Nuance's Voice Recognition Software Helps Dyslexic Trainees

Voice Recognition Software Helps Dyslexic Trainees Complete Training in New Zealand

SYDNEY, Australia, 6 December 2017 – Nuance’s flagship voice recognition software product, Dragon, is helping dyslexic trainees skill up to pursue careers in primary industry.

National Specialist in Literacy and Numeracy for New Zealand’s Primary Industry Training Organisation (PITO), Mike Styles, says the assistive technology can make a “significant” difference to the lives of dyslexic students. ‘It helps our dyslexic trainees build their skills and knowledge base, and complete their training so they can pursue their career goals.’

Dragon allows students to simply talk to create content and command a computer. Rather than focus on typing and spelling, it allows trainees to concentrate on content so that they can complete assessments and projects.

According to Mike about 40% of people seeking workplace training in the primary sector face obstacles with literacy and numeracy, and around 15% of these individuals experience difficulties due to dyslexia. ‘There is a large proportion of the workforce all around the world who struggle to keep up with the literacy and numeracy demands of the workplace,’ says Mike.

Dyslexic individuals have difficulty with words and experience trouble with reading, spelling and writing.

‘Many of our trainees who have learning difficulties are unaware that they may have dyslexia. And most of them probably laboured through life believing that they are just slow learners,’ explains Mike.

‘However, once dyslexia is confirmed, they’re often relieved because now they can explain why they struggled for so long,’ he added.

In addition to providing a range of workshops, short courses, and certificate and diploma programs for people employed in the primary sector, the PITO runs a program that supports its dyslexic trainees and manages similar courses through other tertiary institutions. It also trains tertiary educators throughout New Zealand as to how they can assist dyslexic learners.

‘Our dyslexic trainees use Dragon to “write” up their projects and assessments. Just by speaking the words appear on their screens and they don’t have to worry about typing and spelling. They can just concentrate on the content,’ says Mike.

He also explains that Dragon is a “marvelous” tool because it helps the trainees save time. ‘It’s a well-known fact that dyslexia robs people of time. But Dragon works to help eliminate this and the frustration that people experience because they have problems spelling and typing.’

The benefits of using Dragon also flow through to the workplace. Mike says that, ‘The software helps them write correspondence, send invoices, draft incident reports and create other documents at work. It makes writing easy and fast, so it’s understandable that they’d be using it in the work environment.’

‘As part of an educational organisation and as an educator, to be able to put our dyslexic learners in touch with a concrete tool such as Dragon is great. It not only helps our students complete their training, it also has a positive impact on their lives which is most satisfying to see,’ he says. ‘For many learners, Dragon has been transformational.’

ENDS

About Nuance Communications
Nuance Communications, Inc. is a leading provider of voice and language solutions for businesses and consumers around the world. Its technologies, applications and services make the user experience more compelling by transforming the way people interact with devices and systems. Every day, millions of users and thousands of businesses experience Nuance’s proven applications. For more information, please visit www.nuance.com

© Scoop Media