Adaptive Spell Checker for Dyslexic Writers

Abstract

Dyslexic writers make more spelling errors than non-dyslexic writers do. There is some disagreement as to whether they display distinct characteristics in their spelling errors or whether they make errors typical of a younger age group while trying to use vocabulary that is of a level similar to that of others their own age. We hypothesise that the spell checking needs of dyslexic writers differ from those of non-dyslexic writers and that those needs are not adequately met by existing spell checkers. We also hypothesise that spell checkers may be adapted to better meet these needs and that such adaptation would increase the ability of the spell checkers to both detect and correct the spelling errors of dyslexic writers. In this paper, we examine two spell checking methods, one, which can adapt to the writing style of the user and the other, which uses phonetic information to predict the intended word.