Addressing Reading Difficulties

Who could help?

• Consult school Support for Learning teachers, librarian and colleagues
• Consult local authority ICT/ASN Specialist
• Check for contact details in your area - www.ictsls.org

I have a pupil with reading difficulties. What could help?

1. Identifying the problems, gathering information, team approach

Refer to local SfL/ ASN guidance Document(s). Involve SfL/ASN Team. Consult Addressing Dyslexia Toolkit. Consider consulting VI/ Dyslexia/Assistive Technology Service.

1.1 What do the difficulties arise from?

• Seeing or understanding the text, due to dyslexia/specific learning difficulties with language, reading, spelling
• Understanding the text due to learning difficulties
• Holding the book or turning pages, due to physical difficulties
• Understanding the text, due to language impairment or as a result of hearing impairment
• Seeing the book, due to vision or visual processing, acuity, visual field tracking

2. Have you addressed these difficulties with reading interventions?

• Reading comprehension
• Paired reading
• Reciprocal reading
• Precision reading
• Phonological awareness

3. Have you tried adaptations?

• Coloured overlays or lenses
• Magnifiers
• Book stands

4. Have you tried other types of reading materials?

• Graphic novels
• Age-Appropriate books eg. Barrington Stoke, Rising Stars

5. Have you tried digital books?

Commerical eBooks

• Kindle & Amazon
• iPad & iBook Store
• Google Books
• WH Smith, Waterstones

Free eBooks

• Books for All
• The Seeing Ear
• Load2Learn
• Project Gutenberg
• Public libraries

Devices

• Kindle
• iPad
• Windows
• Android
• MacOS Nook, Kobo etc

6. Techniques for reading digital books

• Font
• Font and colour backgrounds
• Font size, line spacing, character spacing
• Physical access
• Navigating the book

7. Have you tried textto-speech (TTS)?

Use the Protocol for Accomodations in Reading to Compare TTS with unaided reading (De Coste and Wilson, 2012)

What to Look for in TTS

• Does it highlight the text as it reads?
• What programs can it read from?
• Does it come with good voices?
• Does it have other features (word prediction etc)?

iOS

Apps with TTS eg. ClaroRead, Co:Writer, Voice Dream, iReadWrite

Windows

• TTS Programs
  • WordTalk for Microsoft Word
  • Free eg Balabolka, Orato, Minireader, Natural Reader
  • eg ClaroRead, Co:Writer, Penfriend, Read & Write Gold
• Scottish Computer Voices

MacOS

Kindle

Android

Apps eg. Easy Text to Speech, Voice Read Aloud Voices eg. Cereproc, Ivona

8. Have you tried audio books?

• Free/low cost audio books
  • Calibre
  • Public libraries
  • Project Gutenberg
  • Load2Learn
  • Listening books
  • RNIB
• Commercial audio books
  • Audible.co.uk
  • Amazon
  • iBook Store

9. Have you tried other alternative formats?

• Large Print
• Braille
• 'Easy Read'
• Symbolsupported

10. Have you tried making accessible formats?

• Copyright
• Audio
• Braille
• eBook formats
• Large Print
• PDF
• Scanning Paper
• Books
• Word

11. Next Steps

• Source books in required format
• Identify tools/features needed to support reading
• Identify device(s) and software apps
• Provide device software and books
• Teach learner