When people hear the term dyslexia, they most commonly think about letters and words being jumbled, transposed, and mirrored, making it difficult for readers to identify and comprehend what they are reading. According to Anis (2019), this definition is a common misconception and dyslexia is actually an umbrella term for all learning needs associated with a difficulty with reading and spelling. Anis explains that “dyslexia is a heterogeneous disorder, which means that not all people with dyslexia have the same signs, symptoms, underlying deficits, or functional impairment” (p. 1). Learners diagnosed as dyslexic can thrive with reading and writing when the correct supports and compensation strategies are in place. Some common accommodations for students with dyslexia are more time for exams and audio versions of textbooks (Shields, 2013).
In my position at my school, I run the Media Center. This means that I support all students and teachers with promoting literacy for all. Most of the students in my building who have some form of dyslexia will receive a 504 or Individualized Education Plan (IEP) accommodation to have assignments, tests, and texts read aloud. Recently, due to the spike in Covid-19 numbers in my area, my district thought it would be best to transition from our hybrid model of learning to a full remote model. This brought up the ill-structured question of how we would be able to meet all students’ read aloud accommodations while learning from home.
One technology that can help address this problem is the Read Aloud: A Text to Speech Voice Reader Google Chrome Extension.
This extension allows students to focus on the information presented and to not get discouraged and shut down because they do not understand the words on the page. It also allows them to independently interact with the information and not have to rely on another individual to read it to them.
References:
Anis, O. (2019). Dyslexia. Wikimedia Foundation. doi:10.15347/wjm/2019.005
Bridges, M. (2020, November 5). Read aloud Google chrome extension: An answer to an ill-structured-question. [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/GYn7cCO1FEU.
Shields, J. (2014, April 13). Diagnosing, treating dyslexia complicated by definitions of disorder - The Collegian. UWIRE Text, 1. https://link.gale.com/apps/doc/A364788187/AONE?u=msu_main&sid=AONE&xid=13bdf975
Online English Schools. (2020, July 28). Online study. [Image]. Flickr. https://flic.kr/p/2jqFu5p
This Might Get (2018, April 5). Do not read Grace Helbig. [GIF]. Giphy. https://gph.is/2q6PtGw