Reading sentences

Brief description

• Free text to speech program
• Works in Microsoft programs, webpages, PDF files and emails
• No copy and paste required: uses its own task bar
• Can also magnify text and change the font colour, style and size to aid reading

Who could benefit

• People who struggle to read
• People with visual difficulties

Brief description

• A basic ‘line’ guide
• Isolates lines of text at a time. Can select the bar width to 25%, 50%, 75% or 100% of screen width and set the slot height to the required font size

Who could benefit

• People who struggle to read text when it is in large chunks due to reading or visual difficulties.
• People who skip lines of text

Brief description

• Word prediction, speech recognition & screen reader
• The program predicts to aid spelling, gives examples of word useage, reads aloud text on the screen (what you’re typing or what you’re reading).
• Can also use speech recognition to ‘type’ in words.
• Can customise the dictionary to improve prediction
• Screen reader, prediction & speech recognition works within all programs/web pages (e.g. can use within email, social networking sites & web searches)

Who could benefit:

• People who can spell the first 2-3 letters of a word before getting stuck
• People who can spell words but sometimes find it easier to say a word

Comments

• All parts of the program work on PC. Mac users only have access to the word prediction & screen reading parts of the program, not the speech recognition part
• Switch accessible only if using Wivick connection cable
   

Type of exercises & brief description             

• Phrase matching, sentence matching, phrase completion, and sentence completion tasks for adjectives (82 items), nouns (260 items), verbs (107 items) with the choice of 10-100 exercises per session
• All exercises provide 4 multiple choice answers.

Error handling: None

Prompts/cues: None

Record results: Results are presented at end of session in % format, but cannot be reviewed later. They can be forwarded to an email address.

Comments/N.B

• There is only one version for UK, US, Aus and there are some American words (e.g.' store' in place of 'shop') however due to context, this shouldn't be a problem.
• Some of the answers require the user to 'infer' an answer from the context which could be useful for higher level readers.
• FREE TRIAL available through the languagetherappy Lite app
   

Supplier: Tactus

Type of exercises:

• Multiple choice and gapfiller sentence, phrase and definition completion

Developed with SLT: Yes



Theory based: No specific theory base, SLT experience



Record own speaking attempts: N/A



Correction of own speaking attempts: N/A



Customisation/personalisation: No



Error handling: None



Prompts/cues given: Can listen to question and hear answer spoken but no actual auditory cues



Tutorials: No



Free trial: Yes



Support: Free, life time technical support via phone, email or online livechat



Comments:

• Need mouse to exit before the end of the exercise session
• Extensive number of items to complete
• Some flexibility with answers (multiple correct answers)

N.B:

Have to delete previous answer before correcting a response

Writing tasks but also working on semantics

Need sentence level reading

Spoken answers are with an American accent

Type of exercises:

• Reading comprehension with multiple choice answers.
• Reading of bills, adverts, product labels, timetables. Locating services and recipes.

Developed with SLT: Yes

Theory based: No specific theory base, SLT experience

Record own speaking attempts: N/A

Correction of own speaking attempts: N/A

Customisation/personalisation: No

Error handling: Yes. If a wrong answer is given, it will highlight the area of the text to look at to obtain the correct answer.

Prompts/cues given: Chunks of text to read are highlighted to aid finding correct answer. Can alter number of multiple choice options.

Tutorials: No

Free trial: Yes

Support: Free lifetime technical support via phone, email or online livechat

Comments:

• Very American (e.g. American product labels, prices in $, American vocabulary)
• Not real life clippings
• Some exercises only have 2 items to read
• Progress tracking to automatically move user on as they improve

N.B:

    Very American.
    Not many exercises so would quickly complete the whole program.

Type of exercises:

• Multiple choice and gapfiller sentence, phrase and definition completion

Developed with SLT: Yes

Theory based: No specific theory base, SLT experience

Record own speaking attempts: N/A

Correction of own speaking attempts: N/A

Customisation/personalisation: No

Error handling: None

Prompts/cues given: None

Tutorials: No

Free trial: Yes

Support: Free, life time technical support via phone, email or online livechat

Comments:

• Need mouse to exit before the end of the exercise session
• Extensive number of items to complete
• Some flexibility with answers (multiple correct answers)

N.B:

• Have to delete previous answer before correcting a response
• Writing tasks but also working on semantics
• Need sentence level reading

Type of exercises:

• Reading comprehension with multiple choice answers.
• Reading of bills, adverts, product labels, timetables.
• Locating services and recipes.

Developed with SLT: Yes

Theory based: No specific theory base, SLT experience

Record own speaking attempts: N/A

Correction of own speaking attempts: N/A

Customisation/personalisation: No

Error handling: Yes. If a wrong answer is given, it will highlight the area of the text to look at to obtain the correct answer.

Prompts/cues given: Chunks of text to read are highlighted to aid finding correct answer.

Tutorials: No

Free trial: Yes

Support: Free lifetime technical support via phone, email or online livechat

Comments:

• Very American (e.g. American product labels, prices in $, American vocabulary)
• Not real life clippings
• Some exercises only have 2 items to read

N.B:   

• Very American.
• Not many exercises so would quickly complete the whole programme.

Type of exercises:

• Multiple choice and gapfiller sentence,
• phrase and definition completion

Developed with SLT: Yes

Theory based: No specific theory base, SLT experience

Record own speaking attempts: N/A

Correction of own speaking attempts: N/A

Customisation/personalisation: No

Error handling: None

Prompts/cues given: Can choose number of multiple choice options & type of cue

Tutorials: No

Free trial: Yes

Support: Free, life time technical support via phone, email or online livechat

Comments:

• Need mouse to exit before the end of the exercise session
• Extensive number of items to complete
• Some flexibility with answers (multiple correct answers)

N.B:
    Have to delete previous answer before correcting a response
    Writing tasks but also working on semantics
    Need sentence level reading

Type of exercises:

• 4 levels of reading comprehension exercises.
• Ranging from single paragraphs with short sentences up to very long stories with long sentences based on novels.

Developed with SLT: Yes

Theory based: No specific theory base, SLT experience

Record own speaking attempts: N/A

Correction of own speaking attempts: N/A

Customisation/personalisation: No

Error handling: Yes. If a wrong answer is given, it will highlight the area of the text to look at to obtain the correct answer.

Prompts/cues given: Yes. Can highlight the text word by word to aid concentration. Chunks of text to read are highlighted to aid finding correct answer. Can alter number of multiple choice options.

Tutorials: No

Free trial: Yes

Support: Free lifetime technical support via phone, email or online livechat

Comments:

• The long stories are quite long and complicated.
• On levels 3 & 4 some answers are inferred from the text
• Progress tracking to move user on as they improve