Facebook Instagram Twist
How are you connected to Learning Ally’s mission? Niranjani Radhakrishnan, also known as Jani Rad, discovered a deep personal connection to Learning Ally ten years after being introduced to the organization.
For Jani Rad, summers as a child were often spent at her mother’s work in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. While her mother was working, Rad would spend time in a small recording studio just around the corner from her office. A recording studio, you ask? Yes, young Rad was a volunteer narrator for the Learning Ally Oak Ridge recording studio, better known as Recording for the Blind and Dyslexic (RFBD) at the time. Rad recalls days of racing to the studio, throwing on her headphones, and bringing her stories’ characters to life. Now, ten years later, Rad returns to Learning Ally and her mic with a new discovery about herself.
During high-school, Rad was an avid learner who performed well-academically. However, for as long as she could remember, Rad struggled with test taking. While taking a standardized test, Rad recalls being unable to comprehend the questions in front of her. Rad said: “It’s as if I was reading words in English but the words together in a sentence had no meaning to me.” The overwhelming stress associated with test-taking and the sounds of students scribbling on pages around her had Rad thinking: If I just read this five more times slowly, maybe I’ll understand the sentence. Unknowing the cause of her troubles, the problem persisted throughout college.
It was not until after Rad graduated college that she found what was causing her reading difficulties. While working as a trainer at her alma mater, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Rad was responsible for compiling health, wellness, and accessibility resources for students. Intrigued by what she was learning from the resources, Rad explained her personal challenges with reading comprehension to the Director of the Office Of Accessibility Resources. After asking a few questions and a couple tests later, the two discovered that Rad had dyslexia.
Fast forward a few years later, Rad’s journey came full circle when she rediscovered Learning Ally by chance under its new name. Rad has since returned to volunteer, with a newfound discovery that ties her closer to Learning Ally than she ever imagined.
Today, Rad is sharing her story with the world in hopes to empower others to share their own stories. Rad is a professional speaker, activist, storyteller, trainer, and facilitator of a variety of topics. She even has her own podcast, What’s On Your Mind? In the episode titled "DEF-IN-ET-LY," Rad discusses her experience with dyslexia, the interrelationship between learning differences and mental health, and her unique connection to Learning Ally. You can listen to the episode here. To learn more about Rad’s passion projects and to follow her journey, visit the Jani Rad website.
October is a special month for us at Learning Ally...it's blindness and dyslexia awareness month! This is a time when non-profit organizations like ours call upon the public to take time to learn more about these disabilities and what we all can do to help. Even if you're already volunteering and donating to Learning Ally, there are often resolutions or amendments regarding education and disability that appear as questions on your ballots. Educate yourselves today and you can show your support for disabled people when you submit your absentee ballot or head to the voting booths next month.
Speaking of learning more…in partnership with EdWeb, Learning Ally is hosting special webinar this week: Empowering Learners with Dyslexia to Acquire and Utilize Their Digital Voices. This webinar is a perfect way to kick off Dyslexia month, so join us on Thursday, October 8th, at 3:00 pm EDT to learn more about how using technology gives students with dyslexia greater confidence. Register today!
We all know that Learning Ally's mission is to help students overcome the academic challenges of reading disabilities, but how much do you know about those learning challenges? Our interactive online quiz is a great way to test your knowledge and learn more about these important issues.
Follow this link to take the quiz!
For decades (centuries?) students with disabilities struggled in programs of higher-learning. They faced challenges much greater than their peers. Even 50 years after disabled people first won their rights to equitable access and accommodation, and 30 years after the passage of the Americans with Disabilities Act, disabled students are still underserved by college programs. Learning Ally's College Success Program helps students and their schools lighten the load that our blind and visually impaired students face. CSP provides mentorship and support to keep students informed of their rights. We deliver proven strategies for these students to self-advocate and stand up for what they deserve. Even more importantly, our CSP program seeks to educate teachers and administration, so they can be prepared to meet the needs of disabled people before they attend the school. In a truly fair system of education, our students won't need to do the additional work of advocacy - the schools will know what they need and be ready for them.
Our upcoming Volunteer Nation Live! Webinar will introduce you to some of our CSP mentors, and the work they do to support these wonderful efforts. Please join us for this online event. Scheduling details and an invitation to registration will be posted soon.
Are you on Instagram? Follow the Learning Ally Instagram account to say current with Learning Ally and enjoy stories of our volunteers, programs, and audio books. Follow Learning Ally.
Ileana B., Sindhu M., Bess S., John H., Derria M., Robyn W., Amy T., Darrell J., J H., Ruth H., Cynthia J., Chyanne W., Deirdre S., Sharon P., Bjorn P., Cindy P., Don K., Monifa L., Keane D., Percy H., Sabrina M., Anna W., Terri N., Udeme A., Lynne N., Durga K., Ashisha B.