The past school year was dismal for my son. His teachers were in constant contact with me attempting to determine why he was not living up to his potential. “He’s smart,” his teachers would say, “He picks up the material quickly and he tries. But….he can’t seem to retain what we’ve learned.” Finally, one of his teachers asked me if he had been tested for dysgraphia, a learning disorder characterized by visual –spatial difficulties and language processing difficulties. In other words, he has trouble processing what he can see and hear and being able to transfer the knowledge to paper.
Tests were arranged with a local psychologist and we found our answers. His visual processing skills, on a scale of 1 to 100, ranged from -1 to 10. His motor and auditory skills were deficient as well. She recommended both visual and auditory/motor therapy plus modifications for his classroom situation. The first recommendation was allowing him to take a netbook to class to type his notes. Her second, and probably most important recommendation, was allowing him to use Dragon Naturally Speaking Software by Nuance. “This will open up an entirely new world for him,” his psychologist explained.
Dysgraphia makes it practically impossible for a student to write reports, take notes, produce legible handwriting, or any of the other motor skills required for school. Dragon Naturally Speaking is a speech recognition software system that is trained to recognize the student’s voice, allowing him to dictate his thoughts and create documents, emails, reports and spreadsheets. Using a wireless headset or digital voice recorder, which are not included, he can give the computer commands like “send this email,” “look up causes of the American Revolution, ” or “Open Microsoft Word.” My favorite feature is having the ability to use a digital voice recorder anywhere, anytime and then being able to transcribe the audio files when he connects to his PC, allowing him the flexibility of adding notes when they are fresh on his mind.
Dragon Naturally Speaking works three times faster than normal typing speeds and has a 99% accuracy rate, making it a timesaver for anyone but especially someone with learning disabilities. Although each copy is licensed for one person use, since it is trained to recognize a voice, it can be used on multiple PC’s. As the software becomes accustomed to his writing style and the words he uses, it becomes more accurate. He can also improve accuracy by creating custom word lists and formatting preferences and by personalizing his profile. A pair of Nuance approved noise cancelling headphones is included to help remove background noise and distractions, an important component for children with ADD or learning disabilities. While we are using this software primarily for educational needs, it can be used for pleasure too. Imagine using voice technology to manage digital photos, search the web, and update Facebook statuses.
The software works with Windows, Internet Explorer 6 or higher, and requires 2.5 gigabits of free hard disk space for installation. I’m thrilled to have found a way to help my son in his educational career. I only wish we had discovered this software sooner.
What a wonderful program! I’m so glad it is helping your son!
What an awesome program!
What a great program, I have friends at school that has children with disabilities so I’m definitely going to share this with them..They are always looking for ways to make learning easier for their children.
What an absolutely wonderful program! This is new to me software, as well, but I’m so glad for the introduction. When you consider the degree to which a struggling student would benefit, its simply astounding! Finding the right tools for learning disabilities can make all the difference in both a child’s self esteem and well as their academic success!
I am glad you found something can help that can help your son.
I have never heard of this software but wonder how useful it could be for my own son or someone like myself who thinks faster then the write causing all kinds of frustrations. What a great software for so many reasons! I can only imagine how great this must be for your son.
I’ve know too people that suffered with this and they struggled so much through school that I don’t even think they care to go back to a class reunion. That is how bad school life became. I think this is a wonderful software and so glad that someone has come up with the technology to make life easier for someone with a learning disability.
When I was supporting those with disabilities this was a favored software used for teaching those with intellectual disabilities more complicated tasks. We take for granted so many life skills, even answering the phone can be a difficult task. I’m a huge advocate for this program…it gives and independence to those that might not have it otherwise.
I’ve heard of this software before but had no idea how much it does or how beneficial it is for those with learning disabilities.
So wonderful that your son will have this tool to help, I imagine it will open up many possibilities!