Digital tools to support dyslexia
Please share your own tools @SDPurr
Digital tools can be like an extra team member, supporting us when we go wrong…
If these tools can banish the Apostrophe Police that have plagued me all my life and send them crawling back under the rock they came from, it just makes me love them a little bit more.
Tools that I use every day are:
- Browser ‘search by voice’
- Voice recognition
- Video conferencing (to see the whites of people eyes)
- Audiobooks
- Touchscreens (to draw and explain what is in my head)
- Sketchnoting and infographics
- Synonyms (to try and use longer words to mask my dyslexia, shame on me)
- Voice recording (to take notes)
- My amazing colleagues that I bounce everything off first, and who proofread my work.
Being dyslexic in a digital team
In our team, we start with service design at a very human level, and support this with technology when we know where the gaps or weaknesses are. As a dyslexic, seeing these gaps is instinctive, and having the ability to find, explore and even encourage mistakes is a really valuable skill.A blend of human-led problem solving and tech seems to be the best way forwards. Couple this with agile methodology (which helps us accept the first iteration will never be perfect) and this is the foundation that we build our delivery model on.Seeing dyslexia differently
I would like to see more people being open about dyslexia. I’ve found that telling everyone I work with has helped me get to where I am today.
I’d also like to see companies do more to combat the stigma and misinformation about dyslexia. I love how MadeByDyslexia is approaching this challenge, by breaking down people’s perceptions and explaining what it actually means to be dyslexic.
I would like to see things like updated job descriptions – ‘Excellent collaborative and communication skills’ instead of ‘Excellent in verbal and written communication skills’. Whether you’re dyslexic or not, we should talk to each other and be collaborative, not hide behind emails.
For me, digital tools really help me carry out my day job, but I’m old enough that they were not available to me when I was learning to read and write.
When my son comes to learn, will he not just opt for the easy way out? Only time will tell. But if this blog changes the way just one person thinks or acts towards their dyslexic colleagues, then this will make me proud.
Meanwhile I will never understand nouns and pronouns.
The End.