As someone who intimately understands the challenges that come with dyslexia, Suzy Taylor dedicates her time to informing and helping others with learning difficulties by offering tips and personal accounts of her own struggles in her inspirational blog, Dyslexia Tips. As a helpline advisor and events volunteer for the charity, Dyslexia Scotland, she delivers valuable insights and guidance to individuals, from young children in education all the way to adults in the office. Suzy has taken courses with Call Scotland, on how assistive technology can help children and young people across Scotland to fulfil their potential and alleviate barriers to learning. 

Her story 

After contracting meningitis at the age of four, Suzy experienced swelling on the brain, a trauma that ultimately caused her dyslexia. As a result, whilst attending primary and secondary school, Suzy excelled at science and creative subjects, but always struggled with reading and English studies – in primary school, she was held back a year and in secondary school she required additional attention and support. Despite these hurdles, Suzy never gave up and to this day she continues to pursue her passions, one of which is a Criminal Psychology degree at the Open University. 

Why the OrCam Read stands out against other products 

After applying for the Disabled Students Allowance (DSA) through the Open University, Suzy received various devices to help her with her studies including a C-Pen, laptop, printer, stand and Claro Read. Having gratefully received these devices from the DSA, Suzy also independently trialled the OrCam Read, which she considers a true stand out in comparison to other devices. 

Suzy notes: “Firstly, it is a great tool for reading large amounts of text, particularly synonymous with Further Education studies. With a C-Pen, it can get tiring to hold the device as it physically scans each line individually and requires you to hover above the words in a straight line. In contrast, the OrCam Read captures a whole passage of text – and even a full page – with one simple click, and relays the reading back in real time. Secondly, as it is so quick and easy-to-use, the Read can be more discreet than the C-Pen in public, particularly when reading cafe menus, product labels or newspapers.” 

She concludes by saying: “Another great feature is that once the text is captured, the OrCam Read allows you to replay the information or text as many times as you want and at your choice of speed, without having to rescan the document. For me, this is a transformative feature that significantly helps me with my academic studies and enables me to save time whilst working.” 

By OrCam