Tech Resources to Support Older Student & Adult Challenged Readers

Struggling to read affects more than merely the challenged reader. It can affect that reader's family, his community and certainly society as a whole. Our literacy rate here in the U.S., as determined in the findings from the U.S. Education Department's National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NALS-2003), is one of real concern. Currently, 1 in 4 children in America grow up without learning how to read.

We know that literacy is a learned skill. We also know that illiteracy is something passed down from parents who can neither read nor write. However, can you imagine the even more daunting challenges of an older student who is in high school AND still learning to read? No longer is it only about the reading hurdles, but the older student's self-esteem also becomes a significant issue.

According to current statistics, 2/3 of students who cannot read proficiently by the end of 4th grade will eventually be incarcerated or on welfare. In addition, more than 60% of all inmates are functionally illiterate with 70% of them unable to read above a 4th grade level. These statistics prove that there is a close relationship between illiteracy and crime.

What are the causes of these staggering percentages? Many educational experts believe that the country's economic situation over the past five years has played a part. Also, the current issues with immigration and the high school dropout rate are other important reasons for the poor literacy numbers. However, one significant contribution to the problems of illiteracy in the U.S. is the large number of individuals with undiagnosed learning disabilities.

There are many older and students and adults who struggle to read because of learning differences and disabilities not "caught" or noticed during their elementary school years. Even fewer may have received an appropriate diagnosis for the source of their reading or learning struggles.

With recent reports showing that low literacy directly costs the healthcare industry over $70 million every year, we as a nation must step up to address this situation that affects so many lives. This is part of the motivation for our article this week. We wanted to provide an array of technological resources more specifically for older students and adults who daily struggle to read. We hope you will share them with a challenged older student or adult reader you know.

Tech Resources to Support Older Student & Adult Challenged Readers

iPad and iPhone Apps for Low Vision from the U-M Kellogg Eye Center
A collection of apps for persons with low or impaired vision from (but not endorsed by) the University of Michigan-Kellogg Center. Direct links to the apps' download pages are also provided. Many apps are FREE here with a few others available at various price points.
http://www.kellogg.umich.edu/lowvision/apps.html

Apps for Literacy Support (for iPad & Android) from the Spectronics Consultancy Team
A COMPREHENSIVE list of literacy apps with direct links to individual download pages. A few are FREE, but most are available at various price points.
http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/article/apps-for-literacy-support#Reading-Support

Reading Focus Cards Desktop App (Patent 8,360,779)
This DESKTOP app is the digital version of the low-tech, physical Reading Focus Cards tools (Patent 7,565,759), solutions for struggling readers. This app provides very practical support for children and adults with ADHD, dyslexia, low vision, stroke or brain injury issues, autism and other conditions that can affect reading success. This desktop application promotes more FOCUSED online reading of almost ALL digital media (webpages, PDF files, Word documents, Excel spreadsheets & more.) In addition, the app supports touch-screen technology (where applicable).
1. For Macs (desktops & notebooks):
Visit the Mac App Store and search for Reading Focus Cards or go directly to
https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/read-and-focus/id920617853?mt=12
2. For Windows PCs (desktops & laptops):
Visit Gumroad at https://gumroad.com/l/ReadingFocusCards OR visit the Microsoft Windows Store and search for the app called Reading Focus Cards. (No URLs are ever provided for apps in the Windows Store.)

Using iPads to Support Older Students Struggling with Literacy-Full day Video! by Greg O'Connor (presenter) & Spectronics
Learn about apps like Evernote (for time management, note-taking, task completion and organized retrieval of researched materials). Consider alternative note-taking formats such as those offered by ClaroPDF. Explore improvements to students’ reading comprehension and proofreading skills via text-to-speech apps such as iReadWrite. Discuss the pros and cons of speech recognition on the iPad. See writing supports like word prediction within Co:Writer and WriteOnline come to life on an iPad.
http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/online/resource/using-ipads-to-support-older-students-struggling-with-literacy-full-day-video/

Top 10 Apps for Literacy Support by Amanda Hartmann (presenter) & Spectronics
(for iPad, iPod and iPhone only)
This webinar (just over 1 hour in length) will present the TOP 10 list of apps that may provide the different types of support for students in your classroom (mainly to read and access written text). One app is FREE, but most are available at various price points.
http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/online/resource/top-10-apps-for-literacy-support/

When High School Students Struggle with Textbook Reading from edutopia.com
Practical strategies for tackling textbook reading for older students
http://www.edutopia.org/blog/students-struggle-with-textbook-reading-sheila-valencia?utm_source=facebook&utm_medium=post&utm_campaign=blog-students-struggle-with-textbook-reading-link

Sources

One World Literacy Foundation. "Illiteracy Statistics." One World Literacy. Accessed July 2, 2014.

WriteExpress Corporation. "Literacy Statistics." Begin to Read. Accessed July 2, 2014.

Blankenship, John. "Functional illiteracy continues to grow, but there is help." The Register-Herald. Accessed July 2, 2014.

National Center for Education Statistics. National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL). Accessed July 2, 2014. http://nces.ed.gov/NAAL/

DoSomething.org. "11 Facts about Literacy in America." Accessed July 2, 2014.
https://www.dosomething.org/facts/11-facts-about-literacy-america

For more information on customizable reading tools for dyslexia, better focus & attention, please visit:
www.FocusandRead.com Tools for struggling readers of all ages!
www.BrennanInnovators.com Info & support for struggling readers
314-892-3897

Image courtesy of:
Brennan Innovators, LLC at www.focusandread.com

Literacy Games for ALL Kinds of Challenged Readers

Most parents and educators know that learning to read is a process, one that involves a variety of specific skills. When these skills are effectively learned and systematically combined, a child should then be able to read with increasing success.

Unfortunately for some children, the ability to read may not always be easy. For children with additional needs, parents and educators may also know that a different approach might be needed. When the approach includes a little fun and enjoyment when learning these needed literacy skills, the result can often be much more successful.

This week, we have gathered together a good list of literacy game resources for ALL kinds of struggling readers and learners. Some links will enable you to access online, interactive reading games while a few will provide ideas for offline literacy activities. For the convenience of our good readers, we have also grouped the links in categories of specific need.

As always, we hope you will find these resources helpful in the work you do. Whether you are a parent of a challenged reader or the teacher of a student who struggles to learn, we want to help. Hopefully, these links will make your job just a little bit easier.

Happy reading---to ALL readers!

Literacy Games for ADHD

Reading Games---from PrimaryGames
Play a variety of free online literacy games for kids with a vast collection of learning games for Grades 1-8.
http://www.primarygames.com/reading.php

Reading Games---from PBS
This website provides a collection of interactive reading games for younger children (K-4).
http://pbskids.org/games/reading/

Literacy Games for Dyslexia

Literacy Games---from Dyslexia House Association
This organization provides information and support for dyslexic people, parents, teachers and employers. The reinforcement elements of these games can be very beneficial for many dyslexic students and a very positive way of learning.
http://www.medwaydys.org/html_pages/games/lit_games.html

Fun & Games for Dyslexics---from the University of Michigan DyslexiaHelp Center
If you have dyslexia, there’s no need to avoid hard puzzles and word games any longer. Here is a FREE collection of literacy games for those challenged with dyslexia.
http://dyslexiahelp.umich.edu/tools/fun-games-for-dyslexics

Games to support reading---from the British Dyslexia Association
There are numerous games available on this site to support reading, spelling & memory.
http://www.bdadyslexia.org.uk/about-dyslexia/parents/helping-your-child-at-home.html

Literacy Games for Down Syndrome

Activities and games
The following offline activities and games may be especially suitable for children with Down Syndrome. Playing games with them is a good way to enable them to react to being touched and being moved. As a result they become more conscious of their bodies and their movements. They will then pay more attention to what they are doing and will be better able to react to their environment.
http://www.sensoryprocessing.info/games/choose-8-down.html

Reading Games---from JumpStart
Online reading games (and others) for children ages K-5. (Requires free online registration to access games.)
https://www.jumpstart.com/free-online-game.aspx?pid=googpd&cid=reading%20games&gclid=CP7qxunG27wCFVBk7AodNRkAqw

Literacy Games for Autism & Asperger's

Reading Eggs
Reading Eggs is a great program for ASD students because it's very visual, has a lot of repetition, and all activities are VERY engaging! It makes learning to read interesting and engaging for kids, with online reading games and activities. The program has been developed by a highly experienced team of educational teachers, writers and developers. The Reading Eggs program focuses on a core reading curriculum of phonics and sight words using skills and strategies essential for sustained reading success. It completely supports what children learn at school and will help to improve your child’s results at school. (FREE 14-day trial available)
http://readingeggs.com/

Reading Links---from Free Videos for Autistic Kids
An extensive list of reading & literacy links especially helpful for children with autism or Asperger's
http://www.freevideosforautistickids.com/Reading_Links.html

Learn to Read with Phonics---from Starfall
Starfall.com opened in September of 2002 as a FREE public service to teach children to read with phonics. Their systematic phonics approach, in conjunction with phonemic awareness practice, is perfect for preschool, kindergarten, first grade, second grade, special education, homeschool, and English language development (ELD, ELL, ESL). Starfall is an educational alternative to other entertainment choices for children.
http://www.starfall.com/

Literacy Games for Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD)

Activities and games
A collection of offline games especially helpful for children with sensory processing disorder (SPD)
http://www.sensoryprocessing.info/games/games.html

For information on customizable reading tools for ADHD & other reading challenges:
www.FocusandRead.com Tools for struggling readers of all ages!
www.BrennanInnovators.com Info & support for struggling readers
314-892-3897

Image courtesy of:
Brennan Innovators, LLC at www.focusandread.com