The Lifelong Impact of Read&Write
A brain injury in early childhood left Peter Dempsey struggling to communicate. But when he was introduced to Read&Write, he suddenly had a toolkit to access learning and voice his thoughts.
Now working as a Disability Strategist, he advocates for the widespread adoption of assistive technology in schools, universities and workplaces so that everyone can enjoy barrier-free access.
Summary
- Peter struggled with literacy, communication and memory retention following a stroke. This profoundly impacted his education and left him feeling isolated.
- The Read&Write toolbar gave Peter tools to help him process information and communicate his ideas. He finally had confidence in his ability to understand and be understood.
Meet Peter
Aged 4, he suffered a stroke that left him with physical and cognitive disabilities. As a result, he experienced difficulties with writing and reading comprehension, as well as recalling information and articulating his thoughts.
But thanks to a supportive family, mentors and assistive technology, Peter today uses his skills and experience to consult organisations on their disability inclusion strategies. Read on to hear his story.
"I found myself very isolated and excluded from society just because I couldn’t access anything. It was really tough."
Discovering Read&Write
It wasn’t until Peter had left school that his dad – who was an engineer and always on the lookout for emerging technology – came across Read&Write.
That year, Peter returned to education with adult re-entry into Year 11. With the help of a mentor, he started using the Read&Write toolbar.
“That's when everything changed.”
Peter now had access to a suite of tools that could help him to read, write and understand. He could hear text read aloud using the text-to-speech feature and see each word highlighted as it was read, helping him to follow along. The highlighter and dictionary tools also helped him solidify his comprehension.
First impressions
Read&Write enabled Peter to access learning like never before. Using the text-to-speech feature, he could hear text read aloud at his choice of speed, allowing him to process information at a comfortable pace.
If we recognise and embrace different ways of thinking, we can help more people reach their potential. Read&Write supports these differences, enabling students to study with tools tailored to their needs.
Below, Peter shares his standout features from the Read&Write toolbar and how they helped his learning.
How Read&Write helped
Read&Write acts as a literacy support partner, providing tools which help users to understand texts and get their thoughts into writing.
Tools to support reading
Read&Write will read a text aloud to students, highlighting each word as it's spoken. This helps students build associations between how a word looks and sounds. The speed and accent of the speaker are fully adjustable, allowing students to read along at a pace that's comfortable for them.
Simplify a text
The Simplify feature allows students to remove distractions from a webpage and adjust the size and colour of the text so it's easier to read and understand. Kathryn's found this feature especially useful for improving focus and reducing cognitive load in students with ADHD.
Tools to support writing
Read&Write helps students to get their thoughts into writing.
- Students can speak into their device and have it automatically transcribe into text using Read&Write's dictation tool. This is great for notetaking and capturing thoughts which they can later craft into sentences
- With the prediction tool, learners can receive visual word prompts as they write, helping them to write with better flow
- An age-appropriate dictionary tool includes pictures and audio to help students grasp the meaning of new words
Best things about Read&Write
Beyond the features, Kathryn shares some of the things she enjoys about Read&Write, including its accessible design, ease of use and compatibility with different platforms and devices.
Lasting impact
For Kathryn, Read&Write has become an important part of her teaching toolkit.
“Read&Write has changed the way I teach in so many ways,” says Kathryn, “particularly in making sure that my lessons are accessible to all students.”
Not only does the toolbar support students with dyslexia and other learning difficulties, it also provides translation and comprehension aids to students who have English as a Second Language.
“Read&Write allows my students to work more independently.”
Before getting access to Read&Write, Kathryn had to spend a lot of time working alongside her students with additional needs. This left her students feeling frustrated and dependent on her assistance. Checking their work, reading passages to them and assisting them with writing also took time and attention away from other students in the classroom.
But now her students have support tools at their fingertips, allowing them to grow their literacy skills and confidence and keep pace with their peers. By using the Screen-masking and Simplify features, her students can stay on task and retain their focus.
“It’s amazing that it can cover such a wide range of ages, ability and needs.”
What makes Read&Write so useful is the range of features it offers. It helps students not just with reading and writing, but also with comprehension, vocabulary building, study skills and focus. Its features are customisable and suitable for all age groups.
Through providing Read&Write to her students, Kathryn has seen increased learner engagement with the curriculum and therefore better learning outcomes.
Support literacy, focus and organisation with Read&Write
Suitable for all ages, Read&Write is an accessible toolbar designed to help you read, write and study with confidence.
Over 250 million people worldwide have used Everway tools including Read&Write to help achieve their potential.
Read&Write helps students to:
- Understand and engage with reading assignments
- Remove background distractions and improve focus
- Build vocabulary and writing confidence