Reading challenges are a common occurrence in the Gutierrez household in Redwood City, California. Mrs. Judie Gutierrez loves to read and likes to challenge her twelve-year-old daughter, Laura, who was diagnosed with dyslexia, a learning disability, in third grade.
Several times a month, this mother-daughter duo challenge each other to make reading fun and interesting by visiting their public library and local bookstores to find titles worthy of discussion.
“Story time is sacred,” says Judie, a Ph.D., busy mom, scientist, and president of the Redwood City Education Foundation. “We like the sport of reading, and you can learn a lot about your child this way.”
As a young girl, Laura enjoyed listening to her mom read, but did not enjoy reading by herself. As time went on, Laura almost hated to read. “I always felt on the offensive trying to help my daughter cope with a lot of frustration,” says Judie. “A Bookshare Individual Membership changed this feeling of hopelessness.” Laura says, “For the first time, I’m doing better in school. Bookshare has helped me to read on my own and enjoy reading. ”
At a recent Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting at Laura’s school, Judie was thrilled with her daughter’s academic progress in English and language arts. This chart highlights her progress from 2012 to 2015.
Judie said, “Laura’s comprehension and fluency skills have steadily increased. Her teachers say that she is well on her way to reading at grade level. We also noticed that the extra academic support she needed in English has decreased. This is, in part, due to her use of an iPad with Bookshare’s Read2Go app and the accessible library.”
The Gutierrez family notes that Laura now appreciates the freedom and flexibility she has to read on her own. “Using my iPad, I can watch word highlighting on the screen and listen to text-to-speech,” says Laura. This multi-modal process of seeing and hearing text can help readers with dyslexia to maintain a steady pace and comprehend more of a story.
At bookstores, Laura’s mom often purchases a book for her daughters, and then Laura downloads the accessible format from Bookshare. “The act of shopping for a book is cool to my daughters,” she said. “It’s a fun and grown-up thing to do. We all benefit.” In one month, Laura may read eight to ten books, including titles her mother has selected for her, such as Two Old Women, a native Alaskan folktale by Velma Wallis. “She loved this book,” says Judie. “I also select classics, like Call of the Wild and Little House on the Prairie, to push her reading boundaries.”
Laura also likes to read at bedtime, a nightly ritual, and with her younger sister. Her favorite books are about mermaids, superheroes, and dog breeds. Here is a list of books she has read:
- Shelter Dogs – Amazing Stories of Adopted Strays by Peg Kehret
- Island of the Blue Dolphins by Scott O’Dell
- My Little Pony books by various authors
- Sounder by William H. Armstrong
- Bud, not Buddy by Christopher Paul Curtis
Prior to Bookshare, Laura wanted nothing to do with reading, visiting the library, or going to the neighborhood Barnes & Noble. Now, she loves to read, has a virtual stack of books in her My Bookshare reading list, and comes alive in a library or bookstore. “Laura has had tremendous success with Bookshare,” adds Judie. “The resource has made a huge difference – not only in her ability to read and keep up academically – but in her exploration of titles on grade level and pursuit of her own interests. My daughter’s transformation is truly one of the most beautiful things I’ve ever seen. Thank you, Bookshare, for all of your hard work and dedication to helping children with dyslexia and other print disabilities benefit from your library. I hope our reading challenge will spark other families to take the initiative.”
Do you know a student like Laura who faces a reading challenge with dread? Bookshare can help! Bookshare is the world’s largest online library of accessible ebooks for people with print disabilities and is FREE to all qualifying U.S. students. Find out if your student qualifies for Bookshare.
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