BIXBY, Okla. — Kari Cruzan's education career began more than 20 years ago, working with hundreds of kids during her time in the classroom. She discovered her passion after noticing something off with her own child.
"Our daughter, when she was in 1st grade, started showing signs of difficulty with spelling, and with remembering sight words," Cruzan said.
Her daughter showed markers of dyslexia, and after finding limited resources to help, she started The Study Hub in Bixby. Her facility tutors all students, but with an added focus on dyslexia.
"It's not an intellectual difference," Cruzan said. "It's just a language processing difference."
Cruzan says they try bridging the gap in kids' minds with memory tricks and rules to help with retention in spelling and reading. Children with dyslexia often struggle with spelling words phonetically.
"We teach them that not all of the words follow the rules," Cruzan said. "Like the word 'said.' We teach them to say 'snakes and insects dance."
She works with kids of all ages, like Kyler, who's 10.
"He's excelled at most things besides his literacy skills in life," Kyler's mom Kayla Robison said. "So his confidence was just tanking, and he didn't have any interest in reading."
Kayla tells 2 News that after nearly two years at The Study Hub, his confidence has grown.
"It was very heartbreaking at first when there was nothing my husband or I could do to necessarily help him," Robison said. "So it was great finding this place to give him the skills he needs to excel."
"To know that I can help change a life, and help bring a student along in their journey. To give them the confidence to say I can do hard things. They are world changers. And they're changing ours," Cruzan added.
The Study Hub isn't just for students with dyslexia, but October is Dyslexia Awareness Month, and Cruzan says about 80% of her students have markers of dyslexia. She says parents should pay attention to their kids ability to retain information, along with their spelling and sentence structure.
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