understanding computer accommodations for reading disabilities katherine deibel cse 590w –...
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Understanding Computer Accommodations for Reading DisabilitiesKatherine Deibel
CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
April 5, 2005
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Outline
Overview of Reading Disabilities
Current Accommodation Approaches
Accessible Technology for Self-Advocacy
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
The Statistics
Specific Learning Disability
55%Mobility / Orthopedic 12%Speech / Language 1%Blind / Visual 5%Hearing 6%Mental / Emotional 10%Health 6%Other 5%
ReadingDifficult
y
Disabilities at U.S. Colleges & Universities
(NCES Report 1999-046)
90% experience difficulty with reading (Kavale & Reese, 1992)
Data includes ADD/ADHD
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
More statistics
Dyslexia affects 7–15% of the population
(Sands & Buchholz, 1997)
≈500* new students register as having dyslexia each year at UW
*Underestimate
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
What’s in a Name?
Dyslexia Dysphonia (auditory) Dyseidesia (visual)
Word blindness Phonological Processing Deficit Strephosymbolia (twisted letters) Visual Stress / Meares-Irlen
Syndrome = Reading Disabilities
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
What is a Reading Disability?A neurological condition defined as a profound difficulty with reading and learning how to read that cannot be explained because of:
Low intelligence
Limited sensory ability
Lack of education
Lack of socioeconomic opportunity
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Primary Features of Reading Disabilities
Phonological Processing Deficit
Orthography Sound
Rapid Naming Deficit Visual Forms Meaning
Comprehension Difficulties
MentalWord
Word
LetterForm
LetterSound
PhonemeMorpheme
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Associated Symptoms
Visual stress and eye strain
Memory issues: Visual
Short-term
Poor self-confidence
Anxiety issues
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Reversing Letters ≠ Dyslexia Letter Reversals:
Horizontal mirroring: b ↔ d
Vertical mirroring: b ↔ p
Occur only infrequently
Likely only if result is a real word: Possible: bad → dad
Unlikely: different → bifferent
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Related Strengths
Spatial awareness
Lateral thinking skills
Artistic skills
Creativity and imagination
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Important Takeaways
Reading disabilities… … are common
… are a cluster of related conditions
People with reading disabilities… … have a diversity of cognitive
symptoms
… face self-esteem and confidence issues
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Outline
Overview of Reading Disabilities
Current Accommodation Approaches
Accessible Technology for Self-Advocacy
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Defining the User Population The purpose of reading changes
over time From learning to read…
… to reading to learn
My work focuses on adult readers: High school students
Undergraduate and graduate students
Adult employees
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Computer-Based Accommodations Text-To-Speech
Bookwise
Kurzweil 3000
ReadPlease
On-demand dictionaries
Reading focus aids: Fisheye lenses
Dynamic highlighting
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
AT Demo
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Why TTS Works?
Mental vocabulary store is present and functional
Speech bypasses the faulty word recognition pathway
Word
Word
LetterForm
LetterSound
PhonemeMorpheme
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Limitations of TTS
Requires strong auditory skills Shown to be ineffective for some users
(Sands & Bucholz, 1997; Elkind et al., 1996)
Social weight (thermos vs espresso machine) Consider classroom usage
Adoption issues: ATL Usage at UW
Elkind Adult Bookwise Study (1996)
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Outline
Overview of Reading Disabilities
Current Accommodation Approaches
Accessible Technology for Self-Advocacy
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
The General Idea
Identify the factors that lead to AT adoption and rejection
Develop computer tools to address these factors
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Factors of Adoption (Preliminary) Gather from informal interviews
with: Students with Disabilities
AT Experts
Identified factors: Privacy / Stigma Concerns
Learning Curve / Software Complexity
Lack of Support / No Self-Advocacy
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Support and Self-Advocacy Diversity of reading disabilities is
problematic Need to identify what accommodations are best Need to configure said accommodations Requires expertise and manpower
Students with invisible disabilities are unlikely to seek out help Have low self-confidence due to previous bad
experiences with authority figures (Edwards, 1994)
Often postpone till too late (Cory, 2005)
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
AT for Self-Advocacy
Simultaneously address: Caretaker issue
Hesitancy to seek out support issue
Assume reading on a computer (likely a tablet)
A toolkit of interoperable accommodations
A software “wizard” to let the user: Identify the best accommodations
Identify optimal configurations of accommodations
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Proof of Concept
Identify a known accommodation with the following properties: Achievable on a computer
Large configuration space
Effective for only some people
Diagnostic protocol exists for diagnosis and configuration
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Visual Stress and Color Overlays
Eye strain
Pattern glare
15-20% of people with dyslexia, 10% of general population
Treatment: Colored transparencies and
lenses
Optimal color differs between individuals
Sensitivity to even slight changes in the colors
Difficulty sustaining focus
Letter blur
Visual Stress is when text is painful to read:
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Color Diagnosis
Iterative evaluation of oral reading accuracy
The Wilkins Rate of Reading Test: Measures visual stress
Uses 15 common, 1 syllable words
Tight, unfriendly typographycome see the play look up is cat not my and dog for you tothe cat up dog and is play come you see for not to look myyou for the and not see my play come is look dog cat to updog to you and play cat up is my not come for the look seeplay come see cat not look dog is my up the for to and youto not cat for look is my and up come play you see the dogmy play see to for you is the look up cat not dog come andlook to for my come play the dog see you not cat up and is
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Software Design
Automate Wilkins Test using speech recognition
Mimic the optometric evaluation of color diagnosis Includes both objective and subjective
measurements
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Additional Directions
Recent evidence suggests that individuals with dyslexia are more sensitive to typography
Use previous diagnosis wizard to adjust: Font face
Font size / Line spacing
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Discussion
Thoughts on AT for self-advocacy?
Other accommodations to develop/explore?
Applications to other disabilities?
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Understanding Adoption (Part 1 of 3) Survey of Technology Use
Participatory Design Studies: Future Workshop Method (Kensing &
Madsen)
Low-Fidelity Prototyping
One-on-one interviews: Students with learning disabilities
AT Experts
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Understanding Adoption (Part 2 of 3) Survey of Accessible Technology
Use: Administer to university students with
specific learning disabilities
Focus primarily on AT but will include Classroom Technology (E-mail, Discussion Boards, etc.)
Attempt to identify environmental and social factors related to adoption
04/18/23CSE 590W – Computers and Disabilities
Understanding Adoption (Part 3 of 3) Participatory Design of Reading
Technology Work a small number of university
students with reading disabilities Determine what does and does not
work with current technologies Will use the Future Workshops
approach (Kensing & Madsen) Brainstorm and develop new
computer-based accommodations