Strengths-First Coaching for Dyslexic Students
Your brain isn't broken.
It's JUMBLED, and that's brilliant.
Discover the specific cognitive strengths your dyslexia gives you, then work with a coach who's lived it to turn those strengths into your competitive edge.
Free assessment — 20 minutes | Coaching for teens & college students
Built by a dyslexic educator
Sound familiar?
School only ever measured what's wrong with you.
Every evaluation you've had lists deficits. None of them ever told you what your brain does well.
You don't know how to explain your strengths in an essay or interview without it sounding like an excuse.
Colleges and employers want proof, not just a label, and no one ever taught you how to build it.
How it works
Three steps from confused to clear
1
Take the free assessment
2
Get your strengths profile
A 20-minute self-guided quiz that maps your specific cognitive profile across six thinking strengths, not a generic label.
3
Put it to work
Start with a free coaching call to talk through your results, then decide if deeper coaching is the right next step.
See your cognitive strengths named, explained, and scored in plain language you've never had before. Download your results to keep.
The Built Different Profile
Everything in the free assessment
No catch. This is the real, full version, and it's yours to keep.
Strength labels: Emerging, Developing, or Strong
A personalized Cognitive Profile across 6 domains
Workplace tips for each cognitive domain
Ready to go deeper? Coaching sessions help you turn your profile into a real portfolio, application strategy, or self-advocacy plan.
Career paths and learning strategies per strength
Your specific strengths, named and explained
A downloadable PDF results report — yours to keep
Coaching programs
Three ways to work together
Every option starts with the Built Different Profile and produces a real portfolio the student can use. Pick the format that matches where your student is right now.
Any track
1:1 Coaching Sessions
Flexible and individualized. For students who need direct attention and a custom pace.
$100/hr
Per session. Packages of 4 or 8 sessions available.
Per session. Packages of 4 or 8 sessions available.
Built Different Profile with full report
Peer cohort of neurodivergent students
Coach-led debrief and results review
All session completed in 6 weeks
One session a week over 4 weeks (90 minutes each)
Portfolio project selection and development
3 -piece portfolio, fully documented
1-2 piece portfolio, fully documented
Strength Statement and self-advocacy script
Strength Statement, final version
Strength Statement and self-advocacy script
Direct feedback on all portfolio work
Self-advocacy script, tailored to student
Flexible scheduling
Ongoing coach feedback between sessions
Coach office hours
Most Comprehensive
Not sure which format is right? Every path starts with a free 30-minute call where we talk about where the student is, what they're heading toward, and what they actually need. No pressure, no pitch. Just the real conversation first.
High school or college track
Group Cohort Program
6–8 students, 4 weeks. 2 hour Sessions. Community plus coaching. Cost Effective.
$600
Per student. Next cohort forming now. Spots are limited.
Built Different Profile with full report
High school or college track
1:1 Coaching Sessions
1:1 coaching and full development of a portfolio with self-advocacy work. Fully flexible and customizable. All in 6 weeks.
$1,400
Sliding scale available. Payment plans offered.
Parent/Guardian check-in
Is this the right fit?
Who this is built for
This is a strong fit if...
Your student has a dyslexia or neurodivergent profile and you're tired of every conversation being about what they can't do
Your student is in grades 9–12 and needs a college application story that doesn't center their learning difference as a limitation
Your student just started college and is overwhelmed, undersupported, and has no one helping them reframe the transition
Your student is smart, creative, or perceptive in ways that never show up in grades or standardized testing
This is also a fit if...
You're a school counselor looking for a program to refer students who are clearly capable but lost in a deficit-based support system
You're a college disability coordinator who wants students arriving with self-understanding rather than just paperwork
You're a parent who has watched your student be reduced to their diagnosis for years and you want something that changes the story
You're a student who already knows you're smart in ways that are hard to explain — and you want help explaining them
An honest note about fit
This program is not remediation. We do not reteach phonics, work on reading fluency, or provide academic tutoring. If a student needs that kind of support, there are excellent programs built for it and we are happy to point you toward them.
What we do is different: we work with students who need someone to help them find, document, and talk about what they are actually capable of. If that is where your student is, this is the right room.
Why I built this
Built by a dyslexic educator who has been in this work for 20 years.
I'm Ross. I'm a proud dyslexic, a reading specialist, an educational consultant, and a leadership trainer. I have spent more than two decades working with students whose intelligence was systematically underestimated by systems that measured the wrong things.
I built Jumbled Brilliance because I kept watching capable students leave support programs with weaker coping strategies and worse self-concepts than when they started. The problem was not the students. The problem was a framework that only asked what was hard.
This program is what I wish had existed when I was a student. It is the conversation I wanted to have with someone who saw the full picture of what I was capable of, and helped me figure out how to show it.
Founder, Ross Herdina
COMMON QUESTIONS
Things people ask before they reach out
Does my student need a formal dyslexia diagnosis to participate?
No. The Built Different Profile and coaching programs are open to any student who identifies as dyslexic or neurodivergent, or whose parents or counselors recognize that they think differently than the standard academic model rewards. A formal diagnosis is helpful context but is not required.
How is this different from a college counselor or a writing tutor?
College counselors help students navigate applications. Writing tutors help produce better essays. This program does something that comes before both: it identifies what the student is actually strong at, builds documentation of that, and gives them a clear, confident way to communicate it. Better essays and applications are a downstream effect of the real work.
What if my student has never thought of themselves as having strengths?
That is the most common situation and exactly what this program is designed for. The Built Different Profile surfaces strengths from the student's own experience: their hobbies, relationships, creative work, and the moments outside of school where they've thrived. Most students are surprised by how much evidence is already there.
Does the program work remotely?
Yes. All sessions are available via video, and portfolio work is completed and submitted digitally. The cohort program runs on the same platform regardless of location, so cohort members can come from different schools, cities, and states.
Is financial assistance available?
Yes. A sliding scale is available for all program formats. If cost is a barrier, reach out and we will have an honest conversation about what is possible.
Find out what your brain does brilliantly.
Start with the free assessment. It takes 20 minutes and the results are yours to keep.
Other Services
Testing
Reading & Writing Test
For All Ages
$600
4-5 hours 1:1
Remote Only
Tutoring
$80/hr
1:1 Session
2x week minimum
Progress Reports
For middle to high school students
Remote Only
Training
Half or Full Day
Variable
No Theory; Only Action
Corporate or K12
Remote or In Person
For those looking to embed practices that foster dyslexic thinking.
It’s a REAL thing!
Credit: Dictionary.com