Electronic Gadgets to help with dyslexia

There are now a wide range of portable tools that can provide support while on the move. These can range from in-expensive, spell checkers through portable digital assistants or PDAs that offer nearly all the functionality of a computer but pocket-sized. These devices can also be used in any environmnet: from the classroom or library to the workplace, factory or when on the move.

Electronic spell checkers and dictionaries

If you want to know how a word is spelt and you are not working at a computer, just key in the word that you are looking for. Franklin spell checkers will work from even quite strange spelling and offer the correct spelling. They come in a variety of sizes and with different dictionaries. Have a look at

• Many also have dictionaries and thesauruses to help you make sure that you are using the right word.
• Some of the more advanced spell checkers, such as the Franklin DMQ-1870 Speaking Dictionary, even read words and definitions outloud.
• The Franklin Literacy Word Bank contains the entire Oxford primary dictionary and is aimed at the National Curriculum and the National Literacy Strategy. It is easy to use and we’ve found it to be the most accurate spell checker.
• There’s more information at www.dyslexic.com/franklin.

Portable scanning pens

This is perhaps how all dictionaries will be. WizComs’ Reading Pen (Oxford Edition) has also been around for some time. In its latest version it will scan and read a whole line out loud, although it is most useful for people who have problems reading (decoding) individual words.

• Scan a word and listen to it.
• If that is still not enough, look it up in the comprehensive Oxford Concise Dictionary.
• Listen to it read the dictionary definition.
• Research shows that these pens speed up and reinforce learning because a student can experience many more words, and hear the phonic pattern, in the time that it would take to look up one word in a dictionary, or decode it with a teacher one to one.

Portable word processors

AlphaSmart have developed portable word processing devices with a full keyboard and a small screen as an alternative to a computer. In some situations, such as schools, they are better than a full laptop as they are more robust; less likely to be stolen. The AlphaSmart Neo:

• provides word processing with built-in spell checker and thesaurus.
• has a large screen, displaying between 2 and 6 lines of text, depending on font size selected.
• stores unlimited number of files and hundreds of pages of text.
• includes AlphaSmart Management software for managing SmartApplets and up-loading files.

The Neo can be upgraded with SmartApplets to offer additional functions and comes with the Kaz typing tutor applet. Also available is the Co:Writer SmartApplet which adds phonetic word prediction to the Neo; a great tool for the struggling writer.

Voice recorders

Recorders are useful for taking notes, entering reminders for homework and other tasks, and recording lectures and seminars, particularly if you have problems writing, copying or taking notes whilst listening. A traditional cassette tape recorder is cheap, but not very versatile and it is tedious finding your place on a tape. Digital recorders are coming down in prices and have many advantages:

• They can provide you with a visual representation of your recording, enabling you to navigate and edit your recording with a few simple keystrokes whilst adding text and images.
• They can record up to 522 hours of recording time, making them ideal for recording lectures.
• Recordings can be transferred to a computer for long-term storage.
• They can also be used for remote dictation: you can dictate text away from your computer and then transcribe it into your speech recognition program later.
• See our voice recorders category for the latest models.

Our most popular model is the Olympus DM-450.

Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs)

Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs) are little portable computers not much bigger than a mobile phone. Indeed, some PDAs now include mobile phones and some mobile phones now include similar functions. PDAs usually include a text editor, a calendar, e-mail, web browser and other software.

• They are useful if you have problems remembering things and organising yourself.
• PDAs may also incorporate MP3 players, which you can use for listening to text, as well as the more common use of listening to music.
• PDAs vary in price, size and clarity of the screen, in memory and speed, and in how easy they are to control.
• Some PDAs can now record a certain amount of speech. However, it is generally a more expensive way of doing so than a purpose-built recorder.
• However, you do need to back up their contents regularly and they are easy to lose.
• Here are the PDAs that we have selected as particularly suitable for dyslexic people.

PDAs are now being combined with phones - called Smartphones - so that you only need to carry one device. CapturaTalk uses the built-in camera functions of a Windows Mobile Smartphone with assistive software to enable you to capture essential information and understand text wherever you are. Take a photo of text that you need to read. CapturaTalk will scan the photograph, recognise the text and read the information aloud to you. It will also save the scanned file for future reference.

E-books

By getting your text in electronic form, you control the typeface (font) foreground and background colour perhaps and type size. You can read e-books on tablet or ordinary computers, PDAs and some special e-book readers.

• A large screen is more comfortable as screens are still not as clear as printed text.
• You may also be able to listen to the text — hopefully studio recorded speech, as synthesised speech is rather hard to listen to for a long time.
• There are also audio-only devices and e-books on CD.
• DAISY format can give you e-books which you can listen to, but also search and move around in like text. Dolphin Producer provides a quick and easy-to-use tool for converting Microsoft Word documents into DAISY format e-books and includes advanced e-book reading software.

Thumb drives

It’s nothing particularly to do with dyslexia, but if you need to move files between machines, consider a thumb drive. It’s a little device that plugs into the USB port; no moving parts but it behaves like another disk drive. Clip it to your key ring and take it from one machine to another, where it installs on most modern computers in seconds. They range in price and amount of memory.

This article has been updated from the one originally written for the Dyslexia Handbook 2004. This is a mine of information for dyslexic people and those who work with them. You get it automatically with membership of the British Dyslexia Association.

Article last updated: 07 July 2010