Children's Advocacy Resources for EducationC.A.R.E.

Below is a sampling of the most popular assistive technologies on the market today.

TEXT TO SPEECH

Students with severe reading disabilities may benefit from computer programs that can scan words and “read” them aloud via synthesized voices, some of which sound uncannily human. One is the Intel Reader, a device that can plug into a laptop for reading on-screen texts and also takes snapshots of, say, a newspaper page to be read aloud. Another is the ReadingPen Advanced, a pen-shaped scanner that glides over printed words and pronounces them through a built-in speaker.

But the granddaddy of text-to-speech products is the Kurzweil Reader, which was designed by the inventor Ray Kurzweil in 1976 as a device for the blind. The latest version, a software package called the Kurzweil 3000, is stocked with features like word-by-word highlighting and foreign-language dictionaries.

Other programs: GhostReader for the Mac, TextHelp Read and Write, and free programs and plug-ins like TypeIt ReadIt and Click, Speak. And while the Macintosh OS X comes with a free built-in reader, it does not include multiple languages.

SPEECH TO TEXT

“Students often have trouble getting thoughts down on paper by pen or typing,” says Pauline Auld, a senior learning specialist for the Calgary Board of Education. Voice-recognition software allows them to talk into a microphone and immediately see their words on screen. The Dragon line of products are leaders in this industry; Dragon Dictate for Mac and Dragon NaturallySpeaking for the P.C. get high marks for accurate translation. An iPhone version allows portability.

But beware the gee-whiz factor: Depending on the disability and needs, the technology could slow down a student who has to spend extra time correcting errors and remembering punctuation commands.

ORGANIZING IDEAS

Can software help organize thoughts, improve writing skills and keep track of tasks? A few programs, with visual prompts and templates, promise something close.

A product called Inspiration uses colored graphics — thought bubbles and hub-and-spoke diagrams — to help students when brainstorming and developing outlines for writing projects. The Kurzweil 3000 offers similar writing software and also gives users the ability to add virtual sticky notes and audio recordings to on-screen texts. Skoach, an online calendar and planning tool, provides visual feedback to warn you if your schedule is becoming overloaded.

Of course, lots of visual cues aren’t always a good thing, depending on the type of disability. Says Mr. Kamil, “It might even be more disruptive in that there might actually be too much information on the screen.”

Pen-based devices, designed to help keep notes organized, have many new converts. The LiveScribe Pulse SmartPen, for one, makes an audio recording simultaneously with pen marks on paper. A student can go back to a specific scribbled word in his notebook, touch the pen to that spot and hear a full recording of what the speaker was saying when the mark was made. Several students at Landmark College are using the pen to recall points made during class.

“You can put down concepts and words and you don’t miss a thing,” says Michael Nieckoski, director of educational technology at Landmark.

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

• “Assistive Technology: A Parent’s Guide,” by Marshall H. Raskind and Kristin Stanberry. A downloadable PDF with worksheet helps parents match technologies.

• CALL Scotland, a unit within the University of Edinburgh’s education school. (CALL stands for Communication, Access, Literacy and Learning.) A Web site with studies and books on assistive technologies: callscotland.org.uk/

• National Center on Universal Design for Learning. A group advocating for products and services useful to all people, including those with disabilities: udlcenter.org

• Digital Text Notes. A blog from Landmark College with regular updates on news about how technology can help people with learning disabilities: digitaltext.wordpress.com /

Lisa Guernsey, director of the Early Education Initiative at the New America Foundation, writes often on technology.