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Overcoming Dyslexia: Lessons Learned From an Ivy Leaguer

This article is more than 6 years old.
Brian Meersma was diagnosed with severe dyslexia when he was in the third grade. His symptoms were a general inability to understand written letters and words. Consequently, he had difficulty reading, spelling and writing. He struggled to put letters and words into sentences and lost the broader meaning of what he was reading. To help, his mom read textbooks out loud while she was cooking dinner. Yet this is not a sustainable solution.

Photo courtesy of Benetech

In middle school, Brian researched various sources of digital books and assistive technologies in the hope of finding help, and he did. Fast forward to today, Brian is a student at Cornell University where he is on the dean’s list, studying industrial and labor relations.

This unexpected turnaround story of how he overcame dyslexia is due, in part, to a technology called Bookshare. That motivated me to interview Brad Turner at Benetech, which created and operates this technology. I have been a long time fan of this non-profit that “empowers communities in need by creating scalable tech solutions.” Via this interview, I discovered that many of Brian’s discoveries could help others with dyslexia and other reading disabilities. If you face this challenge or know someone who does, this source of support can be life changing.

Q. How can Bookshare help students and others with dyslexia or other visual impairments or physical or learning disabilities that prevent them from reading a printed book?

At Bookshare they can often find a book they need to read for school or work. Then they can read that book in the format that best suits them, using a device that is best for them. That ranges from braille readers to mainstream technologies like MP3 players, smart phones and digital tablets.

Bookshare is the largest library of accessible books in the world and it’s free to every qualified student in the country, so students can read how they want, when they want, and where they want. Such books can be provided for free because, within the U.S., Bookshare operates under an exception in copyright law that allows us to make accessible digital books legally available to any person with a qualifying disability. I am proud to say that Bookshare has worked with almost a half-million students, making reading possible through the personalized delivery of over 10 million ebooks.

Q. What advice do you give to the parents of children with these reading disabilities?

The best advice I can give parents is to get their kid started reading early. Don’t wait for your child to get behind. Be an advocate for your child. Check with the school to make sure your child is getting proper reading accommodations such as access to assistive technology in the classroom. Take the initiative to explore resources like Bookshare alongside your child. Encourage your child to read in a way that works for them! Also make sure to also get the support you need. Seek out support and advocacy groups such as Decoding Dyslexia, which has groups in all 50 states.

Q. Are there barriers in the classroom that students and parents should be prepared to tackle?

There are a lot of challenges for parents and for students, but they should be aware that there are challenges for teachers as well. Classrooms are crowded with students of varying reading abilities. Often, the general classroom teacher has limited training in identifying and working with dyslexia, and most have limited time to learn and implement assistive technology solutions such as Bookshare. Beyond that, there are often rules against phones and tablets in the general classroom, even though these devices are critical to helping your child read and to staying up to speed with his or her peers. For parents, it can feel like an uphill battle, especially when requests are made and not answered.

Always remember that teachers are fundamentally there to help student learn and grow, so that the requests that you make on behalf of your child are valid and reasonable. Your student must be provided with an equivalent education regardless of his or her reading ability. Even if the school doesn’t move as fast as you want, you can still take action. Sign up for a service like Bookshare so your child can get the materials he or she needs to keep up with his or her classmates. All we require to provide free access to over 500,000 books is a proof of disability that can be obtained from the school or from a family physician.

Q. What can teachers do to help students with dyslexia succeed?

There are many teachers who are passionate about helping students read. Every once in a while, though, that passion gets in the way of realizing that a student with dyslexia sees the page differently than many of the other students in the class. The strategies and resources to help that student read also need to be different. The first step a teacher must take is to realize that students with dyslexia can’t change the way they perceive words on a page. Next, the teacher needs to research and embrace new strategies that have proven success. Luckily, technology has given us the ability to provide tools, on everyday hardware like mobile phones and tablets that can help students with dyslexia read. Providing access to literacy is powerful for the teacher, and it can be a life-changing moment for the student.

Leslie Patterson, a teacher at Griffis Elementary School in Caddo Mills, Texas, discovered Bookshare and signed up for a free organizational membership. Then she created reading lists for her students with dyslexia and helped parents to create individual accounts for students who found Bookshare helpful. According to Leslie, “Bookshare is a really important tool to use. It's like glasses. I can't read without my glasses. And for some individuals, they can't read without an audiobook." Leslie hopes other teachers and school districts adopt similar programs to help students with dyslexia and other print disabilities.

Q. What is your vision for the future of reading when it comes to students with dyslexia and other print disabilities?

Bookshare works with over 850 publishers to source books for the Bookshare library. Those publishers give us 5000-7000 books per month. We end up having to retrofit many of those books to add accessibility features such as a dynamic table of contents or proper paragraph flow. If we can get publishers to create books that are accessible from the moment they are created, it will not only remove the need for time intensive retrofits but will also allow all readers to benefit from the ability to listen and see the page, to read that book on their phone, and to get access to additional resources with a click of a button. What publishers do for students with dyslexia will benefit everyone in the long run. That is the goal – provide every child access to every book in a format that suits individual needs from the moment the book is created. Benetech calls this vision Born Accessible. We’ll partner with schools to make sure they’re purchasing accessible books and by partnering with publishers to make sure they’re creating Born Accessible titles. Any book, any student, any time, any place. That’s the goal.

Q: Are there new technologies or programs that students, parents and teachers should keep their eye on?

Yes! There is an exciting new program called Global Certified Accessible. Publishers can submit their books to be reviewed for accessibility by authorized third-party reviewers. Books that pass a robust accessibility check earn the Global Certified Accessible stamp of approval, meaning the book is accessible to students with dyslexia and other disabilities. We’re currently working with school districts to recognize and prioritize the purchase of books with the stamp of approval. When publishers recognize that schools are purchasing Global Certified Accessible books, they’ll start to create content that is accessible in the first place. In the future, we want all books that are born digital to be Born Accessible. The Global Certified Accessible program is an important program for making that future a reality.

Major players from the publishing world are already embracing the program, including Ingram Content Group, Elsevier, HarperCollins Publishers, Harvard Business Publishing, Macmillan Learning, Penguin Random House, Amnet Systems, Apex CoVantage.

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