Dyslexia Tool Kit

When opening Dyslexia Toolkit, you are greeted with basic graphics with green writing and a white background that identify the three key areas; the start, Joy & Honour and tools & tricks. This is slightly disappointing due to the nature of the learning need.  Videos and visual images would have been more appropriate especially for the younger audience. The app has a slightly homemade feel about it, which can be comforting.

How does it work?

Dyslexia Toolkit offers a fantastic visual tool that are used as a ’go to’ throughout the app. The icons give links to key features for example; orange text where the reader can click to gain special information on the topic covered, audio that is useful for people who struggle to read the large amount of written content provided throughout this app. There are personal stories which allow the reader to gain information from people who struggle with different symptoms of dyslexia and suggests coping mechanisms to support the reader and finally cool tricks this allows the reader to gain advice on how to overcome symptoms of dyslexia for example different ways to organise time, workload stress. Is it noted at this point that the audio is not of great quality although as a user we appreciate the in-app instructions.

Related: Dyslexia Apps for Kids

The notes to parents section have been written to support parents of children who have dyslexia but some of the points are general and could seem demoralising to dyslexic people who have gone above and beyond to ensure they are able to achieve the same academic ability as their peers, however, the way it is written provides support for the dyslexic student in terms of motivation and thinking outside the box. The notes to parents provide an insight into the type of support available and the reassurance that their son/ daughter have the ability to succeed.  The note to the dyslexic is very encouraging and will offer a child a boost to show they are able to achieve.

Joy and Honour -  Emotional side of Dyslexia examples of topics 

School system, Know your rights, How to cope, Confidence, Know how to pick yourself up.

This is a really nice section that allows the reader to gain examples and advice to support their academic progression through school, college, university. It offers real examples from people who have experienced dyslexia throughout their learning experience. The content provided is however at times negative towards the dyslexic person. An example can be found in the poor grades section, the app developer might consider using different experiences rather than just one so they can gain a variety of coping mechanisms after all it isn’t just dyslexic students who might experience poor grades practically when they have most probably invested a lot of time in trying to achieve the end result. Further developments of this section would be to separate the sections into age related advice as it is often general and for the younger reader doesn’t give feedback that would support them at the early stages of diagnosis. For the younger age group the use of websites and a list of people that could support in school would be more beneficial. Here they can receive face to face support and know what or how to ask for help first hand rather than focusing on the negative aspects of further independence when they start studying university or college. 

Tools and tricks (examples of topics)

Spelling, Reading, Time management, Tests, Classes.

This section covers everything important for a dyslexic to handle the academic world. This is a fantastic section and definitely the best feature of this app as it provides practical examples and information that many dyslexic people struggle with. The examples given are clear and relate to first hand experiences.

Dyslexia Toolkit provides a ‘go to’ for support for people who have been diagnosed with dyslexia. This app may not suit a younger audience and is more suited to older students. The apps best feature are the ‘tools and tricks’ section, however, the creator of the app should focus more on the solutions of ‘typical’ issues a dyslexic student faces when studying rather than focusing on the negatives. I feel further development could be made in the different types of dyslexia  with more sources of information for parents and students to refer to as well as showing references to further enhance their knowledge of the subject and to provide evidence that supports where the information for the app has been generated. I feel the cost of this app is slightly expensive for the information provided. 

You can download Dyslexia Tool Kit on your iOS devices from the Apple App Store.