“A World of Difference” 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, Beacon College 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 “Ask the Expert,” Beacon experts will provide answers to general questions from viewers around the world. Each episode closes with the aspirational segment, “Difference Makers,” a candid and compelling interview with a famous and/or successful individual thriving with learning disabilities.
“The show’s title conveys multiple aspirational and inclusive meanings,” said Darryl E. Owens, director of communication at Beacon College and “A World of Difference” creator. “At 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’ perspectives, and, more on the nose, it’s an affirmation of the global breadth of learning and thinking differences, as roughly 10 percent of the world’s population lives with specific learning disabilities.”
Owens, a former journalist with The Orlando Sentinel, regularly will be joined by Beacon College psychologists Drs. Oksana Hagerty and A.J. Marsden, mental health counselor Dr. Nicki Nance, and college transitions expert Alexander Morris-Wood. Other Beacon 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’s 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.
Beacon College in Leesburg, Fla. is a nonprofit liberal arts institution and America’s first accredited baccalaureate school dedicated to educating neurodiverse students with learning disabilities, ADHD, dyslexia, and other learning differences.
“A World of Difference” 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 Beacon College website (BeaconCollege.edu), and on the college’s Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn pages, and its YouTube channel.
If you are interested in sharing your family’s story with viewers or have a burning question you’d love “A World of Difference” experts to answer, please e-mail difference@beaconcollege.edu.