A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words – especially when writing with them

You may have used some of the talking word processing programs available today. You may also know about symbol-word processing programs. This type of program is great for emerging writers as well as students with learning disabilities and developmental delays.

I’ve been having fun with a talking, symbol-word processing program called SymWord by Claro Software. This program probably has the easiest editor that I have ever used. No kidding, I created two different grids in less than 15 minutes without the help files - it is that intuitive.

It allows for the quick set up of separate user profiles with specific settings, such as:

• presentation style (symbols, text, or symbols and text)
• preferred font and background colors
• use of voice for text-to-speech capability
• scanning options for switch users
• use of the word prediction feature
• set up of an email connection

I can very quickly create a customized symbol, text, or keyboard grid to be used in the word processor portion of the program. This allows the student to easily write using multiple modes. For example, the student can start typing and have symbols appear. Or, the student can choose (or access through a touch screen or switch/scanning) a button to facilitate the writing process. See my screen shot below.

Students can:

• incorporate the word prediction feature to assist in finding the words they need to speed up the writing process
• use it as a communication program
• create an email message in SymWord and then export it to an email account (as long as the server information has been set up)

 

SymWord Example