Davis Graham's educational history and resources,
in his own words
My Early Background
I was born in
Fort Benning, Georgia
,
USA
We left
Bradenton
when I was four years old and moved to
Saudi Arabia
for four years, and then returned to
Miami
where my father went into radiology.
When we were in
Saudi Arabia
my parents became frustrated with my learning and were concerned
for me, I was tested in 1967 and was
diagnosed with Dyslexia at the
University of Miami
. I was put on Ritalin and directed to a private school for
children with learning disabilities.
My family moved back
to
Bradenton
in 1970.
I went to St. Stephens Episcopal School and became the class clown to keep people
at bay as to what was going on inside, got into trouble and was asked not to come
back. Transferred to
St. Joseph Catholic School
in 1972 where the Head master had some knowledge of dyslexia.
Then off to
Manatee High School
, class clowned again thru school, used every opportunity
to make it thru, did get my pilot license, and graduated from High School in the
top 50%.
SAT
totaled 650,
SAT
un-timed 800.
My
guidance counselor discouraged me regarding college by saying, “why would you try
for something like a college degree and not be able to finish it.”
A college degree was the only thing no one could take away from me.
I was accepted to three schools: Emory Riddle,
University of Montana
and
Westminster College
.
I decided it would be
Westminster College
.
Westminster College
accepted me under their L.D. Program, I was held back on
taking some classes. At
Westminster
I received some great tools, RFBD books on tape, dictating
papers and group therapy.
I Transferred to University of The South,
Sewanee, Tenn.
Great academic environment; I learned more about studying and wanting to learn than
in any other environment. I discovered frustration with professors not understanding
my gift of dyslexia but felt accepted.
There were several times I felt as if I did not want to go on in life, but my faith
saved me.
I Transferred to the
University of South Florida
At USF I was accepted in under the Special Services for the Handicap program. For
a year and a half I did not take all the help which was given and was academically
suspended in 1983. There was a time
I wanted to end my life during the end of this time in college, but I reached out
to Sally Jesse Rafael, who had her own radio talk show at the time, and was then
again renewed in hope.
When I received the letter of Academic Suspension, I was very depressed; however,
my strong faith in God and a lot of friends and family got me through a very tough
time.
Interesting Experiences
I worked for a night club for 2 years and was in the Movie “Cocoon” in the break-dance
scene. Was given an opportunity to be promoted, then decided to go back to school.
I applied and was accepted back at USF. In
order to get a psychology degree the Dean of Social Behavioral Sciences told me
that I would be required to make a 3.0.
So be it.
After registering for classes, I met Chris Martin; she was the administrator for
the Special Services for the Handicapped.
She asked me how my “gift” affected me; it was also the first time I was ever willing
to talk about my gift. I was asked “Well then what do you need?”
My answer was I need a note taker, my books on tape, my test given
orally and tutoring whenever needed.
3 semesters later I graduated with “a 3.0”
no more, no less. My degree was earned by grace, faith, and an ear for my compassion
and persistence.
First Job as a Graduate
Director of the
Florida
House: In 1986 I was offered a job as an intern at Florida House,
Inc. in
Washington, D.C.
The Florida
House was started by Rhea Chiles, Senator Chiles wife in 1972.
It is an Embassy of sorts for Floridians who are visiting our Nation’s Capital. In October 1986 I was offered the Director’s
position, and worked for 7 years for Mrs. Chiles.
Highlights were many, broadcasting with Willard Scott weather show on the
Today Show was one, working with the full Florida Congressional Delegation closely
for 7 years, the Clarence Thomas hearings, Iran-Contra hearings, working with the
Reagan and Bush administrations on special needs children, Walt Disney programs,
dissidents coming from the Eastern Block countries trying to get family members
to the USA, the “Iron Curtain” falling and then Desert Storm.
After 7 wonderful years it was time to move on. I joined Manatee Diagnostic Center,
Ltd. in 1993 after taking 6 months off and touring/camping/being a cowboy and writing
a book titled “In Search of the Risen Son”.
Manatee Diagnostic Center,
Ltd. is a family business; I work with my father and two other administrative personnel.
We have 70 folks who I work for and with and we together serve close to 80,000 patients
a year.
Today I’m married to
my wife Trish going on our 7th year in July; we have four children. Our oldest son is Davis Woodward, Mary Grace, Andrew James and Sarah Abigail born in
2008.
Enter Readplease/Bookshare
In 2001, while needing to read a 30+ page contract, while reading 170 words
a minute with 50% comprehension, I needed to read this contract with 98% or higher
comprehension.
The internet had come
into fruition, so I Googled “Text reading Software” and second in line was Readplease,
with “free-download” now called “freeware”.
Downloaded the software, it was so similar to my recorder controls it became a part
of my life, like an old shoe.
The contract
was read in about an hour and a half, and I have not stopped reading since.
Today in addition to
Readplease there is the Bookshare organization who has taken on the task with other
Print Disabled organizations to make copyrighted books available to the Print Disabled
public. The membership is free to all
qualifying students in the
United States
; a paid membership
is required for non-students. They
have 50K books available (and growing) to its members along with the text-to-speech
software. The Readout: Loud software
blends the internet technology and the written word in to a virtual book.
If there is a word, person, place or thing the reader does not understand
or know, then just highlight the word and you go to the World Wide Web and then
the reader can read about the unknown and make it known.
My spelling has improved by 60 to 70 percent, I read between 300 to 480 words per
minute with 90%+ comprehension; fear of the written word is no longer present.
There is nothing in my way except for
motivation.
When I get ready to read
a document such a 59 page lease, I have to gear up and focus, and then I’m living
the word as I read.
This opportunity to present to you today is to inspire those who still look at the
written word as a threat. Today I’m
here to say this threat should no longer exist. Reaching goals which once seemed out of reach because of the written word
is no longer out of reach; it is available to read and comprehend.
Readplease as well as other text reading software are here to give you and
your students a “New read on Life”.
And what a glorious life it is.
Selected Sources
for Electronic Texts
This factsheet presents
a selected list of sources for electronic texts. The online files are in a variety
of formats ranging from plain text to digital audio and digital braille. Most can
be downloaded and read offline. Electronic braille materials can also be embossed.
Sites vary with regard to accessibility, and questions should be directed to the
sites' webmasters. The web site address is given for each entry and telephone numbers
and e-mail addresses are provided, when known, for further information.
Accessible Book Collection
www.accessiblebookcollection.org/
customerservice@accessiblebookcollection.org
(703) 631-1585
(775) 256-2556
fax
Provides high-interest,
low-reading-level digital text in HTML to individuals with a documented disability
that prevents them from reading standard print. Also serves government and nonprofit
schools and rehabilitation centers. Has a $49.95 annual fee for individual subscribers;
school district site licenses are available.
Alex Catalogue of
Electronic Texts
www.infomotions.com/alex/
eric_morgan@infomotions.com
(574) 246-0639
Has a collection of free public domain
documents from American literature, English literature, and Western philosophy.
The earlier version supports author and title searches and the ability to download
the text. The newer version is a work in progress with less content than the original
Alex. It supports the ability to search within the texts of documents and has many
more downloading options, including plain text, HTML, XML, PDF, PalmPilot
DOC
, eReader, Rocket eBook, and Newton Paperback.
Audible.com
www.audible.com/
(973) 837-2845
888-283-5051
Includes twenty-five
thousand digital audiobooks, radio shows, popular magazines, and newspapers in a
broad range of subjects that can be downloaded to a computer. Readers can listen
immediately, transfer files to an audio player, or burn them onto a CD. Items are
spoken-word audio in a proprietary audible.com format. Cost: $14.95-$21.95 for a
monthly membership plan or pay for individual titles.
Bartleby.com
www.bartleby.com/
bartlebycom@aol.com
Publishes the classics
of literature, nonfiction, and reference books free of charge. Includes books of
quotations, the 1914 Oxford edition of the Complete Works of William Shakespeare, the Columbia Gazetteer, Gray's Anatomy, and Strunk's Elements of Style.
Books are offered in various proprietary e-book formats.
Bibliomania.com Ltd.
www.bibliomania.com/
books@bibliomania.com
and answers@boards.bibliomania.com
Offers free online
literature of classic fiction, drama, poetry, as well as short stories, contemporary
articles, and interviews. Most books are in HTML format. The web site is not currently
being actively maintained. The ex-employees keep the site running and hope to re-launch
it should funds become available.
Bookshare.org
www.bookshare.org/web/Welcome.html
info@bookshare.org
(650) 475-5440
Provides digital
books in a broad range of subjects to United States residents who have a visual
or other print disability. Individual subscriptions require completion of an online
form, proof of disability, and payment of a $25 sign-up fee and a $50 annual subscription
fee. Fees for institutional access ($300-$600) depend on the number of downloaded
book titles. Books are in DAISY format with text content and in contracted braille.
Most text files are presented with XML markup and the site includes tools for reading
these files.
Braille Book Files
www.tsbvi.edu/braille/braillebooks.htm
jimallan@tsbvi.edu
Has books at all
grade levels that are submitted by teachers and transcribers; the site is maintained
by the Texas School for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Access is password-protected
and limited to individuals who have a visual or other print disability and to members
of a nonprofit organization or governmental agency that provides specialized services
to such individuals. Books are in MegaDots, Duxbury, and ASCII format.
ClassicReader.com
www.classicreader.com/
Presents free works
of fiction, nonfiction, children’s literature, drama (including Shakespeare), poetry,
short stories, and Greek and Roman classics for which copyright protection has expired.
All books are in HTML; includes a plain-text format that eliminates most graphics.
eBooks.com
usa2.ebooks.com/
Has thousands of
popular, professional, and academic titles from a variety of publishers that can
be purchased as whole books, chapters, or pages of books and downloaded by customers
anywhere in the world. The contents of eBooks in the database can be searched by
key word, title, author, ISBN, and category. Book descriptions and sample texts
are available for browsing.
Electronic Text Center
etext.lib.virginia.edu/
etextcenter@virginia.edu
(434) 924-3230
Combines a free online
archive of thousands of SGML- and XML-encoded electronic texts and images in the
humanities with a service at the University of Virginia Library that offers hardware
and software suitable for the creation and analysis of electronic texts. Site includes
tools for reading these file types.
Fictionwise
www.fictionwise.com/
(973) 701-6771
Publishes and distributes
fiction and nonfiction in a variety of proprietary e-book formats. Costs range from
49 cents for short stories to $4.99 and up for lengthy works. Also manages eBookwise.com,
which supports eBooks for the eBookwise-1150 reading device, and Libwise.com, which
offers an eBook Lending Library to libraries, corporations, and groups.
4Literature
www.4literature.net/
jaret.wilson@javatar.net
Has more than two
thousand books, stories, poems, plays, and religious and historical documents in
HTML format. Readers can read online at no charge or can purchase the entire collection
on CD-ROM for $19.99.
International Electronic
Braille Book Library
www.braille.org/braille_books/
mgosse@prodigy.net
(410)
659-9314
Contains more than
one thousand titles of electronic braille books, including classics and publications
of the National Federation of the Blind. Files, which are in contracted braille
ASCII format, may be read online or downloaded for viewing offline or embossing.
netLibrary, a division
of OCLC Online Computer Library Center
www.netlibrary.com/
sales@netlibrary.com
800-413-4557
Offers thousands
of publicly accessible titles in subjects such as arts, business, history, literature,
religion, science, and technology to academic, public, and corporate libraries that
purchase a collection of titles. Patrons must create an account with an affiliated
library in order to access the collection. Books are in a protected Windows Media
Player (WMA) format.
The Online Books
Page
onlinebooks.library.upenn.edu/
onlinebooks@pobox.upenn.edu
(215) 898-7091
Includes more than
twenty thousand English works that are available online at no charge. Has a listing
of foreign language resources and an archive of serials. Books are in HTML.
Page by Page Books
www.pagebypagebooks.com/
contact@PagebyPageBooks.com
Has hundreds of free
classic books that are in the public domain, including United States historical
documents and presidential inaugural addresses. Books can be read online one page
at a time.
Project Gutenberg
www.gutenberg.org/
Has light literature,
serious literature such as the classics, reference works that are in the public
domain, and titles under copyright for which permission has been obtained. Most
books are in text or HTML format; a few require proprietary e-book reading software.
Free download to residents of the United States; outside the United States, individuals
should check the copyright laws of their country.
Questia
www.questia.com/
(713) 358-2600
Has a collection
of books and journal articles in the humanities and social sciences selected by
professional collection development librarians. Uses dynamic HTML and Javascript.
Offers monthly ($19.95), quarterly ($44.95), and annual ($99.95) subscription plans.
Tiflolibros: E-Books
for the Blind
www.tiflolibros.com.ar
tiflolibros@tiflolibros.com.ar
Provides more than
eleven thousand digital books in Spanish to individuals worldwide with a documented
disability that prevents them from reading standard print. Books are downloaded
using a personal password. Spanish is the official language of Tiflolibros, but
there are books in other languages, including English.
Tumble Readables:
Online Large Print Library
www.tumblebooks.com/tumblereadable/default.asp
info@tumblebooks.com
general information
orders@tumblebooks.com
orders
(416) 781-4010
(416) 781-2764
fax
Offers a collection
of large print classics, children’s literature, fiction, and nonfiction to read
online without downloading text. Uses Macromedia’s Flash 7 software, which may be
downloaded as a free plug-in. The font size can be adjusted up to 34-point type.
Tumble Talking Books:
Online Audible Library
www.tumblebooks.com/talkingbooks/default.asp
info@tumblebooks.com
general information
orders@tumblebooks.com
orders
(416) 781-4010
(416) 781-2764
fax
Provides an online
collection of unabridged audiobooks for public libraries and schools that includes
classics of American and world literature, children’s literature, fiction, and nonfiction.
The books are accessed from a link on the library or school web site and can be
listened to from any computer with an Internet connection.
Unabridged: Digital
Audio Books for the Blind
www.unabridged.info/
tpeters@tapinformation.com
(816) 228-6406
Conducts and evaluates
a two-year pilot project that provides a web-based library of narrated digital audiobooks
to blind, visually impaired, and physically disabled library users in Colorado,
Delaware, Illinois, New Hampshire, and Oregon. Eligible patrons in the participating
states can download digital audiobooks and play them on the computer with the OverDrive
Media Console and Windows Media Player (WMA) or transfer the content to CD or MP3
players or other WMA-enabled devices.
Web-Braille
www.loc.gov/nls/braille
nls@loc.gov
800-424-8567
Provides braille magazines produced by
the National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped (NLS), press-braille books produced by
NLS
since 1992, and braille music scores.
Access is password-protected and limited to
NLS
patrons (residents of the United States
or American citizens living abroad who have a visual or other print disability)
and eligible institutions. Files, which are in contracted braille ASCII format,
may be read online or downloaded for viewing offline or embossing.
Selected List of Additional
Resources
Digital Librarian:
A Librarian's Choice of the Best of the Web
www.digital-librarian.com/electronic.html
Has links to electronic
texts and primary sources that are maintained by Margaret Vail Anderson, a librarian
in Cortland, NY.
E-Digital Books,
LLC
www.edigitalbooks.com/
Provides a clearinghouse
for writers to place their electronic literature online. Readers can download a
book to a computer hard drive or obtain on CD-ROM; price varies by size of the file.
EFTS (Electronic
Full-Text Sources), University of Chicago
www.lib.uchicago.edu/e/ets/efts/
Provides access to
and information about full-text scholarly resources available at the University
of Chicago; texts are arranged by language, subject, and searching interface.
Electronic Books
and Monographs, University of California, Santa Barbara
www.library.ucsb.edu/eresources/epubs/books.html
Has links to encyclopedias
and dictionaries, other reference books, and collections of books in electronic
format.
Electronic Text Collections,
Hanover College
history.hanover.edu/etexts.html
Has links to historical
and literary sources from different time periods in Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle
East, and the United States.
Electronic Text Collections
in Western European Literature
www.lib.virginia.edu/wess/etexts.html
Lists Internet sources
for literary texts in western European languages other than English.
Electronic Texts
and Documents, University of Washington
www.lib.washington.edu/subject/humanities/dr/eltxt.html
Has links to a variety
of topics, such as African American history, the Irish famine, Mark Twain, the Vatican
files, and the Vietnam project.
eReader.com
www.ereader.com/welcome
Offers electronic
contemporary fiction and nonfiction books, newspapers, and magazines for reading
on a handheld computer.
Humanities Text Initiative,
University of Michigan
www.hti.umich.edu/
Includes the American
Verse Project, different versions of the Bible, and the collected works of Abraham
Lincoln (hosted for the Abraham Lincoln Association).
LETRS: Library Electronic
Text Resource Service, Indiana University
www.letrs.indiana.edu/
Provides humanities-related
electronic texts via the Internet and in the LETRS Humanities Computing Lab, Indiana
University.
Library of Congress
Full-Text Resources
www.loc.gov/rr/tools.html#fulltext
Includes American
Memory, historical collections that consist of primary source materials relating
to American culture and history; the full text of country studies handbooks
on ninety-one countries; and Meeting of Frontiers, a collection in both English
and Russian, that tells the story of the exploration and settlement of the American
West and of the Russian Far East and Siberia.
Refdesk.com
www.refdesk.com/
Includes links to
electronic texts, virtual encyclopedias, virtual newspapers, and fast facts such
as almanacs, quotations, and thesauri.
