A Review on Assistive Technologies for Students with Dyslexia

Rebeka Lerga

, Sanja Candrlic

and Alen Jakupovic

University of Rijeka, Department of Informatics, Radmile Matejcic 2, 51000 Rijeka, Croatia

Polytechnic of Rijeka, Trpimirova 2/IV, Rijeka, Croatia

Keywords: Dyslexia, Assistive Technologies, Education, Reading Assistance, Writing Assistance.

Abstract: Last decades have seen tremendous change in education under the influence of the digital technologies.

Education no longer relies on traditional methods; it rather makes use of modern technologies. This paper

presents an overview of the recent research on the use of assistive technologies in education with emphasis

on students with dyslexia, a specific learning disability referred to as a reading disorder which can also

affect writing, spelling, speaking and reasoning. The aim of this paper is to provide an overview of the

proposed technological solutions as well as the recent research on technologies and methods used to teach

dyslectic students language skills, such as reading and writing.

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0688-0881

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1272-093X

https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0957-8143

1 INTRODUCTION

Difficulties learning to map letters with the sounds

of one's language, or to read printed words is often

called dyslexia, and is one of the most common

manifestations of specific learning disorder

(American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

The word dyslexia comes from the Greek words

dys (weak or bad) and lexsis (language, word)

(Croatian Dyslexia Association, 2014), and like

many medical and educational constructs, has

definitional challenges (Stoker, et al., 2019).

However, the basic notion of dyslexia, described as

a difficulty in reading which is often unexpected in

relation to other cognitive abilities has reminded

constant across most definitions definitions

(Shaywitz, Morris & Shaywitz, 2008; Lyon,

Shaywitz & Shaywitz, 2003; American Psychiatric

Association, 1994). Moreover, it is most commonly

recognized as a specific learning disability that is

neurobiological in origin, which primarily affects

reading and writing skills, characterized by

difficulties with accurate and fluent word

recognition, poor spelling and decoding abilities

abilities (Lyon, Shaywitz & Shaywitz, 2003;

American Psychiatric Association, 2013; British

Dyslexia Association, 2020), in addition to

difficulties in phonological awareness, verbal

memory and verbal processing speed (Rose, 2009).

World Health Organization (2011) describes it as a

specific learning disability marked by specific

impairments in information processing which result

in difficulties in listening, reasoning, speaking,

reading, writing, spelling, or doing mathematical

calculations.

Being a life-long condition, early identification

and treatment of dyslexia are associated with

improved outcomes academically and quality of life

(Stoker, et al., 2019). Therefore, dyslexia has been

the focus of considerable interest for

transdisciplinary studies, including the development

of assistive technologies, trying to develop rational

and effective therapy to enable successful outcome.

Moreover, current assistive technologies are mostly

available in English, however, there are several

specifically designed for other languages.

The remainder of this paper is structured as

follows: section 2 describes early signs and

prevalence of dyslexia. Section 3 provides an

overview of the available technologies, section 4

describes the future work and section 5 closes with

conclusion and discussion.

Lerga, R., Candrlic, S. and Jakupovic, A.

A Review on Assistive Technologies for Students with Dyslexia.

DOI: 10.5220/0010434500640072

In Proceedings of the 13th International Conference on Computer Supported Education (CSEDU 2021) - Volume 2, pages 64-72

ISBN: 978-989-758-502-9

2 BACKGROUND

2.1 Early Signs of Dyslexia

Dyslexia involves much more than lagging behind in

learning to read. The etymology of the name

dyslexia expresses the difficulty in using words, how

to identify them, what they signify, how they are

pronounced and spelled (Miles & Miles, 2004).

Students identified with dyslexia have problems in

identifying speech sounds and learning how to relate

those to letters and words. Moreover, they typically

display several key attributes, including: (a)

difficulty with word reading, (b) difficulty with

spelling, (c) phonological processing difficulties,

and (d) slow and laborious reading (Stoker, et al.,

2019). Therefore, dyslectic students tend to avoid

activities that involve reading; they also show

problems in remembering the sequence of the things

and most usually are not able to sound out the

pronunciation of (more or less) unfamiliar words

(Mayo Clinic, 2017).

2.2 The Prevalence of Dyslexia

Experts have estimated that 5-10% of school-age

children fail to learn to read in spite of normal

intelligence (Habib, 2000), and 10% of the

population (or up to 20% depending on definition),

suffer from such condition (Habib, 2000; Skiada, et

al., 2014).

In addition, there are other disorders similar to or

related to dyslexia, including developmental

auditory imperceptions, dysphasia, specific

developmental dyslexia, developmental dysgraphia,

and developmental spelling disability (Stoker, et al.,

2019), in fact, reading disability is by far the most

common learning disability, affecting over 80% of

those identified as learning disabled (Shaywitz,

Morris & Shaywitz, 2008).

3 TECHNOLOGY ASSISTED

EDUCATION

This subsection presents a literature review of the

recent research on the use of technology for students

with specific learning disorders, with an emphasis

on technologies that are either specifically designed

for, or have the features that can be useful for

dyslexic students. Even though, there are other

possible classifications (e.g. according to language,

features, etc.), in this paper these technologies are

classified according to the type of devices they are

mainly intended for. The first subsection presents

desktop software (Table 1), while the second deals

with mobile applications (Table 2).

3.1 Desktop Software and Applications

There is a wide range of software specifically

designed to assist people with learning disorders,

including dyslexia. Most of such software is directed

towards enhancing reading and writing skills. For

such cause was developed the Phonological

Awareness Educational Software (PHAES), which

presents a hypermedia application for helping

dyslexic readers, using phonological awareness

training in Greek language (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Example of PHAES interface.

Learning activities present graphemes and

corresponding phonemes at the word and sentence

level. The PHAES demands only basic computer

skills, it is designed with simple graphics and

navigation, and is therefore suitable for young

learners who can use it with or without supervision.

It can be supportive tool for both teaching and

speech therapy treatment, and it uses multisensory

approach. Moreover, it consists of four phases and

tasks are divided according to difficulty. The first

stage deals with practicing letter-sound

correspondence, in the second stage letters are

embedded into words, the third stage introduces

sentence formation and in the final stage students are

asked to form common words. The software has

proved to be educational in early literacy

development, moreover participant were motivated

and found it easy to use (Kazakou, et al., 2011).

The following study (Staels & Den Broeck,

2015) used Kurzwiel 3000 as a text-to-speech

software to investigate whether orthographic

learning could enhance the reading skill for dyslexic

children. Effectiveness of the software was analyzed

using the phonological recordings. In their study, 65

dyslexic children were asked to read eight stories

A Review on Assistive Technologies for Students with Dyslexia

containing embedded homophonic pseudoword

targets in Dutch language (e.g. Blot/Blod,

Kowand/Kowant). Participants read stories with and

without assistance of the software and subsequently

were assessed based on their completion of naming,

spelling and orthographic-choice task. This study

showed that children with dyslexia can obtain

orthographic knowledge through independent silent

reading, therefore target spellings were correctly

identified more often, named more quickly, and

spelled more accurately than their homophone foils.

However, a negative effect of text-to-speech

software on orthographic learning was demonstrated

among younger students who only passively listened

to the auditory presentation of the text, because

dyslexic students need to participate in active

reading to enhance their reading skills (Share, 1995).

Moreover, another research (Alsobhi, Khan &

Rahanu, 2014) showed that generic e-learning

applications are not as effective with dyslexic

learners because what might be required are specific

learning applications that are tailored for specific

categories, depending on the dyslexia type. In

addition, even though assistive software facilitate

learning to some extent, there are other

preconditions that need to be in place to successfully

implement technology in learning process

(Goumopoulos, et al., 2018), such as availability of

digital course material, the possibility/authorization

to use software during classroom courses, as well as

sufficient training for students to fully use all the

possibilities these assistive technologies offer.

Experimental study (Alsobhi & Alyoubi, 2019)

presented the same point using a novel dyslexia

adaptive e-learning management system - DAELMS

(Figure2).

Figure 2: Learning materials implemented in DAELMS.

The system correlated each given dyslexia type

with its preferred learning style, and subsequently

adapted the learning materials which are presented

to the student. Being an adaptive e-learning system,

the DAELMS incorporated several personalization

options: (a) navigation, (b) structure of curriculum,

technologies that ensured that the learning

experience is aligned with the user's dyslexia type as

well as the preferred learning style. The DAELMS

was evaluated by the group of university students

studying a Computer Science related majors. The

participants were presented with course materials

related to their field of study (Computer Science).

The evaluation results proved that when the system

provided the user with learning materials that

matched their learning style or dyslexia type it

enhanced their learning outcomes.

Another team of researchers (Hall, et al., 2015)

developed a Strategic Reader, technology based

system that incorporated curriculum based

measurement (CBM) and a universal design for

learning (UDL) aiming to enhance the reading skills

of students with learning disabilities. The CBM

presents a form of formative assessment (Silberglitt

& Hintze, 2005), used to monitor student growth,

evaluate performance, and change instruction. On

the other hand, the UDL is a framework for

instructional design (Kennedy, et al., 2014). It is

based on three principles: (a) to provide multiple

means of representation, (b) to provide multiple

means for action and expression, and (c) to provide

multiple means of engagement for students. In

addition, the Strategic Reader was created with three

components: (a) the CBM to monitor the students'

progress, (b) an online forum for discussion, and (c)

an interactive, computer-supported reading

environment. The participants were 10 teachers, 307

middle schools’ students in total, with 64 students

identified as those with learning disorder. Teachers

could easily create interventions for students due to

the flexibility of the tool. The effectiveness of

Strategic Reader was evaluated using two treatment

conditions for measuring progress (online vs.

offline). Results showed that students with learning

disabilities experienced a statistically significant

score increase in the online progress monitoring

condition, they were significantly more engaged by

(and with) Strategic Reader, finding many aspects of

the tool more helpful than other students (Hall, et al.,

2015).

CSEDU 2021 - 13th International Conference on Computer Supported Education

Table 1: Assistive desktop applications for dyslexic students.

Name Main features Reference

PHAES Interactive, multisensory, user-friendly navigation, display difficulty levels Kazakou, et al., 2011

Kurzweil

3000

Interactive, text-to-speech, spelling-checker, word prediction, translation

(powered by Google Translate), bookmarks, text and audio notes, personalized

Staels & Den Broeck,

2015

DAELMS

Incorporated personalization options, adaptive (materials presented to students

aligned with dyslexia type and learning style)

Alsobhi & Alyoubi,

2019

Strategic

Reader

Interactive, multisensory, incorporated curriculum based measurement, applied

universal design for learning

Hall, et al., 2015

3.2 Mobile Applications and Games

In addition to computer software, more recent

studies are directed towards the design of mobile

applications for educational purposes using playful

and targeted exercises to improve the language skills

of children with dyslexia. Therefore, the following

study (Zakopoulou, et al., 2017) was conducted

using iLearnRW software (Figure 3), developed to

provide individualized intervention through games.

Figure 3: Game activity example: Serenade hero in

iLearnRW software.

The software incorporated learning activities,

derived by dyslexia experts, that especially

addressed language areas that were most challenging

for dyslexic students. The game consisted of two

modules: a student model and a lesson planner.

Individualized intervention was provided through an

underlying user profile, which incorporated

language features and was constantly updated as the

student played games. For each difficulty, the model

kept track of the student’s skill based on their

performance during game activities and the time

elapsed since the last practice. The software selected

language material based on student's difficulties and

progress. The participants were 78 dyslexic students,

9-11 years old. After the 6-month intervention, the

students were assessed in order to establish the

tool’s effectiveness. The results’ analysis revealed

that there was a strong constructional linkage

between the profile entries of the sample, the

language content of the tasks of the screening test as

well of the games and its effectiveness in the

students’ performance. In addition, the students who

received specific guidance by their teachers,

obtained higher success rates in most of the games

than those without any guidance.

To improve the educational performances of

students with dyslexia, the authors of the following

study (Alghabban, et al., 2017) developed a

multisensory, cloud based, mobile learning tool. It

provided convenient data input and output and was

adaptable to fit each student's profile and preferred

learning style using pedagogically approved

materials with interactive and multisensory

approach. Authors conducted a user needs analysis

through a literature review, interviews and

questionnaires with special educational teachers,

dyslexic students and their parents, and offered the

architecture with three components: (a) a mobile

client, (b) a public network, and (c) a cloud

environment to provide the content. The results of

this study revealed that the multisensory function

supported the needs of students with dyslexia,

enhancing their learning progress by almost 30%. In

addition, results showed an increase in reading skills

after three months of use, and user-friendly interface

had positive impact on students' motivation to use

the tool. Moreover, interesting, and appropriate

presentation of learning materials eliminated

boredom and provided helpful mechanisms to aid

students' reading ability.

Another interactive mobile application,

EasyLexia (Figure 4), was developed with the aim

to improve dyslexic students' fundamental skills,

such as reading comprehension, orthographic

coding, short-term memory and mathematical

problem-solving using gamification approach.

A Review on Assistive Technologies for Students with Dyslexia

Figure 4: EasyLexia: Main page layout.

The application was developed for both mobile

phones and tablets and was tested among students at

a “Speech Therapy Center”, located in Syros

Greece; however, the application was designed in

English language. Preliminary evaluation of this

application with 5 dyslexic students (7-12 years old)

showed promising results in such contexts as the

students showed progress in performance over a

short period of time. In addition, results indicated

that tablet applications aimed for children with

dyslexia, could potentially be more engaging than

mobile devices (Skiada, et al., 2014).

Another research (Rello, et al., 2014) integrated

teaching materials in an iPad game, DysEggxia

(Figure 5).

Figure 5: Dyseggxia: derivation exercise (left) and

substitution exercise (right).

In contrast to previous approaches, these

exercises (in Spanish language) presented the child

with a misspelled word as an exercise to solve.

These training exercises were created based on the

linguistic knowledge extracted from the errors found

in texts written by children with dyslexia. To test the

effectiveness of this method in Spanish, the study

was carried out for eight weeks, 48 children played

either DysEggxia or WordSearch, another word

game. The children who played DysEggxia for four

weeks in a row had significantly less writing errors

in the tests than those playing WordSearch for the

same time. The results provided evidence that error-

based exercises presented using tablets helped

children with dyslexia to improve their spelling

skills. Moreover, it proved that technology in order

to be useful in education must integrate right

didactic and pedagogical methods.

In addition, another learning model LexiPal

(Saputra, 2015) (Figure 6) integrated educational

gamification approach for dyslexic children, by

incorporating seven gamification elements, namely

(1) story/theme, (2) clear goals, (3) levels, (4) points,

(5) rewards, (6) feedback, and (7)

achievements/badges. The game elements were used

with a purpose to encourage dyslexic students while

granting desired psychological outcomes when they

used the application, including engagement,

enjoyment, and motivation.

Figure 6: LexiPal: Example of gamified learning.

The participants in the study were 40 dyslexic

students. Based on the observation while students

were using the application, most of the students were

eager to participate in the evaluation process until it

was ended, thus the gamification improved

engagement of dyslexic students. On the other hand,

quantitative analysis showed that all students

enjoyed playing, and most of them wanted to play it

again, which indicates that gamification can improve

enjoyment and motivation of the children. However,

the results are considered as a short-term effect,

which is the effect of gamification when and after

dyslexic children used the application for short

period of time (Saputra, 2015).

Moreover, another research explored potential

benefits of gamification using classDojo. The

educational platform was adapted for the dyslexic

students by teachers from dyslexia teaching center.

It was used for twelve 1.5-hour lessons. Two main

components of the classDojo system were

emphasized for this study: (1) awarding of badges,

and (2) the reporting system. The teacher could

award a badge from a set list of either positive

(green) or negative (red) badges. The set of badges

was fully customizable for each teaching session,

allowing the teacher to tailor the awards for the

needs of their students. On the other hand, the report

system maintained a record of the badges awarded.

CSEDU 2021 - 13th International Conference on Computer Supported Education

Moreover, a report of a child’s badges was

automatically emailed to parents every week, as well

as comments teachers had written about specific

badges. The authors collected data by means of

interview (with teachers, students, and parents) and

kept daily log of students’ and parents’ logins to the

application. The results indicated that gamification

can foster student motivation, in this instance, due to

an interaction between a highly customizable design

as well as pedagogically tailored appropriation by

teachers (Gooch, et al., 2016).

In addition, there are several educational

applications designed and adapted to the specifics of

the Croatian language, for students with learning

disorders and specifically for students with dyslexia.

One of the recently developed applications is

OmoReader, with the OmoType, highly readable

font designed within the application, which can be

adapted to the individual needs of users. In addition,

the application allows words to be broken down into

syllables using the automatic syllabification

procedure for the Croatian language (Meštrović, et

al., 2015), which helps users to read more correctly

(Figure 7).

Figure 7: OmoReader interface.

Users can also insert lines in the background of

the text to make it easier to follow the text, which

helps in staying focused and keeping the reading

speed. Within this application, users can also access

more than 200 Croatian books, enriched with 3D

content, animations, videos, audio, images, and

comprehension tasks. The application also supports

OCR technology, which recognizes text from

various sources, printed and digital. Also, users can

convert, edit and save texts using the camera on a

mobile device by capturing texts from books,

magazines and others printed forms. In addition,

data obtained from users is used solely for the

purpose of analysis required to develop and improve

the application (Šarac, 2019).

Several other applications, also specifically

developed for Croatian language, were designed and

developed within the project named Competence

Network for Innovative Services for Persons with

Complex Communication Needs (ICT-AAC), a

multidisciplinary project focused on ICT based

augmentative and alternative communication.

Different experts worked together to create iOS and

Android applications, including several specifically

designed for dyslexic students, such as Letters,

Vocals, Memory, Learning Syllables, Learning

Words, Learning to Read (Figure 8), and Language

Builder.

Figure 8: ICT-AAC Learning to Read interface.

These applications can be used for direct speech

therapy for students with dyslexia, for developing

phonological awareness and morphological skills, as

well as initial writing skills for young learners. All

ICT-AAC applications are visually attractive,

provide multisensory access to learning (tasks are

accompanied by visual and auditory support,

different syllables are highlighted in different

colour) and often give positive feedback for correct

task completion, which is essential for a sense of

success in students with dyslexia (Zorić, 2019).

Table 2 presents the main features of the above

mentioned assistive mobile applications for dyslexic

students.

A Review on Assistive Technologies for Students with Dyslexia

Table 2: Assistive mobile applications for dyslexic students.

Name Main features Reference

iLearnRW

Interactive, individualized approach (learning materials selection based on

student’s difficulties and progress), multisensory, gamification elements

Zakopoulou, et al., 2017

Multisensory

interface tool

Interactive, multisensory, cloud based, personalized (output aligned with

student’s profile and preferred learning style)

Alghabban, et al., 2017

EasyLexia Interactive, multisensory, user-friendly interface, gamification elements Skiada, et al., 2014

DysEggxia

Interactive, multisensory, user-friendly navigation, gamification elements,

included error-based exercises

Rello, et al., 2014

LexiPal Interactive, multisensory, gamification approach Saputra, 2015

ClassDojo

The study focused on gamification approach using badges and reporting

system, adaptable design

Gooch, et al., 2016

OmoReader

Personalized (preview adapted to students’ needs), involved

syllabification approach for Croatian language, OCR technology

Šarac, 2019

ICT-AAC

applications

Interactive applications developed for different language areas,

multisensory, user-friendly visuals, feedback

Zorić, 2019

4 FUTURE WORK

Previous chapters present an overview of the

assistive technologies for dyslexic students. Even

though all these applications and software are very

useful, there is still room for improvement, which is

the aim of our future work. Moreover, concerning

recent trends in technology and education, an

increase in the number of technologies using

Artificial Intelligence, Augmented Reality or Game

Based Learning can be expected.

In addition, future analysis of assistive

technologies implies development of a conceptual

model for a system that would support educational

processes (both teaching and learning) for dyslexic

students.

In order to produce a taxonomy for classification

of available technologies, they need to be further

analysed with the emphasis on their main features,

such as interactivity, multisensory approach, simple

graphics and navigation, personalization elements,

gamification, and other features considered as

important for dyslexic students.

5 DISCUSION AND

CONCLUSION

Dyslexia, namely characterized as reading disorder,

affects around 10% of population, and is therefore

one of the most common learning disorders. It

mostly affects language skills that involve reading,

spelling, and writing. However, it is not linked to

intelligence, or, in other words, dyslexic students’

cognitive abilities do not differ from those of their

peers, even though they lag behind when it comes to

developing language skills, and mainly reading

comprehension. As such, reading comprehension is

described as the ability to grasp or fully understand

information communicated through text. Therefore,

dyslexic students mainly lack the ability to

comprehend written texts. Moreover, dyslexia has

been the focus of considerable interest from

researchers in different areas, including

neurophysiology, linguistics, educational sciences,

computer science and others.

The explosive growth of digital technologies and

developments in artificial intelligence have provided

powerful possibilities for developing educational

aids for students with learning disorders. Also, m-

learning, and e-learning have become an influential

trend in the educational process. New educational

trends promote learning accessibility and flexibility.

Moreover, there are additional aspects of these

educational trends, as well as assistive technologies,

that are especially useful for the students with

dyslexia. This paper presents an overview of recent

research on the use of technology to assist students

with learning disorders, and specifically with

dyslexia, both in formal and informal education.

Although there is a substantial amount of

research, and applications available for students with

dyslexia, there are several gaps that must still be

addressed. Firstly, most of available applications are

directed towards the enhancing of language skills for

native languages. Moreover, applications are mostly

in English language, designed for students’ whose

CSEDU 2021 - 13th International Conference on Computer Supported Education

native language is English. Therefore, there is a little

research on how dyslexic students acquire foreign

languages, in terms of developing all language skills

in English as a foreign language, and furthermore,

what are the implications for developing such

learning system for dyslexic students whose native

language is Croatian.

Another substantial issue pertains to the lack of a

comprehensive learning system which would be

directed towards enhancing all language skills

(reading, writing, speaking and listening). Available

applications and software manly emphasize either

reading or writing skill and neglect the language

comprehension, as a whole. Moreover, educational

systems are usually created and designed with the

aim to help dyslexic students, however, little number

of applications is used after the research. Even though

the assistive technologies prove to be useful, and

increase students’ motivation and self-confidence, in

most cases, after the research is over, the teachers and

students return to previous educational model.

Moreover, it is not enough for technology to

exist in the classroom, it is only beneficial when

used appropriately. Thus, effective educational

methods must comply with pedagogical requirements.

Due to interactive aspect of education, learners

should be more involved in the learning process.

Therefore, digital technology, used in education,

must offer students autonomy with attention to their

age, special educational needs, potentials, and

preferences. Also, not all methods and technologies

are appropriate for all students. They have to match

individual’s learning style. Moreover, since all

dyslexics do not share the same symptoms, each

student presents a special case when adopting

educational tools. Therefore, there is a strong need

to involve individualized approach when developing

assistive technology for students with dyslexia.

In addition, effective educational systems for

dyslexic students support multisensory approach,

which is crucial for improving students' reading

skills. In such approach, the same information is

presented in different formats (text, image, sound,

and other) since students learn best when they use all

senses. Moreover, collaborative learning presents

another virtue of assistive technologies. In addition

to one-on-one learning, technology enables students

to collaborate with one another, with teachers,

parents, tutors, and other individuals. Collaboration

gives students the sense of integration, which is very

important for all students, and especially for those

with learning disorders.

Furthermore, learning environment needs to be

interactive, filled with instructional resources and

challenging assignments, enabling students to

become engaged participants. Thus, games have

become a very effective educational aid for dyslexic

students, especially because they use badges

(rewards) and points (ranking). These offer a

constant feedback and promote competition, which

is a highly motivating factor.

After all, new technologies offer a wide range of

possibilities for development of educational aids for

dyslexic students. They open new avenues through

which students with dyslexia can learn and enhance

language skills, both in their native and foreign

language.

ACKNOWLEDGMENT

This work has been fully supported by the

University of Rijeka under the project uniri-drustv-

18-140.

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