The Compensatory Effectiveness of Optical Character Recognition/Speech Synthesis on Reading Comprehension of Postsecondary Students with Learning Disabilities

Abstract

This study investigated the compensatory effectiveness ofoptical character recognition in conjunction with speech synthesis on the reading comprehension of postsecondary students with learning disabilities. Subjects were given a reading comprehension test under the following conditions: (1) using an optical character recognition/speech synthesis system; (2) having the text read aloud by a human reader; and (3) reading silently without assistance. There was a significant inverse correlation between the silent reading comprehension score and the score obtained using optical character recognition/speech synthesis such that the greater the disability, the more the technology elevated comprehension; conversely, the higher the silent reading score, the more an apparent technology interference effect depressed performance (p=.OOO 1). A similar, but weaker correlation was also found between the silent reading comprehensionscore and the read aloud condition (p=.OOO1). Results are discussed in light of research on the cognitive processes involved in the decoding and comprehension of written material.

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