Alexis Flanders

Dyslexia impacts much more than reading time for many students. Students with dyslexia can understand grade-level ideas but struggle to access written materials because decoding is so demanding and stressful. This becomes an ill-structured classroom problem because there is no single fix. Students encounter text in every subject in various ways, and success depends on factors like classroom routines, available tools, and whether students feel comfortable using support in front of peers.

Research supports the use of assistive technology to reduce barriers to text-based learning. In a five-year follow-up study of dyslexic students’ experiences with assistive technology, Almgren Bäck and colleagues (2024) found that tools like audiobooks and text-to-speech were consistently beneficial for accessing content over time. The study also highlighted that continued success depends on contextual factors in school (such as consistent support and expectations) and students’ emotional comfort using the technology in real classroom settings. Making this technology available to the whole class can help it feel less like a crutch and more like a tool.

One technology that can address this need is Speechify, a text-to-speech platform that allows students to scan printed text and listen to it read aloud. This is particularly valuable in non-reading-centered contexts, such as math assessments, where students may understand the math but struggle to read directions or word problems. A unique affordance of Speechify is its flexible navigation: students can pause, replay, and jump to specific parts of the text, supporting independence. A constraint is that scanned text can sometimes be misread or read out of order when layouts are crowded, which may confuse students who have difficulty identifying errors.

For Speechify to be successful, classrooms need clear routines for scanning and a shared understanding that listening counts as learning.

Screencast demonstration

References

Almgren Bäck, G., Lindeblad, E., Elmqvist, C., & Svensson, I. (2024). Dyslexic students’ experiences in using assistive technology to support written language skills: A five-year follow-up. Disability and Rehabilitation: Assistive Technology, 19(4), 1217–1227.https://doi.org/10.1080/17483107.2022.2161647