PrintReading Software and Gadgets
©istock/k_vohsenIf your ADHD child struggles with reading, the tools below may improve reading comprehension and fluency.
Audio books and reading software. Recorded books allow users to listen to text, and they are available in a variety of formats: audiocassette, CD, and MP3 download. Special playback units allow users to search and bookmark pages and chapters.
Products and services to consider: Audible.com and bookshare.org allow students to listen to books on the computer or to download and burn on CDs. Kurzweil 3000 (kurzweiledu.com ) improves reading speed and comprehension by enabling a student to convert print to electronic text. This program includes both visual and auditory feedback to help an attention deficit student understand and retain what he is reading.
Optical character recognition (OCR) programs allow a student to scan printed material into a computer or handheld unit. The scanned text is then read aloud by a speech synthesis/screen reading system. OCR is available in stand-alone units, as software, and as portable, pocket-sized devices that display words on an easy-to-read screen. Scanning pens are perfect for library research and other reading that doesn’t involve a computer. This device scans text as it’s dragged along the page. The pen displays the words on an easy-to-read screen, speaks them aloud, and provides definitions.
Products to consider: WYNN Literacy Software Solution (freedomscientific.com), Quicktionary 2 Scanning Translator and Readingpen Basic Edition (both available at wizcomtech.com).
Speech synthesizers/screen reader systems can display and read aloud text on a computer screen, including text that has been typed by a student, scanned in from printed pages (books, letters), or material from the Internet.
Products to consider: Aspire Reader 4.0 (axistive.com), ClassMate Reader (humanware.com), and Read&Write Gold (texthelp.com).
