Help Kids with Learning Disabilities

Want to join me in making a difference?

My name is Alex Leinbach and I humbly ask you to support this crowdfunding effort to help underserved schoolchildren who suffer from dyslexia and other learning disabilities. 100% of the funds raised here will go directly to purchase iPads for children who require help reading, comprehending, and completing school assignments.

I was diagnosed with severe dyslexia at a very young age and during my formative years I struggled to read. While other kids transitioned from “learning to read” to “reading to learn”, I could not get the information off the page and into my head. I risked falling behind. I was fortunate to have support during these difficult years but it was not until I began using an iPad to assist me, that I felt hopeful that I would eventually become a reader.

According to the Yale Center for Dyslexia and Creativity, dyslexia effects 20 percent of the population and represents 80– 90 percent of all those with learning disabilities. Scientific research shows differences in brain connectivity between dyslexic and typical reading children, providing a neurological basis for why reading fluently is a struggle for those with dyslexia. People with dyslexia have trouble matching the letters they see on the page with the sounds those letters and combinations of letters make. And when children have trouble with that first step, reading, comprehension and learning become next to impossible.

Dyslexia has wide ranging adverse effects on school children. Children who struggle to read fluently have difficulty spelling and there are barriers to learning all subjects. These children often do not understand why learning is more difficult for them which leads to anxiety, depression, and bad behavior. However, the Yale Center also makes the point that these difficulties have no connection to a child’s overall intelligence. In fact, empirical studies have shown dyslexic children have the intelligence and to be competent readers. While people with dyslexia are slow readers, they often, paradoxically, are very fast and creative thinkers with strong reasoning abilities.

There is no cure for dyslexia. It is a lifelong condition. But with the right support, dyslexic individuals can become highly successful students and adults. In my case, being able to read and comprehend written material with the aid of an iPad made all the difference. In class and while others were reading, I would quietly follow along while my iPad read the material to me. All coursebooks can be downloaded for free onto tablets and these materials can be audibly read to students. If headphones are used, the books can be read during class, study sessions and during tests while not interfering with other students. I am still learning coping mechanisms to lessen the challenges poised by dyslexia. Being able to utilize an iPad helped me more than any other aid. With your help, I would like to provide as many iPads as possible with underserved children in elementary and middle school.

I am partnering with Step Up Tutoring, a California-based 501(c)3 nonprofit that provides virtual, high-impact tutoring and mentorship to elementary school students in underserved communities. Step Up recruits, trains, and supports mission-driven high-value tutors to provide individualized academic support and boost habits of success. Step Up partners with 59 schools across 5 school districts, including LAUSD, and they offer in-school, after-school, and at-home tutoring. They provide technology to their partner schools to use as needed to support learning for their students.

All funds raised here will be used to purchase iPads that will be donated to Step Up Tutoring, who will provide them to KIPP SoCal, a charter school that partners with Step Up. KIPP SoCal, serves 15 schools in the Los Angeles metropolitan area and 90 percent of KIPP SoCal students are from low-income households. My goal is to raise $10,000.00 which will purchase many iPads for students who could not otherwise afford these devices.

Over the years, I have tried dozens of aids, tutoring and learning methods all aimed at helping me overcome dyslexia and learn to read. The most successful method for me was reading with the aid of an iPad downloaded with my textbooks and other coarse materials. Please help me provide iPads to those in need. I know it will make a meaningful difference in the lives of young students suffering from dyslexia. Together, we can effect positive change.

Thank you for your support, Alex Leinbach