Empowering students with language-based learning differences

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The Siena School Blog
Discover, Learn, Celebrate, and Empower
Welcome to Siena's blog, your source for helpful, cutting-edge resources tailored to teachers, parents, and other advocates in the learning differences community. We are dedicated to providing a wealth of curated knowledge spanning various topics, ranging from dyslexia advocacy and awareness to classroom teaching strategies, heritage month profiles, and social and emotional health.
Mental Health Awareness Month 2025

Mental Health Awareness Month 2025
In honor of the Mental Health Awareness Month 2025 theme, “In Every Story, There’s Strength,” Siena is highlighting some important ways to raise awareness and share strategies for various mental health and neurodiverse needs.
There are many misconceptions and stigmas about mental health and receiving support, and our stories of self-care can help us to reduce stigma, increase empathy and awareness, and be proactive in terms of caring for our mental well-being.
How Parents Can Support Their Children’s Mental Health
There are a few ways we can regularly turn awareness into action, such as the following:
- Increasing understanding
- Reducing misconceptions
- Encouraging help-seeking
- Promoting empathy and compassion
- Challenging stigma
- Using or offering support networks
- Promoting positive representations
- Normalizing therapy and mental self-care
An easy way for parents to check in with their children’s own mental and emotional well-being is to have a conversation (even a short one). Here are some sentence starters to help facilitate that conversation:
- “I notice that you seem ___. Do you want to talk?”
- “What is an emotion that you are feeling right now?”
- “Tell me more about what you are experiencing….”
- ”I want to help. Would support or space right now help you most?”
Although your child might not want to share their story at that particular moment, it’s always important to encourage (and be available for) positive and healthy conversation surrounding feelings and emotions.
Sometimes, our children can be on opposite ends of the spectrum, from not talking at all to hyperbolizing emotions. Parents and other caregivers can be the “calm” and the anchor that your child needs when they feel strong emotions. Showing up consistently and being available for support will go a long way for your child as they continue to tell their stories on their own terms.
Another action we can take is showing empathy, curiosity, and understanding whenever possible, which in turn models good mental health behavior for children so they can contribute to a more accepting and positive environment for all.
Mental Health Resources for Parents
It can be a challenge for parents to navigate when to get support for their child, as well as to find a provider that fits. Below are some helpful resources to get started:
- Anxiety Institute
- Child Mind Institute
- Kingsbury Wellness & Learning Group
- National Council for Wellbeing (includes a free downloadable checklist)
- Psychology Today
Siena Resources
For additional information from The Siena School blog to help navigate students’ social–emotional health, see this post from last year about summer mental health awareness, as well as these about learning differences and confidence and online and offline boundaries for teens.
The Siena School, a national leader in dyslexia education, serves bright, college-bound students with language-based learning differences on campuses in Silver Spring, MD (grades 3-4 and 5-12) and Oakton, VA (grades 3-12).
AAPI Heritage Month 2025: Books and Podcasts of Interest

Siena is celebrating Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month 2025 by highlighting some recent books and podcasts of interest from diverse Asian, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander voices.
In addition to the book and podcast recommendations below, readers can also check the Smithsonian Institution or Federal Asian Pacific American Council (FAPAC) for relevant resources, local events, and more.
Contemporary Books by AAPI Authors
Here are some additional recent fiction and nonfiction books by AAPI authors:
- At the Edge of Empire: A Family’s Reckoning with China — Edward Wong
- The Emperor and the Endless Palace — Justinian Huang
- Interior Chinatown — Charles Yu (recently adapted for Hulu)
- The Emperor of Gladness — Ocean Vuong
- When I’m Gone, Look for Me in the East — Quan Barry
Looking for more book recommendations? Penguin Random House, The New York Public Library, and More Than Words have lists to choose from.
DC-area independent Loyalty Bookstores is a diverse, woman-owned business that often shares bookseller picks and hosts monthly author events (see here) consistent with their mission of highlighting all literary voices.
Readers interested in visual arts from AAPI creators can look up Dwight Hwang (who specializes in classic and contemporary gyotaku) or Jamie Noguchi (who has illustrated contemporary comics and other media).

AAPI Podcasts of Interest
Here are some current podcasts from AAPI voices about various topics of interest:
- Asian American History 101
- Asian Americana
- Dear Asian Americans
- Self Evident: Asian America's Stories
- See also Best Asian American Podcasts and 70 Best Asian American Podcasts You Must Follow in 2025 for more
Georgetown University and the University of Pennsylvania have podcast recommendations and other resources.

Siena Blog and Resources
See our blog for recent heritage month posts from Women’s History Month 2025, Black History Month 2025, and Hispanic Heritage Month 2024.
The Siena School proudly serves students with dyslexia and other language-based learning differences in grades 3-12 on campuses in Silver Spring, Maryland (grades 3-4 and 5-12), and Oakton, Virginia (grades 3-12).
Women’s History Month 2025: Books and Podcasts of Interest

The theme from the National Women’s History Alliance (NWHA) for Women’s History Month 2025 is Moving Forward Together! Women Educating & Inspiring Generations.
Siena is celebrating this month by highlighting recent books and podcasts of interest to continue educating and inspiring future generations through important cultural contributions.
Recent Books by Women Authors
Here are some additional recent fiction and nonfiction books by women:
- A History of Women in 101 Objects — Annabelle Hirsch
- A Living Remedy — Nicole Chung
- Eve — Cat Bohannon
- Your Brain on Art — Susan Magsamen and Ivy Ross
- Magical/Realism — Vanessa Angélica Villarreal
- Stop Me If You’ve Heard This One — Kristen Arnett
- The Icon & the Idealist — Stephanie Gorton
- Theory & Practice — Michelle de Kretser

Editors from Harper’s Bazaar and Woman’s World offer book recommendations in various genres from 2024. See also the Penguin Random House Speakers Bureau’s Women Educating & Inspiring Generations.
DC-area independent Loyalty Bookstores is a woman-owned business that often shares bookseller picks and hosts monthly author events consistent with their mission of highlighting diverse literary voices.
Podcasts By and About Women
Here are some current podcasts from women about various topics of interest:
- Her First $100K (finance)
- How to Be a Girl (a mother raising her transgender daughter)
- Letters from an American, The History Chicks, and Footnoting History (history)
- Second Life Podcast (women and career changes)
- Special Ed Strategist (IEP process and special education)
- The Sheepspot Podcast (crafting and handspinning)
- You Must Remember This (Hollywood history)

See also 23 Best Podcasts For Women, By Women, The 13 Best Podcasts for Women in 2025, and Must Listen To Podcasts By Women for additional recommendations on expanding your podcast listening.
Siena Blog and Resources
Past blog posts for Women’s History Month can be found here, including profiles of writers Sally Gardner and Laurie Halse Anderson and WNBA stars A’Ja Wilson and Jewell Loyd.
Learn more about Siena’s commitments and ongoing initiatives for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging here.
The Siena School, a national leader in dyslexia education, serves bright, college-bound students with language-based learning differences on campuses in Silver Spring, MD (grades 3-4 and 5-12) and Oakton, VA (grades 3-12).