Student with Dyslexia Discovers What It’s Like to Read: Emery’s Story

Emery is a 6th grade student with dyslexia. She thought she would never learn how to read. Emery would get angry at herself because she could not understand the words she was reading or read like other kids. At the age of 7, Emery was diagnosed with dyslexia. With the support of her family and dyslexia resources like the Bookshare ebook library and Scottish Rites, Emery’s reading and school experience pivoted 180 degrees. Using specialized audiobooks from Bookshare, she was able to learn how to track, decode, and understand that there was more to reading than word-for-word. She finally discovered what it was like to read for everyone. In this touching video, hear the before and after of Emery’s reading experience, as well as the thoughts and insights of her parents, Brandy and Mac.

Please share Emery’s story with others. If you or someone you know has dyslexia, or struggles with reading due to reading barriers like a learning disability, blindness, vision loss, or cerebral palsy, learn how Bookshare ebooks can make reading easier.

Bookshare is an ebook library for people with reading barriers and is FREE for U.S. schools and students with qualifying disabilities. Source: www.bookshare.org

Listening Isn't Cheating: How Audio Books Can Help Us Learn

With technology advances providing easier access to high quality audio book through paid providers like Audible and Learning Allied or funded sites like Bookshare, to name only a few, many are turning to "ear reading" to improve fluency and comprehension for both academic and pleasure reading. However, the equality of audio books is often called into question where conversations may revolve around the notion that listening to books doesn't teach students to read and is viewed as taking an easy way out. Those who utilize text-to-speech programs and built-in accessibility tools as valuable tools for learning disagree with these suggestions. The KQED News article Listening Isn't Cheating: How Audio Books Can Help Us Learn by Ki Sung, tackles this subject and provides insight into the impact audio books can have.

Listening Isn't Cheating: How Audio Books Can Help Us Learn Article