When I was a little girl, I struggled with words and numbers. I vividly remember being in second grade and the teacher asking us to turn to a specific page number. It would take me a long time to do it because I couldn’t recognize the numbers on the page. Reading was also difficult at times; it always seemed like the words would shift around even as I was looking at them.
Thankfully, with separate, dedicated tutoring, I was able to conquer reading and have even made a career as a professional storyteller/writer. But even at forty years old, I still have a difficult time reading words off the page accurately. So much for my career as an audiobook narrator!
According to The Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity, dyslexia is defined as an “unexpected difficulty in reading in an individual who has the intelligence to be a much better reader.” It is also much more prevalent than one might expect — it represents 80 to 90 percent of all those with learning disabilities and roughly 20 percent of the US population. According to The British Dyslexia Association, 60 percent of those with dyslexia also struggle with math because “the lack of firm foundation skills can affect the learning of new skills.”
Since 1987, Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month has been celebrated annually in March. This year, the theme is “A World of Opportunities,” working together to remove obstacles so everyone can thrive. Audiobooks can do great work when it comes to helping children overcome challenges faced with a dyslexia diagnosis or show warning signs of possible dyslexia.
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