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Another Route to Reading

Categories: dyslexia, Education & Teaching, Teacher Best Practices

Blog Author: Lindsey Gervais

middle school boy writingMost students who struggle with their reading also do not feel as though they are in control of their learning experience. Unfortunately, when students do not feel as though they can self-regulate through their learning, their ability to envision what is possible tends to falter. The opposite is true of students who feel confident and in control of their learning. At a school in Seymour, Indiana, we see this of students who struggle to get over that hump.

Meet Sarah Bumbleburg, a Special Education Coordinator at Trinity Lutheran High School, who believed that after having Learning Ally for 11 years as site-wide option, the multisensory Learning Ally reading experience was an effective alternative route to reading that students who struggled with reading due to dyslexia needed. Learning Ally enabled these students to become independent readers in a general education class. Bumbleburg saw first-hand that this assistive reading technology “allowed students to feel in control of their learning.” As a result, they can feel their own success and learn the same information their peers are learning.

Student Spotlight:

Imagine a technology so impactful and impressionable on a student that it empowered them to approach an advanced level course. Bumbleburg described a student on a CSEP (Choice Student Education Plan) who used Learning Ally as a junior, and despite some inconsistencies in his work ethic, wanted to give AP-level English a try. Upon starting the class, Bumbleburg says, “he was adamant about using Learning Ally and wanted to use it on a daily basis once heavy reading was required”. This student had gained so much confidence from Learning Ally, that he was able to take control of his learning and knew what he needed to succeed. He was able to keep up with his advanced level course, and further demonstrated that with Learning Ally, dyslexia is not a matter of lacking intelligence; it is about traveling an alternative route to literacy with the same confidence as other students in general education and advanced level classes.

This profound case was a common instance at Trinity Lutheran H.S, where students were using Learning Ally to access content for an enhanced reading experience, and then proceeded to help others understand as they were now able to. In almost every other use case with Learning Ally, as students gained confidence, the more initiative they took in their learning. This speaks to the unquestionable impact that equitable access for students who are dyslexic in a general education class can have on reading development.


Support Your Students with Reading Deficits with the Learning Ally Audiobook Solution

The Learning Ally Audiobook Solution is a multi-sensory reading accommodation that levels the playing field for students who struggle to read due to a reading deficit, providing them the opportunity achieve in school and in life. Gaining access to the books they want to read—and the books they need to read—in an easy-to-absorb format can be a game changer. Sign up for a demo or get more information today to experience the satisfaction of seeing students who have never before experienced reading success blossom, with improved grades, higher test scores and increased confidence and self-esteem.


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