![The Expansive Life of IBM’s Thomas Watson, Jr [Premium]](https://www.dyslexicadvantage.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/The-Expansive-LIfe-of-Tom-Watson-400x250.jpg.webp)
"Would you like me to give you a formula for success? It's quite simple, really. Double your rate of failure." — Thomas Watson, Jr. Recently, I had the chance to interview Tom Watson Jr's grandson, Ralph Watson McElvenny and his co-author Marc Wortman. Tom...
Krista’s 3-book series, Everyday Adventures with Molly and Dyslexia is now available in bookstores and online shops! These books are a wonderful way to talk to young children about dyslexia, the importance of self-advocacy, self-acceptance, and discovery of dyslexic strengths. REGISTER FOR KRISTA’S BOOK GIVEAWAY HERE These books can also be a wonderful addition to the classroom. Krista’s first book, Molly’s Great Discovery, follows Molly as she learns about her learning difference and trouble she is having with reading aloud or spelling tests and getting her ideas down on paper. At first, worried to ask for help, she gains confidence, then comes to understand her unique differences as well as that other children may have differences on the outside and inside as well. […]
UC Irvine Professor Roxanne Varzi is a creative anthropologist, filmmaker, and mystery author. She shared her dyslexia journey in a previous interview HERE. In my interview below, I learned that Roxanne was drawn to the field of cultural anthropology by its multidisciplinary nature. In order to explore ideas and different perspectives, Roxanne uses ethnographic texts, film, fiction, and plays. In this way she is able to break out of the research paper academic tradition and engage with a wider segment of society. In her mystery book, the main protagonist is a whipsmart anthropology graduate student who is also dyslexic with ADHD. She pieces together a murder mystery in the Rockies in a story that also includes the brilliant dyslexic paleontologist Jack Horner! Clicking on the […]
Last week, Brock and I gave a presentation on the Strengths of Dyslexia at the Randall Library in Stow, Massachusetts via Zoom. Tina McAndrew, director of the Randall Library, got the idea to apply for a grant from the American Libraries Association after speaking to Scott Cummings, a library patron who was amazed by the audio and other resources available after he contacted her. One of the first audiobooks he listened to with the Libby App was our book, The Dyslexic Advantage. Imagine how positive dyslexia awareness could be transformed if every library had a strengths-focused dyslexia event! Although libraries in many ways are an ideal place to spread dyslexia awareness (they have many free educational and community resources, many have free tutoring programs), many […]
With AI, artificial voices for book reading are getting better. People who struggled with electronic voices in the past, may find themselves pleasantly surprised as AI-voices develop more natural voice pauses and even emotional tones that make listening more enjoyable and easier to keep in mind. The latest addition to free AI-read audiobooks include thousands of books in Project Gutenberg’s Open Audiobook Collection thanks to Project Gutenberg, Microsoft, and MIT. You can listen to the books on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and Google Podcasts. If you’re new to electronic voices, check these out – they’re quite good. One of the benefits of getting used to these voices is that they’re very predictable once you get used to them (compared to human readers) and then it […]
“Audio books, turned out to be the most powerful tool I had in my toolkit.” – Yvonna Graham, MEd., author Dyslexia Toolkit Despite the widespread availability of text-to-speech and audiobooks, it’s only a small percentage of people who discover and use these tools. Parents and teachers may feel ambivalent about the use of audiobooks, especially if they believe that students need to practice reading, but the downside of withholding audiobooks or assistive technology in general is that they may deny individuals a tool that could really accelerate their reading progress. Recently, I sat down with author and dyslexia tutor Yvonna Graham to learn how she uses audiobooks and how they can accelerate reading progress rather than hamper it. Audiobooks are not a replacement for […]
If you or your student haven’t tried audiobooks or e-books, summer is a great time. You can get a public library card for free, and have access to thousands of e-books, audiobooks, comics and graphic novels, and movies and magazines from the convenience of your desktop or digital device. Many libraries may even have free 1:1 tutoring and language lab for foreign or English Language Learners. Some schools also have institutional subscriptions for online book services that families can use for free. Contact your teacher or tech support at school to see what additional goodies you may qualify for before school dismisses for the summer. Remember, too, that students with dyslexia or other print disability qualify for free e-books from Bookshare. First, I want […]
Our updated 2023 version of The Dyslexic Advantage is available in audiobook from places like Amazon / Audible, and Brock and I enjoyed hearing Tristan’s narration, so we reached out to him for this interview. Brock listens to books at a high speed of playback and he was happy to discover that Tristan’s reading does well at all speeds! Tristan has a prolific career as an audiobook reader, you can learn more at his site: www.tristanmorrisvoiceover.com/ and he even does a wide range of voices depending on what is needed for a book. Wow- what a wide ranging conversation we had! I was interested in talking to him for a variety of reason – first to learn more about the person behind the voice, but […]
“From the time I was six, I thought I was stupid. Although I talked well — and a lot — and articulated my thoughts fluidly enough that some folks swore one day I’d become a lawyer or a public speaker, it was all a facade. I couldn’t comprehend what I was reading, a deficit that my oratory skills only served to hide. It got worse each year, stunting my ability and willingness to grow intellectually. Before long, I was in the second grade but reading at a first-grade level. Then I was in the third grade — still at a first-grade reading level.” Stephen A. Smith, one of the country’s most popular sports commentators at ESPN, has a new autobiography called Straight Shooter. In the […]
* MIND is an acronym from the first edition of Dyslexic Advantage. It stands for Material Reasoning, Interconnected Reasoning, Narrative Reasoning, and Dynamic Reasoning. Q: It's been 11 years since the first edition of The Dyslexic Advantage was published. Why is it...
Recently, we were contacted by a member of this community, Preston Ausbrook, who told us that she has been making The Daily Thinker quote calendars for family and friends since 2018. She asked if she could now donate all profits to Dyslexic Advantage! We were very touched and said yes! They are now for sale in her newly created Etsy store HERE. Preston said the idea for the calendars came from her dad who was a writer had a love of “all things literary” and was able to recall quotes from all different books. Preston said she never became a writer, but loved collecting other people’s words. When she had her own child, she would buy little quote calendars, and they had a regular routine […]
If you’re hoping to find ways to get your students reading independently for fun this summer, check out some of the wonderful resources available through Storyline Online and Learning Ally. STORYLINE ONLINE First, Storyline Online: It’s a free resource where famous actresses and actors read popular storybooks online with simple animations from picture books. The videos can be played through Youtube, Vimeo or SchoolTube. Some teachers use the channel for “reading center” activities because the lengths (10-20 minutes long) fit in well with this. At home, a site like this can be used with newly independent readers; they can preview books, then have a go reading it entirely on their own.
There’s a wide array of books that have been read, some […]
