Question:

Hi, my son is 11, has severe dyslexia, writes at 1.5 grade level, and has articulation problems.  The school district will provide Dragon Naturally Speaking (DNS) for home and school use and I don't know where to begin...

Answer:

Help for everyone using, interested in, or frustrated by speech recognition software is just a web link away...Speech recognition technology is one of those endeavors in which success is a highly individual matter.  However at the following web site you will find a list and discussion of student characteristics that should be looked at when you are thinking about using speech recognition software.

http://www.edc.org/spk2wrt

Go to the Resource Laboratory section to read or download two practical articles, "Use of Speech Recognition by Students and In Schools: An Overview" (1999), and "Student Characteristics to Evaluate when Considering Use of Speech Recognition" (1999).  This site is a collaboration of Education Development Center, Inc. and Boston Children's Hospital.  I participate on the spk2wrt listserv and have found the discussions to be helpful and most often focused on K-12 special education student issues.  You can sign-up for the listserv at the web site.

Websites Related to Speech Recognition for Students with Disabilities:

http://www.sayican.com   
Reference and on-line purchase site for books, software and other products and services for speech recognition computing needs.  This is a California resource:  Say I Can, Inc. 2039 Shattuck Ave. Suite 305, Berkeley CA 94704.

http://www.cforat.org 
The Center for Accessible Technology (CforAT) web site, another Northern California resource and recipient of a grant from Consumer Protection agency to evaluate speech recognition software programs for use by people with disabilities.  You can call them at (510) 841-3224 for more information or to set up an appointment at their lab at 2525 8th Street in Berkeley, CA.

http://www.the-literacy-center.com 
A new web site with actual case studies of students with learning disabilities who are learning to use speech recognition software.  When you get to the site, click on Speech Recognition and then click on Students LD Speech Rec. to read all about it!