Disabilities should not prevent students from using their talents to the full. To help students reach their potential, they can use the services of a professional assessor, who can recommend a range of equipment suitable for their needs. Dragon speech recognition software has been recommended by assessor Jodie Parkes during a 20 year career. We spoke to Jodie to find out more about his job, and about why Dragon is such an important help for students with disabilities.
Jodie Parkes is a DSA needs assessor. He meets students with a wide range of disabilities which can affect their ability to achieve their full potential. He has been recommending Dragon to students for 20 years, and has always been impressed by how much it can benefit the students he advises.
When we spoke to Jodie he told us that a key advantage of Dragon is how easy it is to use. He said, “For most students it is essentially popping on a headset, start talking, and things happen. And that’s pretty much all there is to it.”
Jodie told us that Dragon lets students use dictation to text to get their thoughts into the computer at speed, and this is a real benefit to them. He talked about how Dragon can help people with learning difficulties like dyslexia or other conditions where they find it challenging to express their ideas in writing. When you can speak rather than having to use the keyboard as an interface between your thoughts and writing, there is more freedom. The keyboard is no longer a barrier.
We also heard from Jodie about how Dragon can help students with mental health conditions or anxiety related problems. When people can feel overwhelmed by the amount of effort required to do a task, anything that can make those tasks easier is useful. Voice recognition in Dragon turns speech into written text at a fast speed, so that, Jodie said, “those disability effects essentially disappear for most people.”
Dragon is also recommended by Jodie for students who have physical difficult using a keyboard or a mouse. For them, not having to grapple with a physical interface between their thoughts and ideas and the computer is a real boon.
It’s not just document creation that Dragon helps students with. Anything from creating emails to tweeting and searching the web can be done easier and faster.
At Nuance we are very proud of how Dragon helps students with disabilities fulfil their ambitions. Read more about the work of DSA assessor Jodie Parkes in our case study here.
If you would like to find out more about how Dragon can help students with disabilities join one of our partners’ webinars or just get in touch.