Dear Access Indians,
Most of us might aware of Recording for Blind and Dyslexic (RFB&D),
and it has officially changed its name to Learning Ally. Information
follows.
Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic - Learning Ally For Blind Students
Recording for the Blind & Dyslexic (RFB&D), a 63-year old nonprofit
organization serving over 300,000 individuals across the U.S. with
learning differences and reading disabilities, announced that it has
officially changed its name to Learning Ally™- effective April 11,
2011.
The new name is accompanied by a tagline – Making reading accessible
for all™ – and was selected after months of research and focus groups
were conducted with hundreds of RFB&D student members, parents,
volunteers, education professionals and other stakeholders.
“Changing the name of a long-established national institution such as
RFB&D is not something we entered into lightly,” says Andrew Friedman,
Learning Ally’s President and CEO. “Our members themselves were the
key driver of this transformation. For one thing, our mix of users
today includes individuals with diverse learning differences that are
outside the scope of our former name.
“Most important of all,” adds Friedman, “our members have expressed
loud and clear that they don’t wish to be labeled or typecast with a
specific ‘disability.’ They just want the same opportunities to
succeed that others enjoy. Our new name goes to the heart of
supporting their desire to learn and achieve.”
Background: Recording for the Blind was founded in 1948, with a
mission to provide equal access to the printed word for veterans and
others with blindness and visual impairment. Early volunteers recorded
textbooks onto vinyl discs and tape reels. During the 1990s, RFB
extended its mission to include access for people with dyslexia and
learning disabilities, and changed its name to RFB&D. As its library
grew to become the largest of its kind in the world, RFB&D made
audiobooks accessible on cassettes, CDs and downloadable formats with
extensive navigation capabilities for students with reading
disabilities. Users accessed their books with specialized assistive
technology devices from a variety of vendors.
In 2010, RFB&D embraced the latest mainstream technology, making its
content accessible on Mac and Windows computers for users at home or
in school. And in February 2011, a new application was released
enabling its entire library of downloadable audiobooks to be played on
Apple iOS devices including the iPhone, iPad and iPod touch. All of
this is good news for the widening base of students, parents, teachers
and schools that Learning Ally serves.
“We truly cherish the values of our founders and stand on the solid
foundation built by countless RFB&D volunteers and donors,” says
Andrew Friedman. Today we recognize that as many as one in five
individuals learn differently. Now as Learning Ally, we continue to
support our blind and dyslexic members, while positioning the
organization to be even more inclusive – as an advocate and friend to
people for whom access and reading are barriers to learning.”
About Learning Ally™
Founded in 1948 as Recording for the Blind, Learning Ally serves more
than 300,000 K-12, college and graduate students, as well as veterans
and lifelong learners – all of whom cannot read standard print due to
blindness, visual impairment, dyslexia, or other learning
disabilities. Learning Ally’s collection of more than 65,000 digitally
recorded textbooks and literature titles – delivered through internet
downloads and various assistive technology devices – is the largest of
its kind in the world. More than 6,000 volunteers across the U.S. help
to record and process the educational materials, which students rely
on to achieve academic and professional success. Learning Ally, a
501(c)3 nonprofit, is funded by grants from the U.S. Department of
Education, state and local education programs, and the generous
contributions of individuals, foundations and corporations. For more
information, call (866) 732-3585 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting
(866) 732-3585 end_of_the_skype_highlighting or visit
http://www.LearningAlly.org
Thank You.
Your's Sathiya.
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