< Back

Rethinking Dyslexia at the National Press Club

Categories: Press Releases

WASHINGTON, DC – On Saturday, April 27, Learning Ally will host a free exclusive screening of the HBO documentary The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia, directed by James Redford, followed by a family-oriented panel discussion with cast members, parents and dyslexia experts. The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia provides personal accounts from children, parents, experts and iconic leaders about the dyslexic experience that affects one in five Americans.  Testimony from Sir Richard Branson, Charles Schwab, Gavin Newsom, and David Boies confirm what the children and their families suggest: that dyslexia is as much a gift as a challenge. A rich panel discussion after the film will bring audience members face to face with individuals who have overcome dyslexia and achieved success in school and the workplace. Participants will include movie cast members Skye Lucas, a dyslexic teen student; her mother Geralyn Lucas; and her father, Tyler Lucas, a New York-based surgeon who is dyslexic; along with Kettner Griswold, a Maryland-based rocket scientist who is dyslexic; three of Learning Ally’s National Achievement Award-winning dyslexic students, Jack Greene, Nathan Bouldin, and Keith Amundsen; and Deborah Lynam, a founder of the Decoding Dyslexia movement.

A similar film screening and panel took place this past January at Princeton University (pictured above), drawing overflow crowds in two auditoriums. The April 27 panel discussion in Washington will be moderated by Gordon Sherman and Deardra Rosenberg, co-founders of The New Grange School & Education Center, a nonprofit educational institution providing learning opportunities to students with dyslexia and learning differences. Gordon and Deardra bring over 30 years of dyslexia expertise to the conversation. When:    April 27, 2013; 9 a.m. to Noon Where:  National Press Club, 529 14th Street NW, Washington, DC Admission is free; media and the public are welcome to attend: 9 a.m.   Registration at the National Press Club 10 a.m. Screening of “The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia” (51 minutes) 11 a.m. Panel discussion RSVP at www.LearningAlly.org/NAArsvp or call 855-793-5920. Please forward questions for panelists and interview requests to DSprei@LearningAlly.org or call 609-243-5865. About Learning Ally Founded in 1948 as Recording for the Blind, Learning Ally serves over 300,000 K-12, college and graduate students, as well as veterans and lifelong learners – all of whom cannot read standard print due to blindness, visual impairment, dyslexia, or other learning and physical disabilities. Learning Ally’s collection of more than 75,000 digitally recorded human-read textbooks and literature titles is delivered through internet downloads, assistive technology devices, and mainstream devices like iPhone and iPad, and is the largest of its kind in the world. Thousands of volunteers across the U.S. help to record and process the educational materials, which students rely on to achieve academic and professional success. Learning Ally’s audiobook production studio in Washington, DC was founded in 1976 and is supported by 350 accomplished volunteers from diverse academic and professional backgrounds. As a 501(c)3 nonprofit, Learning Ally is partially funded by grants from state and local education programs, and the generous contributions of individuals, foundations and corporations. For more information, visit www.LearningAlly.org.