Audiobooks
In her book Overcoming Dyslexia (2003), Dr. Sally Shaywitz cites a dyslexic student when she says, "What it means when you can't read for yourself is that you have to totally rely on your parents and your friends who do it at their convenience" (p. 320). Dr. Shaywitz goes on to discuss how audiobooks allow individuals to participate in courses of study at their level of understanding and not be held back by their slow reading rate. Audiobooks allow one to grow their vocabulary by introducing them to words that their limited reading ability may inhibit them from encountering. Another important piece about audiobooks is that "listening and following along improves reading itself and allows a student to actively dig into his reading by underlining, taking notes, and highlighting--important reinforcement activities that were not even considered when he was totally focused on deciphering the words on the page" (Shaywitz, 2003, p. 320).
In his new book, The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan: A Blueprint for Renewing Your Child's Confidence and Love of Learning (2013), Ben Foss discusses the difference between eye reading and ear reading. He, too, discusses the value of audiobooks.
Below are a few audiobook resources.
10 Sites to Download Free Audio Books
In case you missed the last "What's New" piece, check out the book The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan: A Blueprint for Renewing Your Child's Confidence and Love of Learning by Ben Foss. Ben also has great tools on his nonprofit website Headstrong Nation. Another interesting piece worth looking at is What Dyslexia Looks Like in My Brain. I encourage you to read the very short piece titled Ben's "Native Tongue."