It is estimated that one in five students has dyslexia, yet there are likely far more who have not yet been diagnosed in today’s classrooms. These students, who see the written word differently, are often mistakenly labeled as having a learning disability and, as such, make up approximately 70 to 85 percent of today’s special education classes. Their teachers and parents don’t often have the resources or training to help, however passionate they may be. Without the proper support in formative years, a struggling student’s confidence and love of learning can fade. History has shown these great young minds can bring tremendous gifts to the world – like the many great dyslexic innovators, artists and leaders before them – if they feel empowered and learn to see dyslexia differently.

That is why today, we are honored to be the first company to sign the Made by Dyslexia pledge: to give the 700 million people with dyslexia around the world access to technology that empowers them to excel in their academic journey, and in life. The pledge calls on partners to build a better future for those with dyslexia and, together with Made by Dyslexia, we aim to democratize dyslexia support, so that every dyslexic child is understood and given the right support to realize their brilliant potential.

To achieve this goal, we are expanding our Microsoft Education training materials, research and products that support dyslexic students. Products like Learning Tools are free to educators and students and are already helping more than 14 million people improve their reading and writing comprehension. Starting today, we pledge to expand access and improve ease of implementation of these tools.

Click below to jump to details on our commitments and new updates:

1. Developing materials and training for educators supporting dyslexic learners
2. Helping students to write with their voice using the Dictation Tool in Learning Tools
3. Inviting all learners into the conversation with Immersive Reader in Flipgrid
4. Helping students read math problems with Immersive Reader
5. Supporting students in their native language with real-time translation in Immersive Reader
6. Helping students sound out words, in partnership with the University of Washington
7. Making the web more friendly to all learners with updates to the Microsoft Edge browser
8. Capturing text from anywhere to read in Immersive Reader with Office Lens in Android

Read more: Microsoft + Made by Dyslexia: Helping dyslexic students thrive with technology Microsoft EDU

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Posted By: Brink
15 Oct 2018