Any experience with software or other technology for dyslexia?

[Renee in NC]

Aside from the obvious "learn to type" and audiobooks, I had never really thought about assistive technology and LDs. However, current research has brought several products to my attention:

 

Kurzweil 3000

Inspiration/Kidspiration

Dragon Dictate Naturally Speaking

 

Does anyone have any experience with these? Or do you have any other suggestions for assistive technology for kids with dyslexia?

[ElizabethB]

An electronic book reader, they all come with dictionaries now.

 

You can make the font bigger and look up words you don't know.

[LizzyBee]

We tried Dragon Naturally Speaking and it was an utter failure. Apparently it only works with older teens and up who have a depth to their voice that younger kids don't.

 

I did 30 day trials of Inspiration and Kidspiration and wasn't impressed. I'd rather help my kids organize their writing on paper and then have them type it into Word. Maybe I was just missing something, since they seem to be very popular.

 

An electronic talking dictionary has been a great buy, though. My 9 yo is reading beginner chapter books on her own now, and she uses her talking dictionary to prevent guessing at words she doesn't know.

[Renee in NC]

We tried Dragon Naturally Speaking and it was an utter failure. Apparently it only works with older teens and up who have a depth to their voice that younger kids don't.

 

I did 30 day trials of Inspiration and Kidspiration and wasn't impressed. I'd rather help my kids organize their writing on paper and then have them type it into Word. Maybe I was just missing something, since they seem to be very popular.

 

An electronic talking dictionary has been a great buy, though. My 9 yo is reading beginner chapter books on her own now, and she uses her talking dictionary to prevent guessing at words she doesn't know.

 

How does a talking dictionary work?

 

I wondered the same thing about Inspiration/Kidspiration. It seems that IEW teaches them how to do that themselves, as well.

 

I'll have to see if Dragon Dictate has a trial version to see if it would work for my 10yo. My 13yo doesn't need it.

[LizzyBee]

How does a talking dictionary work?

 

I wondered the same thing about Inspiration/Kidspiration. It seems that IEW teaches them how to do that themselves, as well.

 

I'll have to see if Dragon Dictate has a trial version to see if it would work for my 10yo. My 13yo doesn't need it.

 

My dd types the word into the dictionary and the dictionary says the word. There are some dictionary websites that have audio of all the words, but her dictionary is handy because she can take it to her room, in the car, etc.

[Renee in NC]

My dd types the word into the dictionary and the dictionary says the word. There are some dictionary websites that have audio of all the words, but her dictionary is handy because she can take it to her room, in the car, etc.

 

Will it give her a definition, too?

[LizzyBee]

Will it give her a definition, too?

 

I think so, but I'll have to ask her. She's not home right now.

[ElizabethB]

Most of the dictionaries do, here is one:

 

http://www.amazon.com/Franklin-Merriam-Webster-Collegiate-Dictionary-SCD-2100/dp/B002B3YBYU/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1309063783&sr=8-3

 

They have come down quite a bit, they used to start at over $100. Of course, you can get a Kindle for not much more and then you have both a dictionary and a book reader.

[RamonaQ]

ds has and uses all those software.

 

I do really like the Kurzweil software, however, you should be aware that all material must be scanned into the Kurzweil format or the electronic files need to be given to you in Kurzweil format. To buy the sw that allows scanning is super expensive ($1K), and the reader alone is about $300. So expensive.

 

I commented on Dragon on another recent thread. Basically, I don't think this is not the best starting place because of the error rate requires such careful reading and ability to keyboard anyhow. I would start at the keyboard. Dragon is helpful, though, and ds seems to use it these days to add more sophisticated vocabulary when he gets stuck by spelling.

 

I love kidspiration. Ds hated for the longest time, and then the other day he was writing an essay independently and he, on his own, just started with kidspiration. It is an excellent brainstorming/ idea organizing tool. I like it a lot because you can talk about the logic of an essay before writing begins. It also helps with writing because a word bank is generated before actual writing begins.

 

We also have 2 different Franklin spell products. One is a talking collegiate dictionary. It is nice for when we are sitting reading a book, and generating vocab lists, but honestly, when ds is writing he uses the one on the computer. We have a little $10 spell checker that actually does an amazing job on phonetic spelling (dd also has one of her own...I like them that much!)-- it doesn't speak but ds finds it incredibly helpful when he is writing by hand.

Edited June 26, 2011 by RamonaQ
spell checker/ dictionary

[Renee in NC]

ds has and uses all those software.

 

I do really like the Kurzweil software, however, you should be aware that all material must be scanned into the Kurzweil format or the electronic files need to be given to you in Kurzweil format. To buy the sw that allows scanning is super expensive ($1K), and the reader alone is about $300. So expensive.

 

I commented on Dragon on another recent thread. Basically, I don't think this is not the best starting place because of the error rate requires such careful reading and ability to keyboard anyhow. I would start at the keyboard. Dragon is helpful, though, and ds seems to use it these days to add more sophisticated vocabulary when he gets stuck by spelling.

 

I love kidspiration. Ds hated for the longest time, and then the other day he was writing an essay independently and he, on his own, just started with kidspiration. It is an excellent brainstorming/ idea organizing tool. I like it a lot because you can talk about the logic of an essay before writing begins. It also helps with writing because a word bank is generated before actual writing begins.

 

We also have 2 different Franklin spell products. One is a talking collegiate dictionary. It is nice for when we are sitting reading a book, and generating vocab lists, but honestly, when ds is writing he uses the one on the computer. We have a little $10 spell checker that actually does an amazing job on phonetic spelling (dd also has one of her own...I like them that much!)-- it doesn't speak but ds finds it incredibly helpful when he is writing by hand.

 

Thanks Ramona! I know that Kurzweil is expensive, but I have 3 boys that will use it. It is cheaper to buy Kurzweil (the scan version) than it is to hire someone to come in and help me with homeschooling.;) I am trying to figure out how to make homeschooling more doable - I will have 5 doing school this year and 3 of those need accomodations. Kurzweil sent me a 30-day trial of the scan version. I am going to play with it and see if it is worth it. If so, we'll make it a priority.

 

We'll hold off on the Dragon Dictate until a little later. If his writing ability doesn't improve tremendously, we'll look into again when he is 13-14 or so.

 

Thanks!

[RamonaQ]

If you are spending the big bucks :001_smile: I would also evaluate the Read/ Write Gold from texthelp.com

[Renee in NC]

If you are spending the big bucks :001_smile: I would also evaluate the Read/ Write Gold from texthelp.com

 

I didn't see a price on the website - is it considerably more than Kurzweil?

 

Now that the local schools are NOT an option I am trying to find something (anything) to make my life easier. There is no way I can keep up with the needs without losing my mind. I won't be buying the scan version until spring, but I do plan to get the reader version if I think it works well. I can scan everything in during the free trial.;)

[LizzyBee]

Will it give her a definition, too?

 

http://www.amazon.com/Franklin-KID-1240-Childrens-Dictionary-Corrector/dp/B0002OP83I/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1309126652&sr=1-1

 

This is the one we have, and it does speak definitions.

[Renee in NC]

http://www.amazon.com/Franklin-KID-1240-Childrens-Dictionary-Corrector/dp/B0002OP83I/ref=sr_1_1?s=electronics&ie=UTF8&qid=1309126652&sr=1-1

 

This is the one we have, and it does speak definitions.

 

Thanks, Elizabeth! That looks great.

[ktmo]

Co-Writer is a word prediction program to help with typing. You type the first letter and then it gives you options, so writing isn't as laborious to type.

 

I like Kurzweil - You can pre-read the material and add "sticky" notes. So, while they read, the notes can help guide them to key points.

 

They also make reading pens, similar to the talking dictionary, but you just scan the word with the "pen" and it reads it. Kind of like the Tag system, but it can work on regular books.

[Renee in NC]

Co-Writer is a word prediction program to help with typing. You type the first letter and then it gives you options, so writing isn't as laborious to type.

 

I like Kurzweil - You can pre-read the material and add "sticky" notes. So, while they read, the notes can help guide them to key points.

 

They also make reading pens, similar to the talking dictionary, but you just scan the word with the "pen" and it reads it. Kind of like the Tag system, but it can work on regular books.

 

Thanks for the pen idea! I didn't realize they had those. I'll definitely keep that in mind.

 

That is what I liked about Kurzweil - it isn't just a screen reader, but it also includes all the other features. The other feature my 10yo really needs is the definition of words - his vocabulary is really low due to years of language delays, so he doesn't know the meanings of many words (and cannot determine it from context.)

[RamonaQ]

I didn't see a price on the website - is it considerably more than Kurzweil?

 

Now that the local schools are NOT an option I am trying to find something (anything) to make my life easier. There is no way I can keep up with the needs without losing my mind. I won't be buying the scan version until spring, but I do plan to get the reader version if I think it works well. I can scan everything in during the free trial.;)

 

In the same ballpark, near 1K.

[rafiki]

.

[beth in md]

For Kurzweil, RamonaQ mentioned getting files compatible with Kurzweil.

 

Where you get these, or find out if a book you want is available in this format?

 

Thanks!

 

Beth

[RamonaQ]

You scan them in yourself, or the school (or virtual academy) supplies them to you. The only other resource that I have ever seen Kurzweil format files is Reading A-Z.

[beth in md]

Thanks, RamonaQ!

 

Beth

[Renee in NC]

You scan them in yourself, or the school (or virtual academy) supplies them to you. The only other resource that I have ever seen Kurzweil format files is Reading A-Z.

 

It also comes with 2800 books from the public domain.

[dajiherndez]

DD loves audio books and looking into getting a kindle for her birthday. Hopefully this will be getting her reading some harder books and can get the pronounciation when needed.

[Renee in NC]

DD loves audio books and looking into getting a kindle for her birthday. Hopefully this will be getting her reading some harder books and can get the pronounciation when needed.

 

Does the kindle read to you?

[RamonaQ]

The kindle is able to play audible books and has text to speech...not all purchased books have tts enabled. Since October, my dyslexic ds has read over 70 books for pleasure on the kindle, using tts when he fatigues.