SeeWord
-
A Word processing aid for dyslexic computer users
Introduction
SeeWord is a highly configurable word processing environment which is designed
to alleviate sone of the difficulties encountered by dyslexics when producing
and reading text. These pages give some background information about the
SeeWord project, you can download a prototype of the software, and there
are some useful links to dyslexic resources on the Internet.
Background
Studies have shown that dyslexics often benefit from using a word processor.
The word processor gives consistent and clear text on the screen, providing
spell checking and often limited grammar checking. This is useful for people
with dyslexia, especially when working with longer pieces of text. People
with dyslexia can often overcome problems by using a computer: for example,
the static arrangement of letters on the keyboard assists dyslexic users
in the recollection of letters - the ‘a’ is always in the middle left of
the keyboard. More information...
Software
The software that we developed consists of two parts:
-
A stand-alone word processor which is linked to Microsoft Word®. The
appearance of the text can easily be changed, more than one user can save
their own personal settings, and if a speech synthesiser is installed on
the machine, it can be used for speaking as you type or speaking selected
text.
-
A Microsoft Word® add-on in the form of a template which the user can
use when creating a new document. It has a pop-up dialogue where the appearance
of the text can be changed in the same way as in the stand-alone program.
To download the program or read more about it, go to the download
and installation page.
Resources
For more information about dyslexia, try the useful
links page.
The SeeWord project was developed at the Department
of Applied Computing at University
of Dundee.
Updated: 12 October 1998
Peter N Andreasen
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