All of the acronyms involved in special education can be confusing: FAPE, IDEA, LRE, IEP, IEE, LD and more. This article can help you understand the terms.
http://www.greatschools.org/special-education/legal-rights/521-special-education-faq.gs
Researchers have found that parents and teachers usually speak too quickly for young children to understand. Adults speak at a rate of about 160 words per minute, but children can only comprehend 124 words per minute. Interestingly, Mr. Rogers spoke at a rate of 124 words per minute. Square and rectangle-shaped classrooms filled with desks and chalkboards exacerbate the problem because hard surfaces tend to reverberate and distort sound. This is a concern for children with dyslexia who often rely on verbal instructions when they have difficulty reading the board. For more information about the study, go to: http://www.wichita.edu/thisis/wsunews/news/?nid=307
Ghotit has released the Real Writer Pro app, designed by people with dyslexia for people with dyslexia. It features an intelligent, context-sensitive spell checker, an advanced grammar checker, a word prediction tool, a proofreader and other features. For more information, click here.
While talking with the children I tutor and with other children and teens with dyslexia, it has become shockingly clear that almost all children with dyslexia are teased and bullied at some point. What is more shocking to me is the number of children who feel they deserve it or believe that it is normal to be bullied and teased.
These color-coded reminder bracelets for students are an interesting idea. Would they work for students with dyslexia?
The Change Colors app for Google Chrome replaces a page’s styling (background colors, fonts, etc.) according to the user’s preferences. You can get the app here.
More accessibility apps and extensions for Google Chrome can be found here.
Accommodations and funding for students with dyslexia are human rights according to Canada’s Supreme Court. To deny this type of “ramp” is to commit discrimination. Watch the video or read about the case here:
http://bc.ctvnews.ca/school-discriminated-against-dyslexic-boy-supreme-court-1.1031962
Long list and reviews of useful apps for children, students and professionals with dyslexia: http://bdatech.org/what-technology/small-portable-devices/apps/
Multi-sensory classroom techniques that are effective for all students, not just those with dyslexia:
http://specialed.about.com/od/readingliteracy/a/Dyslexiaandmultisensory.htm
The makers of Dragon Naturally Speaking have created a new, free app for android phones that allows a broader use of speech-to-text. People with dyslexia need not type in their emails, texts, appointments, websites or requests for directions; Dragon Mobile Assistant will do it for you. You don’t even have to pick up the phone to activate it. Just say, “Hi Dragon” and Dragon wakes up and listens to your voice. The availability of apps that benefit people with dyslexia just keeps getting better!
http://www.droid-life.com/2012/10/24/nuances-dragon-mobile-assistant-for-those-that-love-chatting-with-their-phones/
