Wouldn’t it be wonderful if someone with reading difficulty could use something like a camera and take a picture of the words and have those words converted into speech? It would be wonderful, and there is! One very smart inventor who is also dyslexic created one. This technology is not entirely new, however. For many years we have had computer software that scans written material and reads the words on the page out loud. Some programs even highlight the word one at a time so the reader can read along. Sounds wonderful, doesn’t it? Dyslexia is cured. Right? Not so fast. What we have found is that reading is not just getting the words off the page. Reading is the process of gaining meaning from print. Many students with reading difficulty have trouble on two fronts: figuring out what the words mean as well as figuring out how to say the words. And sometimes figuring out what the words mean all together is more problematic than decoding itself. Now, for some people, just figuring out the words on the page is very, very helpful. For others, it is just a piece of the pie. So when we think about the use of technology, we cannot see it as a panacea. We need to remediate the underlying causes as well as selecting assistive technology that can make life a little easier. Now, this camera thing is certainly helpful. And I applaud the inventor. But, we still need to teach kids how to read.
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