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Voice Over Volunteer with Dyslexia Shares her Talents

Categories: Volunteerism

Savannah Newton Head ShotLearning Ally volunteer, professional voice-over artist, and guest blogger Savannah Newton shares her story about growing up dyslexic and finding her abilities.


For me recording my very first audiobook meant the world to me. Something a lot of you may not know is that I am dyslexic. So, when the chance arrived to work with Learning Ally and to read about one of my favorite princesses came along, I said bring it on!

Not only did I have a chance to bring Rapunzel to life in a new and conventual way but also to give back to others who struggle with learning disabilities. Rapunzel Book CoverFor me, this was a chance to combine my passion with something that is right to my heart. You see as a child I struggled greatly with things like reading and reversals (expressly fractions.. they are still a nightmare!). Without my amazing mom and companies like Learning Ally, I would not be able to be who I am today. It is because of them that I am now an honors student and have the GPA that I do.

When I was a very small toddler, my parents actually thought I was reading at a young age. However, I just was memorizing the books by heart and then pretending to read. It has been a long road to realize that dyslexia is not a disability but an ability to see things a little bit differently than others do. It took a while to get to where I would even write on a board or read in public at all. Still to this day although my reading is better, I still struggle with spelling and reversing letters on words. People are not always the kindness people. Even today I still struggle with people who don’t always understand my challenges. For example, when I was making a card not too long ago, another student (in front of everyone) called the person who made the card "stupid." The explained how the drawing was great, but everyone would think the group was "stupid" too because of the miss spelling of the word pumpkin on my card. I have learned that people like that just don’t know and that’s ok because I know that because of my dyslexia I am strong, I am smart, and I am me. Dyslexia places me among a group of people who have been innovators of the world through their out of the box thinking such as Walt Disney, Sir Isaac Newton, and Steven Spielberg. By no means "stupid" people.

For dyslexics everywhere, please know there is nothing wrong with you. You are not stupid. You have an ability to see the world a little differently than most people. You think out of the box and be proud of that. If people say anything else, it is just because they don’t have the ability to see life that way and you have the power to make a difference just like past dyslexic influential trailblazers. It is because of their dyslexia that they accomplished the impossible. People told them otherwise, but they found that they were stronger than that and that they would change the world.

I am Savannah Newton.
I am Dyslexic; and,…
I have the ability to see the world a little differently…
and to make a change.
As Walt Disney once said, “It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.”
And that is exactly what I want to do.


Are you ready to do the impossible?

I hope that you enjoy the journey with Rapunzel, Prince Benjamin and the friends they meet along the way that just might surprise that you take you on in this fun twist on a classic Rapunzel The One with All the Hair by Wendy Mass.

Until Next Time Stay Amazing,

Savannah (& Rapunzel)


Learning Ally is a national 501(c)(3) non-profit organization that offers volunteer opportunities. Our volunteer nation has provided narration to our library of over 80,000 audiobooks and has helped students with a financial need, access services that help them succeed in school and in life by making a financial donation. Join the volunteer nation today!