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iPad and Mac tips for Students with Dyslexia
Learn about settings, fonts, apps and other tricks that are beneficial for students with dyslexia.
Apple devices include numerous built-in features and apps that are beneficial for students who are dyslexic, including students who have low vision – with and without dyslexia. Dyslexia is a general term for disorders that involve difficulty in learning to read or interpret words, letters and other symbols, but does not affect general intelligence. In face, students with dyslexia tend to be great problems solvers and have exceptional memory skills!
Mac and iOS Features for Students with Dyslexia
- Dictation: Built-in speech-to-text
- Siri: Ask Siri how to spell words
- Speak Selection: highlight text and have the text read back; Speak Selection can highlight the words as they are being read, making it easier to follow along.
- Speak Screen: Two-finger swipe down will read the content on the screen aloud
- VoiceOver: Robust Apple screen reader
- Predictive Text: Suggests words based on the first few typed characters
- Typing Feedback: Read aloud each letter or word as it is typed
- Display Options: Select the desired contrast, color, lighting and more
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Fonts and Spacing: Select the preferred font and spacing of font.
- Did you know that there is a font called OpenDyslexic, with weighted bottoms that help some symptoms of dyslexia? or the new San Francisco Font designed for readability?
Resources
Dyslexia Supporting Students by Jeanette Davies. This free Apple Book demonstrates the accessibility features of the Mac and iPad to support a student who had Dyslexia (or print disability such as low vision). This book includes instructions on how to turn on and use these accessibility features, how to create documents using Text Styles beneficial for students with dyslexia, use Text-to-Speech, tips on using apps such as Pages and Safari, and more. This book is updated with each iOS update.
Apps for Dyslexia and Learning Disabilities by Dyslexia Help
Apps for Dyslexia and Learning Disabilities by Reading Rockets
By Diane Brauner
