Dyslexia Screen Tint Software Mac

Jun 08, 2015 Software like Dragon Dictate. The combination of accessibility tools and available third-party software allow a Mac computer to be a great option for dyslexic students. The touch-screen.

Can you imagine not being able to read printed words? What would your life be like if books, newspapers, websites, email, and even signs were all virtually incomprehensible to you? How would you get through the day? For up to one in five people like me with dyslexia these are not hypothetical questions, they are our reality. Yet, thanks to accessibility technologies built into Apple's iPhone, iPad, and Mac, it's a reality that can be challenged.

Dyslexia makes reading a simple paragraph, let alone textbooks, a tedious and frustrating process. Spelling and written expression can also be very difficult. Despite this, dyslexia does not impact intellectual ability. It doesn't cause people to read backwards or see words upside down. It does, however, make figuring out what sounds go with which letters difficult. Deciphering unfamiliar words on a page can be extremely difficult, if not impossible. So what do people who have dyslexia do when they encounter printed text? Some simply avoid it or give up. Others find methods to help them succeed.

For me, and many like me, reading using our ears is the method we use. It's the way we get meaning from the printed word — by listening to it being read aloud. While this approach may not be considered 'real reading,' by some, when I and others like me listen to words being read aloud, the end result is the same — we get information from printed text. Assistive technology allows us to do this independently; it is our lifeline to the world of information. Text-to-speech technologies that allow me to listen to text let me explore topics that I find interesting. Speak Selection on iOS and OS X allows me to quickly highlight text and have the text read back to me using text-to-speech. With it, I can read webpages, newspaper articles, emails, and more. On iOS, Speak Selection even highlights words as they are being spoken to help me follow along. Instead of struggling through reading, Speak Selection allows me to listen while I follow along with the words. Dictation allows me to fully express myself in the way I want withouthaving to rephrase an entire sentence because I don't know how to spell words I want to write. Both text-to-speech and dictation are integrated into iOS and OS X. Coming this fall with iOS 8, Apple will also be introducing a predictive keyboard that will help with poor spelling by suggesting words based on the first few characters. With these integrated technologies and apps, people with disabilities can have access and more readily use their abilities instead of being held back by their disabilities.

Many developers and organizations including Apple have done a tremendous job of integrating accessibility features into their apps and services, opening up a world of possibilities for people with disabilities. Every new iOS device or Mac comes standard with accessibility features built-in. These features allow more people to use Apple devices more effectively and serve as a foundation for other assistive apps to build on. Third-party developers add enormous value to Apple products in so many ways, and accessibility is no exception. Two of the most important tools I use are services that provide me with accessible books that I can listen to. One of the services, called Bookshare, provides downloadable books that can be read with text-to-speech. Bookshare offers over 280,000 books that can be downloaded and read directly on an iOS device or Mac through apps. The other service, called Learning Ally provides human-narrated audio books that can also be downloaded to a wide variety of devices.

Prizmo is an app I use on my iOS devices. With Prizmo, I can snap a picture of an article or document and Prizmo will recognize the text using optical character recognition (OCR) and read it back to me using text-to-speech in a matter of seconds.

All of these tools give me access to text and help level the playing field for me. The apps and services mentioned above are just some of the dozens of tools that can help people with dyslexia and I would encourage people to explore other options as well.

The accessibility of Apple products and the accessibility of other related apps are such an indispensable tool for me in school and at home. With these tools I'm able to focus on my strengths. Similar built-in accessibility features, apps, and services benefit others with different disabilities.

This fall, iOS 8 will further improve on the built-in accessibility features which will further improve the inclusivity of iOS. I'm so thankful to all the people who help make devices and services more accessible and usable to all. Hopefully, the increased focus on accessibility from sites such as iMore will help push innovation even further.

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So many ports

Plugable's UD-6950Z Dock may be built for Windows but it saved my Mac

I had to jump through hoops to uninstall the macOS developer beta and reinstall Catalina and the Plugable docking station made it all possible.

Dyslexia affects five to 10-percent of the world's population with more than an estimated one in five children affected in the U.S. Dyslexia does not affect intelligence. Renowned physicist Albert Einstein had dyslexia. Pop culture also addressed the stigma of Dyslexia when fictional character Theo Huxtable from the popular 80's sitcom The Cosby Show was diagnosed with the condition.

Dyslexia impacts men and women equally and is found among all demographics and across all social-economic levels. It has a more profound impact, however, in low social-economic communities resulting in higher reading failure rates due to insufficient support. Many school districts don't have the resources or (in my experience as a special education advocate) prefer not to tackle Dyslexia due to the cost of supporting students if the disability is acknowledged.

Microsoft's Immersive Reader, which is incorporated in Microsoft's products and services and found on other platforms, gives school systems and parents the support they need for students with dyslexia without the costs traditional methods would incur.

What is Immersive Reader?

Microsoft's Principal Product Manager for Education, Mike Tholfsen is passionate about education and embraces Microsoft's inclusive design ethos. He believes products should be designed from conception forward with all users in mind, not provided with tacked-on solutions to serve an initially neglected demographic.

Immersive Reader was born from a 2015 Microsoft hackathon project that focused on bringing a dyslexia-focused extension to OneNote. It has since been interwoven into the online, universal, Mac, iPad and desktop versions of OneNote, the online, desktop, Mac, iPad and iPhone versions of Word and the online and desktop versions of Outlook.

Today, Microsoft Learning Tools and Immersive Reader are being used by more than 13 million people around the globe, a substantial increase on the 100,000 just last year. It is being used in over 40 languages and has been embraced by eager teachers and students.

Immersive Reader has improved reader fluency, boosted readers confidence and provided text-decoding solutions for people with dyslexia. It has also improved the skills of readers who don't have the challenges students with Dyslexia or other attention disabilities face.

Microsoft's Immersive Reader advocates for parents

Microsoft Principal Product Manager for Education, Mike Tholfsen, Right Image Credit: Microsoft

Every year millions of students with dyslexia have needs that are not directly addressed as cash-strapped school systems create accommodation plans that show that they're doing 'something' while not doing exactly what is needed for the student. More appropriate and costly supports, like an Orton Gillingham tutor (trained to help students with Dyslexia) and other methods are often bypassed ultimately resulting in schools failing to give these students a free and appropriate education (FAPE).

Many parents, after leaving a Planning and Team Meeting (PPT) where support for their child are discussed with teachers and school administrators, feel powerless when unyielding administrators don't provide the tools their child needs.

Microsoft with Immersive Reader plays the role of an advocate, or mediator, between families and schools by providing a cost-effective solution that is also effective in addressing the needs of students with Dyslexia.

With Immersive Reader everyone wins

The profound impact of the intersection of technology and life that Immersive Reader has on students, families and school systems cannot be overstated. It's a solution where all parties, to some extent, win.

By being integrated into a range of Microsoft and cross-platform tools school districts can, without incurring additional costs, use it seamlessly with solutions they may already be using. Parent's can support their child easily at home with the same tools. And students with learning challenges can use the same tools their peers are using, but with integrated support, without enduring the stigma of using a tool that makes them stand out in class.

Immersive Reader immerses everyone involved in the process of teaching young people of all levels not only how to read, but to love reading. The millions of readers around the world that this tool has impacted testify to this fact.