1. What were your thoughts when you first heard about the OrCam device?
I thought it sounded absolutely perfect for my DS2 who has learning difficulties (basically dyslexia) and is still around two years behind his age in reading. He has struggled with reading for years, to the point that it seems painful to him. He reads without understanding because he guesses any words that he doesn’t know. This reduces his enjoyment of books and makes school work very difficult because he can’t read comprehension passages, and he can’t always understand written questions, even in maths which is a subject he excels in otherwise.
DS2 said “Excited, and couldn’t wait to try it out.”
2. What was your child’s reaction after they started using the OrCam device?
He took to it quickly, he was practically showing the instructor how to use it! To be honest I think he saw it as a new toy, he was very keen to get to school the next day to show it to his friends. When he turned up at school with the camera on his glasses he was the centre of attention. His mates thought it was a camera for recording YouTube videos. He said they didn’t believe it could read for him and they were amazed when he demonstrated it for a few of them. This was a big relief because I had a slight concern that it might be a cause of bullying but in this tech-centred world, apparently an OrCam is really cool!
DS2 said “I thought it was pretty cool and it would help me a lot during reading tests. It was pretty easy to use although sometimes I would mix up the buttons. It was tricky to gauge the distance and angle to hold the text I was reading.” The camera has a fixed field of vision so you have to hold the text in the correct position which took DS2 a little time to get used to.
3. What are some of the challenges that you child faces due to their vision loss/dyslexia, and how has the OrCam device provided assistance?
Reading takes a lot of effort for DS2. He enjoys reading but I was never sure that he understood much of the stories he was reading. It’s hard to buy age-appropriate books for an 11-year-old with a much younger reading age. We have bought specialist simplified versions of books for him, but he has been missing out on a lot of the books that his peers are reading. Schoolwork has been a much bigger issue for him. With year 6 SATs fast approaching he is expected to be working at a certain level, regardless of whether or not that is appropriate for him. In exams he is accompanied by someone to read for him. In his recent SATs practice exams he was able to use the OrCam for most of the reading; he only needed assistance because it was difficult to get the OrCam to pick out the exact part of the paper with the question on. It is possible to pick out individual parts of a piece of text with the OrCam but I think the pressure of being in an exam made it a little harder for him than it would normally be.
DS2 said “Reading and comprehension are extremely difficult. When we have comprehension in class (once a week) it helps me a lot by reading the text and that makes me understand the words a lot more easily. I also use the OrCam for reading for pleasure at home if it’s a book I can’t read on my own. When I read books I sometimes find it difficult to understand what’s going on so the OrCam enabled me to read books I wouldn’t have been able to on my own. Now I have read them with the OrCam I’m able to re-read them on my own.”
4. With what activities has your child used the OrCam device at home/school/university/workplace?
DS2 has found the OrCam invaluable for reading comprehension. When reading on his own it takes so much effort to simply read the words that he often can’t also get a thorough understanding of the content. One the OrCam has read the passage for him then he is able to use his own reading skills to re-find parts that he is looking for.
DS2 said “Reading books, and for literacy work at school.”
5. Can your child use OrCam for their hobbies?
DS2 said “I really enjoy reading books and that’s one of my hobbies.”
6. What do you like most about the OrCam device?
It seems pretty sturdy. The only problem we have had is the camera mount on his glasses comes off sometimes but there’s a spare one included in the box so it wouldn’t be the end of the world if he lost it. That problem depends on the glasses, on his current pair the mount sits very close to the hinge and it’s catching. Next time he chooses glasses we will take the mount with us to find a pair that it fits better. For people that wear glasses all the time, it might be easier to have two pairs so you can keep the camera mounted on one pair all the time.
DS2 said “It isn’t big and bulky so I can keep it on for the entire lesson. It has a long battery life that lasts for the whole school day. I like the adjustability of the sound levels so it doesn’t disturb my other classmates.”
7. If anything, what is the biggest thing that the OrCam device allows your child to do that they couldn’t do before?
DS2 has been able to read age-appropriate books that he wouldn’t have been able to manage on his own. He says that when he has read a book once with the OrCam then he can read it on his own on subsequent occasions.
DS2 said, “Read hard books. Having enough time to check my answers after finishing work rather than only just being able to finish in time.”
8. Has OrCam helped your child become more independent?
Definitely. He is more confident at school because he can use the OrCam in situations that were very difficult for him before. I also like the fact that he is less dependent on a reader in exams. I think the OrCam will really come into its own in September when he starts high school and he is given more to read, textbooks to refer to, etc. I honestly think it will make the difference between him struggling and him being able to cope with the work in year 7.
DS2 said, “Yes. Now I don’t need help with my homework when I get stuck on a word.”