Best Tech to support a person with Dyslexia.
- Mable Green
- Aug 19
- 4 min read
Best tech to support a person with Dyslexia - Technology plays a crucial role in empowering neurodiverse individuals in various aspects of life, including education. It offers innovative tools and solutions to assist and enhance the learning experience for students with neurological differences.
What is Dyslexia - click here.
British Dyslexia website - Associationmadebydyslexia.org - This PowerPoint presentation explains the value of Dyslexics working with Microsoft. There is a parents' and teachers' training course to watch. Lots of information and celebrities talking about their life with dyslexia. Immersive Reader in Microsoft Word
Research
Much evidence supports the observation that dyslexia tends to run in families. In studies with children at familial risk (FR) of dyslexia, i.e. children with at least one dyslexic parent, approximately 33% to 66% have been reported to become dyslexic(Child and parental literacy levels within families with a history of dyslexia, 2012)
Early detection and educating yourself
Early detection of Dyslexia is critical. Strategies can be put in place to support a child. Dyslexia is not an intellectual disability. Children must understand how they learn. Learning to read is the cornerstone of their educational journey.
What is Phonics
Phonics involves matching the sounds of spoken English with individual letters or groups of letters. For example, the sound k can be spelt as c, k, ck or ch.
Teaching children to blend the sounds of letters together helps them decode unfamiliar or unknown words by sounding them out. When a child is taught the sounds for the letters t, p, a and s, they can start to build up the words: “tap”, “taps”, “pat”, “pats” and “sat”.
Practising Phonics at home with the National Literacy Trust
Hooked on Phonics is an interactive program that takes you through all the phonics phases with fun games.
Touch Typing is a handy skill.
Touch typing is an excellent skill for those with difficulties with letter formation, messy writing, and spelling and grammar. The creative flow of thinking and converting it to text can happen without worrying. The stress of forming your letters correctly is taken away as you type. Assisted technology will highlight your mistakes.
There are fun programs to teach you the basics of typing in lessons.
Nessy Fingers is designed for dyslexic children. It combines dyslexia with Phonics and spelling practice within the games. My children used this program.
BBC - BITESIZE - Dance Mat Typing - takes you through many levels so you can learn your way around the keyboard.
Technology and Computer Apps
Assisting children with dyslexia by supporting reading, writing, and organisation skills. Here are some useful tools:
Reading Support to support a person with Dyslexia:
Text-to-Speech (TTS) Technology reads text aloud and is called 'read aloud' technology. Reading material is conveyed to the audio.
Text-to-Speech Software:
Microsoft Word has - Immersive Reader, which comes with Word and Applications like speechify.com, Speechify or Kurzweil 3000 can convert written text into spoken words to help reading comprehension.
Audiobooks:
Platforms like Audible or Learning Ally offer a wide range of audiobooks, allowing dyslexic children to access content through listening.
Bookshare:
Bookshare is an accessible online library offering a vast collection of books in various formats, including audio.
Voice Dream Reader:
This supports reading by converting text to speech. The app allows you to scan documents and download books. You can customise font, colour, spacing, and reading speed.
Read&Write for Google Chrome:
An extension that provides various reading and writing supports, including text-to-speech and speech-to-text features.
Writing Support:
Speech-to-Text Software:
Tools like 'Dragon' Naturally Speaking or Google Voice Typing enable dyslexic children to dictate their thoughts, which are transcribed into written text.
Grammarly:
An application offering grammar and spell-check tools, as well as a sentence rephraser, which can be particularly beneficial for dyslexic individuals.
Co: Writer Universal:
A predictive text software that assists in writing by offering word suggestions based on the context.
Organisation and Study Skills:
Many with Dyslexia need support with memory recall, sequencing and organisational skills. Remembering instructions and a list can be tricky.
A mind mapping tool that helps dyslexic children organise thoughts and ideas visually. It is based on the Mind Maps invented by the author Tony Buzan. A mind map is a visual presentation of an idea or concept broken down into pictures.
Evernote:
An application for note-taking and organisation allows you to record and organise information in various formats, including text, audio, and images.
Trello:
A project management tool adapted for organising tasks and assignments.
Google Workspace (formerly G Suite):
Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides offer collaborative tools, and the speech-to-text feature in Google Docs can be handy for dyslexic students.
Dyslexia-Friendly Fonts and Backgrounds:
A font designed to be easily readable for individuals with dyslexia, available for free. Typeface design.
Colored Overlays:
Software applications that provide coloured overlays on the computer screen can help reduce visual stress for some dyslexic individuals.
Browser Extensions:
Dyslexia-friendly Extensions:
Extensions like BeeLine Reader or Dyslexia Friendly can adjust the colour and font of the text on web pages to enhance readability.
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