Text-to-Speech+Readers+for+People+with+Learning+Disabilities

All of the students I serve have a reading disability. Although they may not place in any other category their performance is affected in every class, because every class is a reading class. In every class a student must read and comprehend the information that is written. Inability to do so doesn’t mean they don’t know the material, it just means they couldn’t read information or comprehends what was written. Many students at the high school I worked at used Kurzweil, some type of text to speech, or screen reader program. This type of program is used to read the end of year tests to our students that receive read aloud as a modification, in the special education program. One barrier with those types of programs, I learned of last year, when administering the test is that they won’t read charts, graphs, pictures or other text included with an image or text. The other problem with them is the dialect used with the audio. Students that are learning to read might become even more confused if they are hearing words pronounced in a variety of dialects. If a student does have to use this type of technology they could cut and paste the words, if necessary in the image box and use with the screen reader to identify the words. Or, more appropriately to ensure students’ understand they should inform their teacher any time there is an image on a passage to ensure all material is read aloud. Text or screen readers have allowed my students and their teachers to build a greater connection because they don't feel they have to seek help from me to administer assessments and the student feels like they are a greater part of the general education class.

Text-to-Speech Readers for People with Learning Disabilities [] Learning Disabilites: An Overview []

Mary Comer April 10, 2014 Adding to the topic of Learning Disabilities and Text to Speech

=
Students struggle to learn for a myriad of reasons. Some students work through their struggles with perseverance, hard work or maturity. While others face challenges their entire lives. Some struggles are the result of a disability, having more to do with how their brain works, physical limitations, etc. Learning disabilities such as dyslexia, [|executive functioning] and ADHD make it much more difficult for students to learn. Other students have vision, hearing or physical disabilities preventing access to resources and activities. Assistive technology can support many of these students to a place of inclusion in classrooms and various activities. ======

=
Struggling readers will benefit from the text to speech functions that are available on many devices or through various programs. Through your systems preferences, most devices can be set up to read text to you with the click of a button. Shortcuts are available as well as subscription programs like [|Kurzweil], [|Google Read & Write] or screen-readers. Text to speech features provide support to students of various skill levels across the disciplines of reading, writing, science and social studies. Text to speech features also support test-taking accommodations. ======

=
[|Struggling readers] benefit from listening to stories or having syllables or phrases broken down for them. Hearing and repeating the pronunciation and breaking apart of sounds and syllables support emergent readers with phonetic awareness. Older students can benefit from having their writing read back to them. Text to speech features can assist students in the revising and editing process as students will hear and identify errors prior to completing their final draft. Non-fiction texts, often a higher reading level, can also be read to the students. This feature can also support vision-impaired students. ======

=
Students will need to have these features set up on their computer or device. If you use the Google Platform, students can add the extension Read & Write. This feature has other options such as word prediction, highlighting and a dictionary. If these options are not appropriate to the needs of your student, they can be disabled, leaving only the desired features. Headphones will also need to be provided. Text to speech functions are easily assessable and will support the struggling reader. ======

=
Balajthy, E. (2005, January/February). Text-to-speech software for helping struggling readers. //Reading Online, 8//(4). Available: [] ======