* Simmons College: School of Social Work—Alumni Special Recognition Award (2010)
* CINE Golden Eagle Award (2010)
* Superfest International Disability Film Festival — Achievement Award (2011)
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BESTSELLING AUTHORS
“Sarah Entine has produced a remarkable and memorable film about the unique pressures that generational learning disabilities have on a family. By combining the perspectives of her grandmother, parents and sister with her own, she provides a poignant and insightful picture of the impact that ‘hidden disabilities’ can have on relationships. Unlike similar films, Read Me Differently never becomes preachy, maudlin or self-pitying. She offers no false hope, instant cures or simple answers. Rather, she allows us to hear from three remarkably dynamic women discussing the shame, confusion, fear and bewilderment that often accompany undiagnosed learning problems.
This is a film to be viewed... and viewed again. It will undoubtedly stir the emotions of the viewer and will serve as a launch pad for discussion, understanding, empathy... and self-discovery.”
—Richard D. Lavoie
Producer, How Difficult Can This Be? The F.A.T. City Workshop
Author, It’s So Much Work to Be Your Friend and The Motivation Breakthrough
“Read Me Differently is a remarkable film. We found ourselves both tearing up and smiling as we watched this amazing young woman begin to discover who she is as a learner and then began to educate her family. In this process she not only educated her family about HER learning style, but helped family members begin to think more about how they learn and communicate. It was truly inspirational. As a viewer, you learn about the impact of learning disabilities on an individual, but more importantly you learn about the impact of these "hidden disabilities" on relationships. As therapists we talk about how hard it can be for families to communicate, especially when various members of the family have different ways of communicating and processing, but the film does a beautiful job of showing what it is like in reality.
We really think Ms. Entine's family showed great courage and love in their willingness to be so frank on film and Ms. Entine showed great compassion in portraying her family.
This is a film that will benefit everyone, both because of what we learn about learning disabilities, but just as importantly what we learn about families. Please see it!”
—Edward M. Hallowell, M.D. and Sue George Hallowell LICSW
Co-authors, Married to Distraction
“Read Me Differently is a very powerful, informative documentary capturing the journey of Sarah Entine as she comes to understand the impact of her reading and learning problems on her self-esteem and development. It is a journey of discovery not only for herself, but for her grandmother, mother, sister, and father. The influence of learning differences in family relationships across generations is poignantly captured as is the capacity of the human spirit to become resilient in the face of adversity. I hope that this documentary will be viewed not only by children and adults with learning struggles, but by their families as well as professionals who work with these individuals. In addition, the documentary will prove very informative for those who do not have learning differences so that they might better appreciate the struggles faced by those who do.”
—Robert Brooks, Ph.D.
Clinical Psychologist
Faculty, Harvard Medical School
Co-author, Raising Resilient Children and The Power of Resilience: Achieving Balance, Confidence, and Personal Strength in Your Life
“Sarah Entine’s Read Me Differently is a personal and poignant quest to piece together and understand the mystery of being different, and the pain of miscommunications and missed connections magnified by attentional, processing, and learning differences. This film is a brave, honest, illuminating, and compassionate attempt to bring awareness and inquiry to long-term and deeply frustrating family patterns. In the process, it offers family members and the viewer a degree of affirmation, understanding, and healing. Almost any family will see a bit of itself in this film.”
—Myla and Jon Kabat-Zinn
Co-authors, Everyday Blessings: The Inner Work of Mindful Parenting
PSYCHIATRY / MD
“It is not easy to expose your personal struggles with learning disabilities for all to see and experience. Sarah Entine bravely does this in her film Read Me Differently. It could not have been easy for her to do. Her only purpose in making this documentary is to help others to better understand themselves and their family. Thank you, Sarah.”
—Larry B. Silver, M.D.
Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, Georgetown University Medical Center
Previously, the acting director and deputy director of the
National Institute of Mental Health
“This film should be viewed and discussed in every psychiatric child or adult training program, as well as by those physicians and allied professionals who assess and treat patients with developmental disorders. The content is spontaneous, witty, insightful, and heartwarming, and accurately depicts the consequences to family dynamics when developmental disorders are among the family attributes. Four stars out of four!”
—Drake D. Duane, MS, MD Director, Institute for Developmental Behavioral Neurology
Adjunct Professor, Arizona State University Past President,
International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities Past President,
International Dyslexia Association Member, Board of Directors, National Center for
Learning Disabilities Member, Board of Trustees, The Dyslexia Foundation
RESOURCE SPECIALIST
“Sarah Entine's film, Read Me Differently, is a soul-searching look at family relationships. It begins at the point of adult identification and discovery and weaves through three generations of women, including Sarah, as they start to address the years of unrecognized disabilities and lack of understanding. This film re-emphasizes that it is never 'one child' who has a disability, that the every family member is affected in some way, and how the disability impacts those relationships.
The responses in the audience to the film were heartfelt, tearful, and compelling, especially when two generations of one family spoke. Afterwards, Sarah and Dr. Drake Duane addressed the audience with this question: 'Who is the best target audience and how can they be reached?' The answers from the audience were: teacher training, educator in-services, social worker training, information for SLP's, psychologists, pediatricians, on and on. This film will be a remarkable tool for a conference session, for an awareness event, a support group, …just everyone that I can think of. It is unbelievably well done, and I simply cannot recommend it enough. ”
—Carolyn Blackwood, Branch Council Chair, International Dyslexia Association
“Having been a reading teacher for 25 years in a private day school in Connecticut, I strongly recommend this touching and informative film to both educators and parents. Cinema verite at its best!”
—Linda S. Lindquist, Cambridge, MA
STUDENT DISABILLITY SERVICES
“The University of Iowa's Council on Disability Awareness invited Sarah Entine to screen her film, Read Me Differently. The event brought together individuals with hidden disabilities and opened a door to self-disclosures. Several students and community members conveyed that they felt courage and less isolation after the viewing. Raves over the film are still heard several months later. This film is highly recommended to be viewed at colleges and universities across the nation.”
—Carly D. Armour, MSW, Student Disability Services, The University of Iowa
SOCIAL WORK
“I saw your presentation at the NASW Symposium in Boston and was very moved. I'm a social worker at the Center for Children with Special Needs at Tufts Medical Center in Boston. I work with children and teens who have developmental disabilities (including various learning disabilities and ADHD) and their families. I have ADHD and so do my two adult sons. I think that your documentary really captures so many interesting and poignant aspects of having these types of differences (I guess I like that term better than 'disability').
I think that you and your family are very courageous to make a film like this where you are all so open. I want to thank you. I'm looking forward to watching it with my wife and sons to see their reactions.”
—Jay, Social Worker
“Sarah Entine presented her film, Read Me Differently, at the NASW Symposium in Boston on April 15, 2010. After viewing the film, a room packed with clinical social workers discussed the implications of her work for social work practice with children and families. Understanding the nature of dyslexia and learning disabilities is crucial in assessing family dynamics. The ability to listen to and understand each other plays an important role in family health. Having trouble expressing oneself with words and/or understanding what a family member means when their words are not richly expressive often leads to misunderstanding and feelings of alienation. Children with dyslexia are often misunderstood by their parents and siblings and these obstacles in communication can lead to distancing rather than closeness, to isolation rather than the nurturing bonds of love.
Read Me Differently is a tool for clinical enlightenment. Every clinician needs to know these dynamics for an accurate diagnosis of family difficulties to more effectively support clear communication in family transactions.
The difference lies in communication. It can be a relief to know that though it may sound like a family doesn't love and accept one, it may only be their communication or problems with encoding that creates this impression.”
—Susan Conklin, LICSW, BCD, EdS, Berkshire Representative,
Board Member, Massachusetts Chapter NASW
WOMEN’S HISTORY
“The great thing about Read Me Differently is that it puts stories of dyslexia and attention deficit disorder in a familiar family context. Every viewer can identify with someone, perhaps with everyone, in the film. Students watching Read Me Differently will quickly realize that there is nothing coldly clinical or weirdly alien about these conditions; they are part of the array of challenges that human beings face in our quest to communicate with each other. Nowhere is this quest more intense or more poignant than within our families, so the family story told in this film makes the information about dyslexia and ADHD wholly accessible and emotionally engaging.”
—Victoria Brown, Ph.D. Professor, Grinnell College Former Chair,
History Department and the Gender and Women's Studies Concentration