Programs for Dyslexia

If you or a loved one needs reading help

Due to my dyslexia, reading was hard for me when I was growing up. If you, too, have dyslexia and are in your forties like I am, then you may be able to relate, and you also know that there wasn’t much help from technology or programs when we were young. I was lucky enough to live a few miles away from The Lab School of Washington, where they had special programs for dyslexics. However, even there we still didn’t have the technology that we do now to help us improve our reading. The ‘technology’ that I used to learn how to read was simply magazines. My mother got me car magazines at first, then I eventually graduated to Playboy (and yes, I actually read the articles). These days, technology is woven into so much of our lives, we might as well take advantage of the ways that it can help us. Below is a list of tools/technology/programs that may be of help to you or your loved ones, depending on your needs. 

The Orton-Gillingham Approach is a direct, explicit, multisensory, structured, sequential, diagnostic, and prescriptive way to teach literacy when reading, writing, and spelling does not come easily to individuals, such as those with dyslexia.  It is most properly understood and practiced as an approach, not a method, program, or system. In the hands of a well-trained and experienced instructor, it is a powerful tool of exceptional breadth, depth, and flexibility.

The Barton Reading & Spelling System is a teaching method created for students with dyslexia. It’s one of several reading programs that are based on the highly structured Orton–Gillingham approach. But it’s aimed at a somewhat different audience. Barton was designed to be used by people without educational training. It comes with videos that explain how to teach each lesson. And it offers free, unlimited phone and online support. Lessons are highly structured and carefully scripted.

Lindamood–Bell is one of several teaching programs for struggling readers that’s consistent with the highly structured Orton–Gillingham approach. Like the others, it’s “multisensory.” It uses the different senses to help students make connections between sounds, letters and words. But it has unique aspects, too.

Wilson Reading System is used in many private schools. This program is not as structured and scripted as other programs based on the Orton-Gillingham method. This program provides an intensive approach. It was designed for elementary and high school students levels 2 to 12, as well as adults. It provides the necessary tools to understand language coding systems. This will enhance reading comprehension and memory.

Equipped for Reading Success is a step-by-step program designed to overcome reading difficulties. With over 20 different strategies, grade-level students will be able to improve word-retrieving skills and memory. It includes phonemic awareness and word recognition strategies prepared in easy-to-teach lessons.

All About Reading is for parents who have children with reading differences and need special education.

Speechify is a mobile, chrome extension and desktop app that reads text aloud using a computer-generated text-to-speech voice. The app also uses optical character recognition technology to turn physical books or printed text into audio. The app lets users take photos of text and then listen to it read out loud.

Dragon Naturally Speaking is a speech-recognition program that can be used to, among other things, dictate answers to homework questions, a five-paragraph essay, or even to write a novel. You can dictate an e-mail, surf the web using voice commands, or dictate on your cell phone.