If your child has a reading disability, check out this cool Reading Pen Assistive Technology to enable independent reading for kids with dyslexia:

The Reading Pen

Reading pens are great for assistive technology. Your child can use the pen to scan a word or a sentence, and the pen will read the text aloud so your child never has to guess when reading.

As assistive technology, reading pens are particularly useful for older children who prefer to work independently, but are still working on learning basic reading skills.  A reading pen allows your child to work with grade-level books in science, math, history, and literature because it reads those difficult words to your child.

Using a Reading Pen can help you avoid the “Matthew Effect,” which occurs when a child gets further behind in all subject areas due to a disability in one subject area. The Matthew Effect occurs when a child doesn’t have equal access to grade-level materials in all subject areas that the child is required to study. A reading pen can provide the needed accessibility to grade-level materials.

More about the Reading Pens below, but I did want to mention, if you’re interested in other strategies for reading, be sure to check out other Assistive Technology for Dyslexia and Reading Disabilities too!

The Benefits of a Reading Pen

One of the best things about a reading pen is that it can be taken anywhere to read any print your child may encounter. Unlike text-to-speech capabilities on computers, the scanning function of the pen can be used to read just about anything that is printed in a typical reading font.

The reading pens have earphones too, so your child can use the Reading Pen in libraries, in the car, in class, or anywhere he may need to read without disturbing others.

The biggest benefit of a reading pen is providing your child with independence while working. No longer would he have to wonder what a word is, skip over it, or ask someone.

The reading pen can enable a child with a specific learning disability in reading to read required texts fairly easily. This capability will enable your child to read at a more fluent rate rather than struggling to read.

Reading Pens and Reading Comprehension

Perhaps the best benefit of all in equipping your child with a Reading Pen is that this assistive device can enhance a child’s reading comprehension. Studies show some promising results, although not every child is shown to benefit in every study:

“The Readingpen significantly improved comprehension levels as shown by an increase in number of correct answers on given tests. On average, the Readingpen increased science scores by 18 percentage points and social studies by 10 percentage points.” (Wizcomtech, http://www.wizcomtech.com/education/main.asp?contentID=1283)

In “Exploring the affordances of I-pen for improving student reading skills,” Sze Yee Lye concludes, “The data analysis produced encouraging evidence that I-Pen is beneficial for the weak readers. The pupils find I-Pen easy to use and their reading experience appears to be enhanced by the I-Pen.” (Academia.edu)

In conclusion, having a reading pen won’t teach your child how to read, but it sure can make reading content more accessible. The Reading Pen can give your child independence, increase his reading speed, and enhance his comprehension as he reads more fluently. All-in-all, I think Reading Pen Assistive Technology is among the handiest of devices for kids with dyslexia.
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