Dysgraphia+and+Speech+Recognition+Software

**Dysgraphia and Speech Recognition Software**
Imagine a child that is learning to write, struggling to form the letters and appropriately space the words apart, then as he gets older struggling with understanding the information the teacher is saying because of the focus he must have on writing. When asked to write his thoughts on paper the words become jumbled from lack of sentence structure and the inability to put thoughts into writing. This child may suffer from dysgraphia, a difficulty in being able to write due to motor and information processing skills.

Speech recognition software is useful for students that suffer from dysgraphia. It allows them to dictate information into the computer and it is converted into text. Students can think and write faster without forgetting their thoughts. This eliminates the focus on the actual handwriting and allows comprehension of the information to be the focus instead.

Using speech recognition software requires the user to have a computer or mobile device with a microphone. Depending on the program that is being used, it may require some training of how to use the voice commands. The quality of the microphone could affect the program’s ability to interpret what the user said so spell check is still necessary.

Chrome browser offers free software called Google Voice, formerly called Dictation, that has very simple functions and can be saved into Google Drive with the click of a button. Jott, MacSpeech, and Naturally Speaking are programs that must be purchased but provide more options to aid in spelling and grammar check. Before choosing a software program you should check to see what web browsers support different programs.

http://www.washington.edu/doit/Video/index.php?vid=29

http://www.ncld.org/types-learning-disabilities/dysgraphia/what-is-dysgraphia

http://www.ldonline.org/article/6202/

http://www.ldonline.org/techexpert/What_technologies_can_help_a_high_school_student_with_dysgraphia_in_science_and_math_classes%3F

http://www.labnol.org/internet/dictation-for-google-chrome/24719/

http://chronicle.com/blogs/profhacker/5-easy-speech-to-text-solutions/23016

http://www.freewaregenius.com/speak-directly-into-your-pc-with-dictationpro-speech-to-text/