Dyslexic San Marcos CISD students take field trip to audiobook studio

KVUE Austin - More than 50 San Marcos CISD students took a field trip to Learning Ally Studios in Austin to see how audiobooks are recorded, and to talk about what's important to them and what they like to read. "I'm dyslexic, so it's harder for me to read than others," said 10-year-old Gus Dupont. Dupont uses audio books to help him keep up with his peers. "Now I can listen to them and it's a lot easier," he said. All the students on the field trip have dyslexia, and each one got the chance to go into an audio booth on their own and read their story. The studio then gave each student their audiobook on a thumb drive. "To actually have them do the process of hearing themselves, having that feedback and hearing that audio back to them was just amazing," said Nelda Reyes, a dyslexia teacher with San Marcos CISD. "I literally was in tears because I feel like this is giving kids with disabilities a voice." The students won a contest called "The Great Reading Games," beating other schools across the nation by using audio books to read more than 146,000 pages. It was a challenge the kids couldn't wait to tackle. "They love reading, once they get involved with Learning Ally," said spokeswoman Jenny Falke. "Once they start using our audio books it opens up this world for them." A world they can't wait to hear more about, and add their stories to as well. "You talk about self-esteem," said Reyes. "That just boosted their confidence and that's what Learning Ally provided for these kids." Learning Ally is always looking for help to record the many books these kids and others with learning disabilities depend on. Go here for more information.