How Do Audiobooks Help Learners with Learning Disabilities?

Research suggests that eighty percent of students with a learning disability have dyslexia, a language-based neurological processing difference which makes it difficult to manipulate sounds, decode words, and read text fluently. This language delay makes it difficult for students to bridge the gap from phonemic awareness development into comprehension. Audiobooks have proven to be a much-needed resource to help students with a wide range of learning disabilities to bridge the gap between decoding and comprehension.

Comprehension

Audiobooks help students comprehend text they may otherwise be unable to access. Whether it be from decoding difficulties, phonological processing issues, or even vocabulary stumbling blocks; audiobooks have proven to help countless students engage with text that a student could not read alone. Audiobooks are a much-needed companion to making sure students do not get left behind in the classroom while working on decoding/encoding skills.

Vocabulary Development

As most students progress in school, reading becomes more complex with higher level vocabulary words. While students with a learning disability like dyslexia may still be working on decoding and phonology skills, their peers are moving on to higher-level text. To help keep up with same age peers, audiobooks allow students to engage with text, building upon comprehension and expanding vocabulary that they may otherwise not be able to access.

Listening and Fluency

Fluency is the ability to read words, sentences, and paragraphs with automaticity, intonation and ultimately comprehension. For many students with a learning disability like dyslexia, without proper phonological awareness and decoding skills, their listening comprehension is much higher than their reading comprehension. With the help of audiobooks, students can rely on listening skills to help maintain fluency in grade level curriculum, materials, fiction, non-fiction, literature and more.

Motivation and Independence

For many students with a learning disability like dyslexia, reading can become laborious and anxiety-provoking. Many older students feel unable to progress without help. That’s where audiobooks can come in. No longer needing one-on-one reading assistance, audiobooks can help students gauge the same content as their peers and provide more motivation to read, listen and learn. According to a recent research study conducted with Illinois educators, 74% reported that Learning Ally audiobooks helped students with independence and reading motivation in the classroom.