing. Beyond simply explaining reading or memory struggles, a diagnosis can force individuals to completely re-evaluate their identity, relationships, past experiences, and self-worth. Carleen shares her personal experience of being...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Unmasking Dyslexia, Carleen explores an often-overlooked question: Do dyslexics experience pain differently? Drawing from scientific research and personal experience, this episode dives into how dyslexia may influence pain thresholds, body awareness, headaches, stomach pain, and sensory processing. Carleen discusses studies showing that dyslexic individuals may...

Send us Fan Mail What does dyslexia have to do with constipation? More than you might think. In this episode, we explore the emerging connection between dyslexia, gut health, and the brain. While dyslexia is often viewed as a learning difference, it is also a neurodiverse profile—meaning the entire system, including the body, can be impacted. Inside this conversation: The connection between the gu...

Send us Fan Mail Do dyslexics stim? It’s a question that often gets dismissed—but the answer reveals something much deeper about dyslexia, neurodiversity, and how the brain regulates itself. In this episode, we unpack the truth: dyslexia is not just a learning difference—it is a neurodiverse profile. And like many neurodivergent individuals, dyslexics engage in forms of stimming, often without eve...

Send us Fan Mail Do dyslexic individuals mask? Absolutely — and often more than they even realize. In this episode of Unmasking Dyslexia , we break down the hidden ways dyslexics mask in everyday life to fit into a world that doesn’t fully understand how their brain works. From memorizing information and overstudying to using humour, perfectionism, and rehearsed conversations — many of these behav...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever heard someone say “everyone is a little dyslexic”? For many dyslexic individuals, this phrase minimizes the real challenges that come with a dyslexic brain — challenges like spelling, word retrieval, working memory, rapid naming, and executive functioning. But here's the deeper issue: society often only uses this phrase when referring to dyslexia’s difficulties...

Send us Fan Mail Do dyslexic individuals show more facial expressions and emotional reactions? Some research suggests they might. In this episode, we explore studies showing that dyslexic individuals may have a stronger emotional response to visual stimuli, which can be seen through facial expressions, heart rate, and the body’s sympathetic nervous system. This means dyslexics may naturally expres...

Send us Fan Mail Have you ever run into someone you know you know—but their name just won’t come, and their face doesn’t quite register the way you expect? For dyslexic individuals, this isn’t carelessness or lack of effort. It’s neurology. In this episode, I explore the neuroscience behind name retrieval and face recognition in dyslexic brains, including research on the left anterior temporal lob...

Send us Fan Mail Do you really need a formal diagnosis to understand yourself — or to deserve support? In this episode, Carleen questions the current diagnostic model used in neurodiversity and mental health, and why so many people are required to struggle or reach crisis before being allowed access to accommodations. Drawing from personal experience with her child, Carleen explores: • The differe...

Send us Fan Mail Do dyslexic challenges stay the same throughout life? No — and that realization can be life-changing. In this episode of Unmasking Dyslexia, Carleen explores the critical psychological difference between trait and state, and why dyslexic challenges can feel stronger at certain times — without meaning anything is “wrong” with you. You’ll learn: • Why a dyslexia diagnosis reflects a...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Unmasking Dyslexia , Carleen explores one of the most debated and misunderstood topics in neurodiversity: What do dyslexia and autism actually have in common — and where are they fundamentally different? Drawing on graduate-level research and neuroscience, this episode examines how dyslexia and autism are often diagnosed based on behavior , rather than brain str...

Send us Fan Mail Can exercise actually improve dyslexic traits like working memory, executive functioning, and focus? In this episode of Unmasking Dyslexia , Carleen explores a 2024 study out of London showing that moderate exercise can increase cognitive functioning and working memory — even in individuals with cognitive impairments. While dyslexia has not yet been the direct focus of this resear...

Send us Fan Mail Many dyslexics struggle with memory, word recall, executive functioning, overwhelm, and chronic stress — but what if poor sleep is making everything worse? In this episode of Unmasking Dyslexia , Carleen explores why sleep impacts the dyslexic brain more intensely and how common habits like late-night screen time, caffeine, irregular schedules, stress, and sensory overload quietly...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Unmasking Dyslexia , Carleen breaks down a widely circulated (and often misquoted) statistic claiming that dyslexics have a “high chance” of developing dementia or Alzheimer’s. But what does the research actually say—and what does it not say? Carleen explains the 2024 genetic study that linked dyslexia to a specific Alzheimer’s subtype, why many people confuse l...

Send us Fan Mail Most people think of dyslexia as a reading and writing difference, but auditory dyslexia reveals an entirely different side of how the dyslexic brain processes the world. In this episode, I share what it’s really like to have a brain that sometimes hears the wrong words—even when you know what the person actually said. Auditory dyslexia can make similar-sounding words blend togeth...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we dive deep into the idea that none of us are only one identity—not even our strongest ones. I share why I say “I am dyslexic” rather than “I have dyslexia,” and how my dyslexic brain filters everything I see, feel, understand, communicate, and create. Drawing from psychology, neuroscience, positive psychology, spirituality, and shamanic practices, we explore how...

Send us Fan Mail Most people think of dyslexia as a reading and writing difference, but auditory dyslexia reveals an entirely different side of how the dyslexic brain processes the world. In this episode, I share what it’s really like to have a brain that sometimes hears the wrong words—even when you know what the person actually said. Auditory dyslexia can make similar-sounding words blend togeth...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode, I share one of the most powerful studies I came across after my own diagnosis — a 2021 study by Virginia Stern and colleagues titled Enhanced Visceral Motor Emotional Reactivity in Dyslexia and its Relation to the Salience Network. Though the name might sound complex, the findings are profound: dyslexic individuals—especially those with phonetic processing diff...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, we’re diving into the terms neurotypical and neurodivergent — where they come from, what they actually mean, and why the definitions we’ve been given don’t always tell the full story. Who decides what’s “typical” or “average” anyway? And how does the DSM-5 shape our understanding of difference? We’ll also explore: • The origins of the term neurodivergent — from Ha...

Send us Fan Mail In today’s episode, we’re stepping outside the usual conversation about dyslexia. This isn’t about the classroom. This isn’t about work. This episode is about how dyslexia influences our relationships, our communication, our identity, and our lived moments with the people closest to us. We explore what happens when the dyslexic brain moves into the social world — how we interpret...

Send us Fan Mail Positive Psychology is the science of well-being — it asks, what makes life good? What helps us grow, even when life challenges us? In this episode, you’ll learn how Positive Psychology has evolved over time, from Martin Seligman’s focus on strengths to Paul Wong’s integration of shadow and struggle, and into newer waves that explore culture, meaning, and spirituality. I’ll also s...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, Carleen explores how our understanding of dyslexia has been shaped by different frameworks — and why it’s time for a shift. From the traditional medical model that focuses on what’s “wrong,” to the social model that highlights how environments shape identity, and finally to the neurodivergent model that embraces dyslexia as a unique way of processing the world — t...

Send us Fan Mail In this first episode of Unmasking Dyslexia, host Carleen Ross shares her personal journey of discovering her dyslexia at 49 and rewriting her self-story. Through the lens of positive psychology, she explores how embracing all parts of ourselves leads to healing and self-acceptance. Join her as she unpacks both the struggles and strengths that come with seeing the world through a...