technology

We don’t build fighter plane cockpits for the average pilot. Why do we build schools this way?

High school dropout turned Harvard faculty Todd Rose talks about how to nurture individual potential.

Watch here or visit Tedx.

Brett Kopf is the CEO and co-founder of Remind 101, a communications solution for teachers, students, and parents. He shares his journey with The Next Web on becoming a successful dyslexic entrepreneur below. If you've got 4 minutes, it's definitely worth a listen.

Read the printed article here.

Pomona College student in Cognitive Sciences, Melissa was named America's Top Young Scientist by Discovery 3M, in addition to receiving the Smart Kids with LD Youth Achievement Award and Buick Achievers Scholarship ($25,000 per year for college). Melissa also designed and co-organized Summer Science Camp for Girls which is now in its 3rd year.

Headstrong FAQs

GENERAL

I am looking for information about dyslexia.

The Headstrong Nation website has a lot of information about how to be an empowered dyslexic and how to advocate for yourself. However, if you are looking for in-depth information, research, and policy about dyslexia, please visit our good friends at NCLD / Understood

I would like to start a local support group.

Wonderful news. The more we can grow the community, the better. We are not at this time creating local Headstrong Nation chapters, but we believe in the power of individuals to make change in their community. Here are a couple of ideas for how to reach out and empower your local community.

• If you are a parent of a dyslexic child, check out Decoding Dyslexia for a list of state chapters and for guidance on how to start a chapter in a new state. Decoding Dyslexia is a grassroots movement driven by families concerned with the limited access to educational interventions for dyslexia. They have great resources for how to connect and build community wherever you are, and have already set up local chapters in 35 states ( now 48 states and 3 Canadian provinces) (and growing).
• Visit the Local Resources section of our website to find out about information that may be relevant to your group’s interests.
• Look into whether there might be a Eye to Eye chapter near you. Eye to Eye provides mentoring for elementary school students by college students and see if you can get involved.

I want to know more about accommodations and working with my school.

Check out the For Parents section of our website and go through all the information presented in sub-sections (Learn the Facts, Classroom accommodations, Tools).

I want to help other dyslexics through mentorship, advocacy, educational programs, etc.

Wonderful. There are a number of organizations that are looking for people like yourself. Visit our Partners page for a list of organizations that work with dyslexic communities across the country.

HEADSTRONG NATION

I want to donate to Headstrong Nation.

Great to hear! Every donation we receive will allow us to scale our support of the dyslexic community. Visit Just Give or Razoo to make a tax-deductible donation.

I am interested in sharing resources or partnering with Headstrong Nation in some way.

Please message us privately through our Facebook page and we will do our best to respond.

BEN FOSS & THE DYSLEXIA EMPOWERMENT PLAN

I am reading The Dyslexia Empowerment Plan. Where do I find the Strengths & Attitudes Assessments?

Both of the Assessments are printed in the book. If you are ear-reading and bought the CD version of the book, the assessments and other supplemental materials are on the disc itself. You can also access them on our site. If you are a parent of a dyslexic, go here. If you are an adult dyslexic, go here.

Remember to register before you you take the assessment so you can save your or your child’s Star for future reference. If you are looking for other resources that are mentioned in the book, please visit the For Adults section or the For Parents section of the site and look at the Workplace or Classroom Accommodation sections, and the Tools sections.

I am interested in having Ben Foss speak at my school, company or at a community event.

Please contact the Random House Speakers Bureau (RHSB) or email Linda Barnes (lbarnes@randomhouse.com) at RHSB directly. She will be able to work with you on a budget and timeframe.

I have a press or media related inquiry for Ben Foss.

Please reach out to Steve Boriack (sboriack@randomhouse.com), who is on the Random House PR team.

How do I follow Ben Foss?

You can follow Ben on his Facebook page and through Twitter. Ben also manages his own site, where he will post information about the book, his readings and other events. Visit www.benfoss.com.

I want to buy the Intel Reader.

The Intel Reader is coming to the end of its 4 year life and is being discontinued. There are a few sites still selling it and, consequently, prices are pretty high. The best option at this point may be to find an alternative. Check out the Classroom Accommodations section of the site and look at "Taking Notes The Easy Way" for our recommendations.

[Image licensed under creative commons]

"As a dyslexic person, reading is like having a bad cell phone connection to a page. Information drops out, and I can’t access the content. When I listen to a book on tape or a talking computer, it’s like having a landline. Mainstream readers “eye read”; people who are blind and use Braille “finger read”; I “ear read.”

When I was a kid, I desperately wanted to understand the joy of reading. This desire quickly turned into a deep sense of shame. I assumed my slow eye reading must have been my fault for not trying hard enough—rather than the problem being a flaw in the design of the book itself. I created elaborate camouflage—I even won a local bookmark-making contest! I wanted everyone to think I was “well read,” but all of my energy was going into hiding who I really was. For the first time in my life, I officially love books. That’s because today, I published one. It’s a step-by-step plan to help parents of kids who are dyslexic like me find the path that will allow their children to love books, too. For someone who always felt left out when others began discussing literature, this is a profound moment."

Read the rest of Headstrong Nation founder, Ben Foss's Dyslexia Insight #3: What It Takes for a Dyslexic Kid to Love Books from the NCLD.

Imagine that you are standing inside a soundproof studio facing a three hundred and forty page book. Your assignment, should you choose to accept it, is to read this book aloud—clearly and confidently—with no mistakes, while you are watched and recorded.

This was Headstrong Nation founder Ben Foss's task as he set out to make an audio recording for his book. As you can imagine, he encountered a few challenges. Here's a quick peek inside the process of making an audio book, dyslexic-style.