There have been lots of questions about whether dyslexic children should be allowed to use the spell-checker or not while doing their schoolwork. Many parents as well as educators feel that a spell-checker does more harm than good as it may increase total dependency on the device itself and the child may not make any effort to spell on his own. According to them a spell-checker does not solve the problem of their dyslexia spelling and is not the remedy for that particular difficulty.

But, contrary to the apprehensions of various parents and schools, a spell-checker is indeed a useful device and one which can tremendously bolster a dyslexic child’s confidence. Children with dyslexia often have wonderful imagination for stories etc. but when it comes to writing down those ideas, they flounder. This is because these children tend to spell everything phonetically or sometimes not even that and their paper looks atrocious and a thorough jumble of words. Even when that child knows that his spellings are wrong he is clueless as to how to correct them. A spell-checker helps him to recognize and correct those spellings on his own. This imbibes him with a feeling of self-confidence and self-reliability and helps make him feel less of a fool. Educators and parents have to realize that dyslexics sometimes need to have the use of certain dyslexia resources or devices which will help them with their lessons and using a spell-checker does not imply that the child is a ‘failure’.