Access and Achievement

A new student initiative is energizing Learning Ally’s effort to attract new volunteers and increase awareness of our services. At the forefront is Chloe Burke, a college sophomore who has dyslexia, who recently founded Project Learning Ally Gainesville at the University of Florida.

Attracting volunteers with strong subject matter expertise to narrate books from their field is an art form at Learning Ally. Case in point: 82-year old Jane Douglas pioneered the creation of music therapy programs and taught piano at the University of Georgia as well as privately. Today she is a go-to reader for our music audiobooks -- and has been volunteering at our Athens, Georgia studio for 45 years.

Look at the guest lists of Learning Ally's studios around the country and you'll discover something remarkable:  all year long, droves of acclaimed, accomplished authors visit our recording booths to bring their books to life in accessible audio format. This wave of literary volunteerism has been going on under the radar for decades. This year, we're giving a more public identity to the movement: Authors for Access. First in a series of many blog pieces to come.

“I had stopped being the outgoing, vivacious, do-it-all person. But now I’m grateful for my blindness—the catalyst to my education. Learning Ally was my window back into the world.” Graduate student in rehab counseling, mother to six grown children and mentor to a child with dyslexia: Susan Pelbath’s journey back to herself—and her far reaching gifts to others—embody the holiday spirit.

"It’s hard not to be a hovering helicopter mom when you have a kid with a learning difference," admits Mary Ann Boland, mother of 18-year old Mike Boland, a Learning Ally member who is dyslexic. As Mike prepared to start his freshman year at Rhode Island School of Design, Mary Ann sat down with us to recall the downs and ups of dyslexia in the family. Note: story is updated with video.