Reader or reading Pen for exams + 25% extra time

[mumma24]

The school has just informed us that my son has been assessed and is entitled to either a reader or a reading pen plus 25% extra time in exams. He's actually quite good at reading for his age (14-year 10) but he struggles with understanding what he has read. Can anyone share their experiences good or bad.

Ideally he should try using a reading pen in class. For some they are great, for others they are useless.

On the plus side they are quite good, they read smoothly on a flat surface.

On the down side you can't read fluently with them. When you reach the end of a line you have to lift the pen and let it read before starting the next line. So for shirt phrases or words it is fine, but for sustained text it doesn't help comprehension.

If understanding is the difficulty I expect a human reader better.