Which assistive technology is most likely to help a 12-year-old student with an intellectual disability and dyslexia access the curriculum across content areas?

Which assistive technology is most likely to help a 12-year-old student with an intellectual disability and dyslexia access the curriculum across content areas?

• A. Text-to-speech software
• B. A personal FM system with earphones
• C. A communication board with icons
• D. Text magnification with color options

Answer: (A)

Understanding how to access written material is key for a student with dyslexia. Text-to-speech software reads written text aloud, so the student can listen to textbooks, assignments, and notes while following along. This reduces decoding struggles and lets them engage with content across subjects—reading, science, math, and more—without getting stuck on word-by-word recognition. It also supports comprehension by linking spoken language to written text and can be used with different formats (digital articles, PDFs, slides). Other tools have valuable uses but don’t tackle the same barrier. A personal FM system helps the student hear the teacher more clearly in class, which aids attention and participation but doesn’t directly provide access to the curriculum's written content. A communication board with icons focuses on expressive communication rather than accessing written material. Text magnification helps when reading visually but still requires decoding and may not address the reading difficulties typical of dyslexia as effectively as listening to the text. In this scenario, text-to-speech best enables cross-subject access to the curriculum.

Understanding how to access written material is key for a student with dyslexia. Text-to-speech software reads written text aloud, so the student can listen to textbooks, assignments, and notes while following along. This reduces decoding struggles and lets them engage with content across subjects—reading, science, math, and more—without getting stuck on word-by-word recognition. It also supports comprehension by linking spoken language to written text and can be used with different formats (digital articles, PDFs, slides).

Other tools have valuable uses but don’t tackle the same barrier. A personal FM system helps the student hear the teacher more clearly in class, which aids attention and participation but doesn’t directly provide access to the curriculum's written content. A communication board with icons focuses on expressive communication rather than accessing written material. Text magnification helps when reading visually but still requires decoding and may not address the reading difficulties typical of dyslexia as effectively as listening to the text. In this scenario, text-to-speech best enables cross-subject access to the curriculum.