Dyslexia Explored

In this episode of the Dyslexia Explored Podcast, hosts Darius Namdaran and Jo Lee speak with Ellie Barbour, a candlemaker and content creator who recently left her job as a high school PE teacher to pursue her business full time. Ellie shares being identified as dyslexic in primary school, receiving a formal diagnosis in later primary, and the impact of confidence, stigma, and support such as Touch Type Read and Spell. She describes a difficult first year of high school with missed support, followed by a pivotal move to Morrison’s Academy where small classes, learning support, and mind mapping transformed her study strategies, including using a scribe in exams. The conversation explores dyslexia strengths, teaching as a role model, possible ADHD, and how her all-in focus helped grow her taper-candle business from a lockdown hobby to markets and beyond.
This podcast is sponsored by ivvi. Visual Notes for Visual Thinkers.
Get ivvi notes now: ⁠⁠https://www.ivvi.app/⁠⁠ 
Links: 
Ivvi: https://www.ivvi.app/ 
What is Dyslexia: https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dyslexia/about-dyslexia/what-is-dyslexia 
How to Mindmap: https://www.bulletmapacademy.com/mindmap-beginners 
Instagram link: https://www.instagram.com/ellie_tyninghame?igsh=Z3NvbzExN3Flc2Nl&utm_source=qr
Website link: https://tyninghamecandles.co.uk/
British Dyslexia Association: https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk
International Dyslexia Association: https://dyslexiaida.org/ 
SEND: https://www.gov.uk/children-with-special-educational-needs 
SEN Support: https://www.gov.uk/children-with-special-educational-needs/special-educational-needs-support
Disabled Students Allowance: https://www.ivvi.app/dsa-for-dyslexia 
Interested in being a guest? Email us at [email protected]

In this episode of the Dyslexia Explored Podcast, hosts Darius Namdaran and Jo Lee speak with Dr. Tara Williams, a chemistry professor in California and former Sussex PhD graduate, about how executive function often drives difficulties when students transition from high school to university. Williams describes the social and practical upheaval of moving away from home, the need to self-advocate for accommodations, and how unstructured time, shifting deadlines, and planning demands can overwhelm neurodiverse students. They define executive functioning as planning, organization, and time management, discuss accommodations such as extra exam time, quiet rooms, note takers, and flexible grading for spelling-heavy subjects, and emphasize early preparation, body doubling, reading and note-taking habits, and building supportive relationships with faculty and campus services. Williams also shares her consulting work, forthcoming book, and contact details.
This podcast is sponsored by ivvi. Visual Notes for Visual Thinkers.
Get ivvi notes now: ⁠https://www.ivvi.app/⁠ 
Links: 
Ivvi: https://www.ivvi.app/ 
what is dyslexia: https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dyslexia/about-dyslexia/what-is-dyslexia
Dr Tara Social Media Links:
Website: https://innovativecollegiateconsultants.com/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tara-williams-phd/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/iccedservices#
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/your_innovative_consultants
Dr Tara Notable Guest Interviews: 
Parenting Teens: Advice Redefined for Today's Complex World: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/136-college-transition-hacks-for-parents-of/id1720826175?i=1000743905277
Inclusive Education Project (IEP) Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/helping-students-learn-executive-functioning-skills/id1307157016?i=1000682986383 
Executive Function podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/executive-function-brain-trainer-podcast/id1588400094 
Previous Episode with Janet Scott: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/71-ebola-and-coronavirus-doctor-discusses-her/id1387645599?i=1000478151331 
Previous Episode with Kerry Pace: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/80-dyspraxia-nursing-and-online-tutoring-with-kerry-pace/id1387645599?i=1000488468841 
Executive Function: https://goodsensorylearning.com/blogs/news/tagged/executive-functioning
Working Memory: https://goodsensorylearning.com/blogs/news/tagged/working-memory 
BETT Show: https://www.bettshow.com/ 
British Dyslexia Association: https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk

Interested in being a guest? Email us at [email protected]

In this episode of the Dyslexia Explored Podcast, hosts Darius Namdaran and Jo Lee interview Darren Clark, who discovered he was dyslexic at 36 after hearing a TV interview and researching via the British Dyslexia Association. Darren recounts severe isolation at secondary school, being placed in a “unit,” missing exams, and leaving with no qualifications, alongside growing up in an unsafe, high-crime area. He describes getting his first job pushing trolleys at Sainsbury’s, progressing through retail to senior leadership overseeing 76 stores and a £4m weekly budget, supported by mentor Robin Stevens. Darren shares entrepreneurial ventures including a large cleaning business, selling a social media company, and losing businesses during COVID while caring for his terminally ill mother. He explains dyslexia strengths like tenacity, communication, and outsourcing, and details advocacy work with the BDA and internationally, including Kenya and Malawi, school talks reaching over a million students, and his message to protect personal voice alongside AI.
Links: 
Ivvi: https://www.ivvi.app/ 
What is Dyslexia: https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dyslexia/about-dyslexia/what-is-dyslexia 
How to Mindmap: https://www.bulletmapacademy.com/mindmap-beginners 
Darren’s Linkedin -  www.linkedin.com/in/darrenclark2
Neurodiversity Stories Youtube -  https://www.youtube.com/@neurodiversitystories5128
British Dyslexia Association: https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk
International Dyslexia Association: https://dyslexiaida.org/ 
SEND: https://www.gov.uk/children-with-special-educational-needs 
SEN Support: https://www.gov.uk/children-with-special-educational-needs/special-educational-needs-support
Disabled Students Allowance: https://www.ivvi.app/dsa-for-dyslexia 
Interested in being a guest? Email us at [email protected]

In this episode of the Dyslexia Explored Podcast, host Darius Namdaran speaks with returning guest Natalie Brooks about putting adult dyslexia into mainstream conversation and her journey from school diagnosis to workplace struggles that led her to create Dyslexia in Adults. Natalie describes being dismissed by HR, building a large online following, completing 750 hours of executive function coaching, and securing a Bloomsbury book deal after a viral video about a “big backpack” as an adult dyslexia trait. They explore dyslexia as a processing difference linked to executive functions such as working memory, planning, and organization, and discuss why “try harder” often fails. Natalie outlines her book Dyslexia Unlocked; confidence, practical strategies, and strengths, rejecting the “superpower” narrative, and they share approaches involving techniques, tools, and team support, plus how she streamlined her business and wrote the book on an 18-month timeline.
This podcast is sponsored by ivvi. Visual Notes for Visual Thinkers.
Get ivvi notes now: https://www.ivvi.app/
Links: 
Ivvi: https://www.ivvi.app/ 
what is dyslexia: https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dyslexia/about-dyslexia/what-is-dyslexia
Natalie’s Previous Episode 146: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/146-dyslexia-expectations-in-school-and-in-the/id1387645599?i=1000656492970 
Dyslexia Scotland: https://dyslexiascotland.org.uk/ 
Moira Thomson episode 75: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/75-five-decades-of-dyslexia-provision-devlopment-in/id1387645599?i=1000484851030 
Dyslexia in Adults Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/dyslexia_in_adults/ 
Dyslexia in Adults Free Guide: https://dyslexiainadults.myflodesk.com/phailhpl45 
Website: https://www.dyslexiainadults.co/ 
Natalie viral video with Darius: https://www.instagram.com/reel/C4pp7dwMwT4/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== 
Here are all the links for the Dyslexia Unlocked book: https://linktr.ee/dyslexiainadults 
Executive Function: https://goodsensorylearning.com/blogs/news/tagged/executive-functioning
Working Memory: https://goodsensorylearning.com/blogs/news/tagged/working-memory 
BETT Show: https://www.bettshow.com/ 
British Dyslexia Association: https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk
Interested in being a guest? Email us at [email protected]

In this episode of the Dyslexia Explored Podcast, hosts Darius Namdaran and Jo Lee speak with Laura Cook, who left school at 18, discovered her dyslexia through support work at De Montfort University, and went on to build the Learning Support Centre, now providing specialist support to thousands of higher-education students and neurodivergent NHS trainees. Laura explains how neurodivergent needs often surface under workplace pressure, and introduces Skill Bridge, her newer venture offering end-to-end support for neurodivergent apprentices and employees, including screening, workplace needs assessments, strategy coaching, assistive technology, and training. The conversation explores differences between university and apprenticeship funding, how support is accessed via apprenticeship providers, the challenges of dual funding with Access to Work delays, and practical inclusive management steps like clear agendas, minutes, and effective training on tools.
This podcast is sponsored by ivvi. Visual Notes for Visual Thinkers.
Get ivvi notes now: https://www.ivvi.app/ 
Links: 
Ivvi: https://www.ivvi.app/ 
What is Dyslexia: https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/dyslexia/about-dyslexia/what-is-dyslexia 
How to Mindmap: https://www.bulletmapacademy.com/mindmap-beginners 
Laura’s Linkedin: Laura Cook | LinkedIn
For any inquiries, please email [email protected]
Skill Bridge website: https://www.skillbridgesolutions.co.uk/ 
Learning Support Centre website: The Learning Support Centre - Neurodivergent & Disability Specialists
Learning Support ACA website: Home | Learning Support Aca
British Dyslexia Association: https://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk
SEND: https://www.gov.uk/children-with-special-educational-needs 
SEN Support: https://www.gov.uk/children-with-special-educational-needs/special-educational-needs-support
Disabled Students Allowance: https://www.ivvi.app/dsa-for-dyslexia 
Digital catapult: https://www.digicatapult.org.uk/ 
innovate UK: https://www.ukri.org/councils/innovate-uk/ 
Interested in being a guest? Email us at [email protected]