Background
Dyslexia first becomes obvious when we are in school, as education is largely achieved through the written word. There are some 10 million children in the UK school system. On average more than one child in each class — 400,000 in the UK — is severely dyslexic. 1 million – three in each class – experience some difficulties.
In higher education, the DSA provides 16,000 new university students each year with the means to help them do their studies. This is about 2% of new students. The DSA is a government funded grant aimed at assisting students to pay for additional study costs directly attributable to their disability or specific learning difficulty.
iansyst provides complete computer systems and training for students receiving the DSA, as well as hardware and software for schools and colleges.
At Work
There are some 1.2m severely dyslexic people in the workforce. The Disability Discrimination Act requires employers to make reasonable adjustments to adapt the workplace for disabled employees. Access to Work is a scheme administered through the government employment service to help organisations to achieve this. The AtW scheme provides advice, information and funding to disabled individuals and their employers. iansyst provides computer hardware, software and training through the AtW scheme.
Assistive Technology
Technology can help level the playing field between dyslexic people and their peers. Solutions range from software to teach reading, writing, maths and study skills, to programs and gadgets that help to sidestep dyslexic difficulties.
Typical examples include using a computer to make text clearer and even to read it aloud; portable recorders, dictionaries and scanners for when you are on the move; and software that recognises your speech so that you can write without using the keyboard. Concept-mapping software can easily capture and organise a series of ideas.