Dyslexia is a learning disability that can severely impact a person’s ability to speak, read, and write. Dyslexic people once had few resources available and had to rely on professional assistance from special education teachers. But technological advancements have helped companies refine their practices and produce custom keyboards for people with learning disabilities. Today, there’s even a dyslexia keyboard app that caters to those with unique needs.
What is a dyslexia keyboard?
Dyslexia keyboards were initially designed for computers. The keys feature a larger font to increase phonetics awareness. But assistive technology has come a long way.
Modern dyslexia keyboards are programs compatible with multiple operating systems. They have several unique built-in features that make writing stress-free for people with ADHD, dyslexia, and dysgraphia.
However, these apps are not only helpful for people with learning disabilities. Educators and parents use them to help young learners become more comfortable with note-taking, writing essays, and doing homework.
Since writing can be one of the most challenging and time-consuming tasks for students, touch typing is an excellent solution. Keyboard apps elevate the experience, providing learners with a way to complete their work without feeling embarrassed about their disability.
Introducing the Ghotit Dyslexia Keyboard
The Ghotit Dyslexia Keyboard is one of the latest assistive technology products on the market. The app aims to simplify writing for people struggling with dyslexia and dysgraphia challenges.
While it has a steeper price tag than similar products, the Ghotit Keyboard app boasts outstanding educational value and is easy to use. It encourages users to participate actively in the editing process. The program streamlines writing, note-taking, and typing, simplifying demanding tasks like writing reports and essays.
As a result, it helps users focus on the quality of the content and enhances productivity.
The app is currently only compatible with Apple products. You can find it in the Apple App Store and use it on any iPhone and iPad operating on iOS 10 and newer.
The app’s key features
Ghotit’s Dyslexia Keyboard app offers a lot of functionality to aid dyslexic people in addressing writing issues.
The product combines several state-of-the-art adaptive technologies that eliminate misspellings and increase writing speed, making it invaluable for phonetic writers.
Let’s look at some of its main features and benefits:
- The app has effective proofreader options that offer instant corrections to creative and phonetic writers.
- It has a context-sensitive spell checker.
- The spell checker also helps with dictation tasks and prevents the confusion of similar-sounding words like homophones.
- The Ghotit Quick Spell Word-Prediction technology provides advanced grammar and punctuation correction.
- The dual highlighting helps struggling readers improve their literacy skills.
- It supports dictation to other apps with seamless integration.
- The “Floating Keyboard” mode is available for users of iPadOS 13 and newer.
But the app is more than a punctuation corrector with speech feedback functionality. It has recently introduced another innovative feature - paragraph text correction.
The app can now identify and resolve spelling, punctuation, and grammar issues in several sentences in a few seconds.
Many dyslexic users agree that the dictation options make using other apps easier. Many apps use a small font that’s difficult to adjust. This problem prevents people with learning difficulties from typing correctly, which is often frustrating. But this keyboard app is an effective way to resolve the issue. You can access the dictation page with just a few simple clicks. When you’re satisfied with your text, copy it into any other app.
Although the app is more suitable for older users, it can also help young learners track their progress as they improve their writing skills. It promotes self-direction in academic projects and brings students closer to technology.
Note that this custom keyboard is currently only available for users in English-speaking countries. Its integrated dictionaries ensure corrections in Canadian, Australian, British, and American English.
You need a stable internet connection to use the grammar and spelling features. All other features work without issue offline.
You can download the app on iTunes. Users with learning difficulties may want to check out Ghotit’s Dyslexia and Dysgraphia App bundle on the Apple App Store.
How to install the keyboard
Installing the keyboard is relatively straightforward. Here’s what you need to do:
- Download the app and open “Settings” from the home screen.
- Press “General” and select “Keyboard.”
- Choose “Keyboards” and click on “Add New Keyboard.”
- Tap “Dyslexia Keyboard Ghotit” and press the arrow next to the new entry.
- Navigate to “Allow Full Access” and tap the switch to activate the keyboard.
- Hit “Allow” to confirm your decision and examine the app’s privacy policy.
- Launch any editing app and type a few sentences.
- Long-press the “globe” icon at the bottom of the Apple keyboard to view all keyboard options.
- Select “Dyslexia Keyboard.”
Speechify – read your writing back to yourself
Dyslexic people deserve access to the best assistive technology, which is why many use a text to speech (TTS) app with their keyboard. TTS programs read aloud any text, from emails and articles to web pages, Word docs, and PDF files. The most robust TTS app on the market is Speechify. It complements the dyslexic keyboard thanks to its ease of use and highly customizable features.
Speechify allows users to choose from over 30 top-quality voices and 20 languages, including English, Spanish, and Portuguese.
After crafting your text with the dyslexic keyboards, listen to it with Speechify to ensure you’ve satisfied with the message you’ve conveyed.
Speechify is available both as an Android and iOS app. If you prefer working on your computer, use the Google Chrome and Safari extensions.
Try Speechify for free today and turn listening to any text into an immersive experience.
FAQ
Is there a keyboard for dyslexia?
Many tech brands have released PC keyboards for people with learning disabilities. Recently, several software companies have produced dyslexic keyboard apps, including Ghotit.
Is typing easier than writing for dyslexics?
Although typing can be challenging for some dyslexic people, it’s typically less strenuous than writing.
What is it hard for dyslexics to read?
Dyslexic people struggle with reading because the condition negatively affects phonological processing. Consequently, dyslexia is classified as a language processing disorder.
Is there a dyslexia app for iPad?
In addition to the Ghotit Dyslexia Keyboard and Speechify, iPad users can try Grammarly, Audible, and First Words Deluxe.
