Tech & Tools

Mobile Apps Make Reading Fun
for Children With Dyslexia

Mobile apps and daily visual activities can encourage children with dyslexia to participate in reading exercises, says Lenin Grajo, EdM, an instructor of occupational science and occupational therapy at Saint Louis University.

“Reading has always been looked at as a skill you should be able to master,” Grajo says. “My approach basically focuses on participation. I look at how much you like doing a task rather than how well you can do it.”

Children with dyslexia, a learning disorder in which the brain processes and interprets information differently, usually dislike highly structured reading tasks and therefore avoid taking part in reading activities. But with the latest technological innovations, kids with dyslexia have started using tablet and smartphone apps that make reading and writing more fun.

“This is the multisensory approach that makes books very interactive,” Grajo says. “If you ask a child with dyslexia to read a book, they will say they can’t. But through these apps, children actually like doing these reading activities.”

Some of these interactive books have a built-in camera and recorder that engage kids. These apps play a big role in developing a child’s reading, writing, spelling, studying, and organizing skills, which eventually increases their self-confidence in the classroom, Grajo says.

The apps help form a strong foundation for children with dyslexia, enabling them to develop their own strategies to read and write as they begin to like these activities.

— Source: Saint Louis University Medical Center