By Sophia Schindler
When communication professor Dr. Shawn Apostel isn’t teaching in the classroom or preparing for TEDxBellarmineU, he spreads awareness on dyslexia through his podcast called “Dyslexics Untied.”
According to the International Dyslexia Association, dyslexia is a language-based disorder that affects the area of the brain that processes language. Every one in 10 people have dyslexia and often struggling with reading and writing.
Apostel said some of his struggles include remembering names, numbers, times, and the distinction between left and right.
In 2017, Apostel met a student with dyslexia, Jacob Schuhmann, who is now his co-host in the podcast. Apostel said Schuhmann was the first person he met at Bellarmine University who was open about it [dyslexia] and had accommodations.
“For me, I didn’t have accommodations. When I was born, they didn’t really know if it [dyslexia] was a thing,” Apostel said.
Once Schuhmann graduated, Apostel called him to start a podcast about dyslexia and sharing their experiences in a university setting.
“One day I just called him on the phone using an app called Anchor, and I was like, ‘Hey we are recording,’ so our first podcast is actually us talking about how we are going to start a podcast,” Apostel said.
Schuhmann (left) and Apostel (right) record a podcast episode.
Apostel said there are many people with dyslexia who have done cool things, including Steve Jobs, and they try to bring that to light in the podcast.
Kristi Apostel, Apostel’s wife, said being a part of the podcast is a wonderful experience because she knows him so well and has over 26 years of experience of being a partner to a person with dyslexia.
“Whenever he can’t remember something, and I’m there even if I’m on the sidelines, I can give him that answer pretty quickly because I’ve lived that history with him,” Kristi Apostel said.
Jacob Gagel, a Bellarmine alumnus and the assistant director of alumni engagement at Bellarmine, works on the production of the podcast.
Gagel said “representation matters” and it is important to showcase diversity on the podcast, both on camera and behind the scenes.
Jacob Gagel (left) and Lucas Rogers (right) behind the scenes of the podcast.
“Both Jacob and Shawn have dyslexia, but there’s different ways that they show it and understand it,” Gagel said. “Lucas, who is behind the scenes, has autism and that’s a different perspective and people on the podcast connect with him more than others.”
Gagel said having differences and being able to showcase people’s abilities rather than labeling them as a “disability” is very important to him.
Apostel said that it is “an amazing time” to be dyslexic, especially with the rise of technology and AI [artificial intelligence], because it can help him through some of his struggles as a person with dyslexia.
In an episode of the podcast where Apostel and Schuhmann talk about AI, they both agree that they sometimes struggle to get to an end goal but that technology and partnerships can bridge any gaps they may have.
Apostel said he can see where he wants to go, but doesn’t always have the ability to get there.
Schuhmann said, “The teams that I have been on in my career are totally like that, where I’m like, ‘We need to do this, I know these pieces, but you guys need to come in and grab these, and then we’ll be here.’”
Apostel said he is writing a book about dating people who have dyslexia and will continue to regularly record podcast episodes. Apostel said he hopes to get sponsors in the future so he can pay his production crew.
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