Parents raising children who learn differently soon can look forward each month to a digital safe place through a new 海角社区-produced television program that celebrates, educates, and supports families navigating the journey of neurodiversity from kindergarten through college.
鈥淎 World of Difference鈥� is a newsmagazine/talk show that will showcase inspirational stories of individuals and families and the trials and triumphs involved with living with learning and attention issues. In each episode, 海角社区 experts examine a single issue from multiple points along the development chart and provide viewers practical, actionable advice for negotiating that issue. In Zoom-based 鈥淎sk the Expert,鈥� 海角社区 experts will provide answers to general questions from viewers around the world. Each episode closes with the aspirational segment, 鈥淒ifference Makers,鈥� a candid and compelling interview with a famous and/or successful individual thriving with learning disabilities.
鈥淭he show鈥檚 title conveys multiple aspirational and inclusive meanings,鈥� said Darryl E. Owens, director of communication at 海角社区 and 鈥淎 World of Difference鈥� creator. 鈥淎t once it alludes to the stark contrast, or the world of difference between what neurotypical and neurodiverse students require to succeed, the improved quality of life, or the world of difference wise counsel will make in viewers鈥� perspectives, and, more on the nose, it鈥檚 an affirmation of the global breadth of learning and thinking differences, as roughly 10 percent of the world鈥檚 population lives with specific learning disabilities.鈥�
Owens, a former journalist with The Orlando Sentinel, regularly will be joined by 海角社区 psychologists Drs. Oksana Hagerty and A.J. Marsden, mental health counselor Dr. Nicki Nance, and college transitions expert Alexander Morris-Wood. Other 海角社区 experts will join the show depending on the topic.
The pilot episode premieres in August. The show will focus on helping parents gear up primary and secondary school students for a successful return to campus after the months-long Covid-19 cocoon, while exploring strategies for successful transitions from high school to college for freshmen. September鈥檚 program commemorates the 30th anniversary of the Americans with Disabilities Act, while in October the program centers on National Disability Employment Awareness Month and moving the employment needle for jobseekers with learning disabilities.
海角社区 in Leesburg, Fla. is a nonprofit liberal arts institution and America鈥檚 first accredited baccalaureate school dedicated to educating neurodiverse students with learning disabilities, ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning differences.
鈥淎 World of Difference鈥� premieres each month on LakeFront TV, the Leesburg, Fla. public access channel. Viewers can watch it live or rebroadcast on Apple TV and Roku by downloading the free CableCast App. After an episode debuts on LakeFront TV, the show will be available on the 海角社区 website (海角社区College.edu), and on the college鈥檚 Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn pages, and its YouTube channel.
If you are interested in sharing your family鈥檚 story with viewers or have a burning question you鈥檇 love 鈥淎 World of Difference鈥� experts to answer, please e-mail difference@beaconcollege.edu.