IT Accessibility - TextHelp
Help for those with dyslexia - TextHelp Read & Write
What it is
We can now provide additional help to those with dyslexia in IT Services Labs and on the Staff Desktop service. Text Help Read and Write 8.1 is available in all IT Services Computer Labs. Text Help read and Write 7.1 is available via the Staff Desktop service.
Although developed for those with dyslexia, the software could be of use for some users with English as a second or other language.
The software provides:-
-
Speech. It will read documents or web pages, including Acrobat documents. (Please note that this software is not as sophisticated as screen reading software for the blind). You will need to obtain headphones to use this facility.
-
Spell check.
-
Word Prediction. It will provide a list of words which will complete what you are typing.
-
Dictionary. A comprehensive dictionary displaying the various meanings of words.
-
Word Wizard to help you find words or phrases that you can not remember.
-
Show Same Sounding Words (Homophones). This is an area where many experience difficulty. It will show all alternate spellings where available together with their meanings. For example, site a place, sight the ability to see, and cite to make a reference to a book or publication.
-
Calculator. More easy to read and use than the standard Windows calculator.
Extra facilities in Computer Labs
In Computer Labs the software has even more functions.
Clickon the down arrow sign next to an icon and choose the video tour option to see a "movie" of details of what the option does. In particular, click on the down arrow sign next to the textHELP button at the right-hand end and see the Watch Toolbar video tour and Watch Study Skills video tour options.
Staff Desktop set-up
The software must be set up to run for Staff Desktop computers. This need only be done once.
Getting Started "movie" guides
We provide guides to getting started with using the software.
Please use the Text Help help system to learn about setting up the system to meet your requirements, such as adding words to the dictionary. Please view the video guide to see visually how to use the software.
Scanning options in Computer Labs
Please also note that there are scanners in computing labs. The scanners can read text (Optical Character Recognition) and import it into a document. This text can subsequently be read to you (on another computer) with the Text Help system.