Sue Miller wrote:
>>I have received a request for a dictionary useful for dyslexic
>>students. Can anyone recommend particular titles? or would the print
>>size, font type etc. make one of the ordinary dictionaries better
>>than any other.
I guess there are three main reasons for using a dictionary:
1) to check spelling (generally easier done with a spell checker);
2) to check/discover the meaning of a word that you have read or heard;
3) to check that you are using the word you intend (particularly important
for dyslexic people).
If your students are using computers to produce their work, then a computer
based dictionary will probably be more useful than a paper one (easier to
look up, cross refer and cut and paste). The Concise Oxford dictionary is
often recommended, and is fairly cheap at UKP19.99 incl VAT. It works quite
well with textHELP! and contains on the CD-ROM pronunciations of all the
head words. There's also the Oxford Compendium which includes a thesaurus
and dictionary of quotations at UKP50. More info on
http://www.dyslexic.com/referenc.htm. Following Dave Laycock's
recommendation we'll add info about the Collins Cobuild Student's
Dictionary at UKP29 +VAT. Meanwhile it is at
http://www.cobuild.collins.co.uk.
For hand & portable use the Franklin Electronic dictionaries are pretty
good at finding the correct spelling from dyslexic input (a major problem
with dictionaries, for dyslexic people who cannot spell, is often where to
start looking). A thesaurus helps to check that you are using the right
word. The DMQ 440 Collins Dictionary and Thesaurus defines 80,000 headwords
and has 500,000 synonyms at UKP 51.02 +VAT. Cheaper and simpler is the
TMQ100 Thesaurus which also defines head words at UKP24.21. More info, and
a much larger choice (size; desktop or pocket; integrated speech; with
add-on ROMS for foreign languages etc), at
http://www.dyslexic.com/franklin.htm.
As for paper dictionaries, I suspect that ease of looking things up is
going to be more important than font size etc.Somebody has previously
mentioned, on this forum, I think, a dictionary where you look up your
misspellings, rather than having to get the word spelt right before you
start. I forget its name . . .
Ian Litterick
iANSYST Ltd Dyslectech Email [log in to unmask]
The White House, 72 Fen Road, CAMBRIDGE, CB4 1UN, UK
Tel(+44) (0)1223 42 01 01. Fax(+44) (0)1223 42 66 44
FREEPhone from UK only 0500 14 15 15
web url http://www.dyslexic.com
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