Computer-based spelling remediation for dyslexic children using the Selfspell environment

For dyslexic children spelling is usually an even more severe problem than reading, so much so that Frith (1985) has suggested that spelling problems reflect a fundamental disability of dyslexic children inthe acquisition of the 'alphabetical' stage in reading. Recent multimedia environments on personal computers permit the construction of spelling support programs which are able to use synthesised speech to communicate with the learner, thus offering the potential to provide adaptive and effective support for learning. This chapter describes the SelfSpell environment for dyslexic children which helps them to learn to spell their problem words. Selfspell is written in HyperCard on the Apple Macintosh microcomputer, using hypermedia techniques to encourage child-centred active learning. Two versions are available, with one in which the children are encouraged to enter rules to help them remember how to spell each word, and one in which a mastery learning technique is used. Evaluations of the effectiveness of the software indicated substantial improvements with either version in the spelling and motivation of two groups of dyslexic children, even for those children who were very severely disabled in spelling.