Does anyone know of any recent research or comparison studies on the various word-prediction software programs? The most recent information that I could find on a search was in 2001. Thanks!

You might try a search for articles within Closing The Gap Solutions. I searched for "word prediction software" and noticed 75 matches.

You can take Solutions for a test drive by following this link:
http://www.closingthegap.com/ctg2/trial22/customerIndex.lasso

I haven't published my data but I do a case study comparison when I am looking at word prediction.

I take many samples of the individual's current writing and spelling (e.g., from daily journals, written language samples, etc.). I then begin to type the text. I note when the word prediction program would be successful, given the individual's current spelling patterns, and when the word prediction program would have "failed" him/her. I then compare the percentages across the suggested programs to find the one that is most successful, given the individual's patterns.

This has worked quite well for determining the best option. Don't forget the basic word processors, too. I include Microsoft Word in that comparison.

Cindy

We don't have a full-blown comparison, but I'd happy to provide a brief feature comparison to you via email if you give me a day or two. Our WriteAssist product is one of the best value's on the market.

Ben
SecondGuess Software

I think that there's a lot to say about word prediction programs... However, when I'm evaluating software for our students (I deal with college students with learning disabilities), I look for more than just word prediction.

Some of the features that our students really find valuable are
- auditory spell check (reads word + definition)
- auditory homonym check
- word prediction - includes definitions + homonym "flag"
- read back feature - allows students to listen to their work and check for errors

These features are very important to our students. Once they learn how to edit their work, they can become independent writers.

We've tried and tested a lot of software, but the one that we recommend is textHELP Read and Write. It has all of these features and more!
www.texthelp.com

I hope that helps!

Marlene

There is a Word Prediction Software Comparison Chart at
http://www.spectronicsinoz.com/library.asp?article=22248
with lots of ticks and crosses
It's dated 2006

Richard Walter
Meldreth Manor School

hi all

Disregard this if you've already looked at it...but we did some research into Word Prediction and a software comparison of "state of the art" at the time. While the software review is outdated, the research should still be of value. Enjoy...

http://trace.wisc.edu/docs/wordprediction2001/

-m

I'm looking for this type of help for a 13 year old student who is still struggling to read and writing is even more of a challenge. She has borderline cognitive scores, but has much to tell me verbally, but finds it difficult to write more than a sentence or two of nearly illegible, and sometimes nearly unintelligible text. Because reading is also difficult, we have not had good success with the speech to text technology built into the Microsoft system, which requires her to read their text to train the computer to her voice. (I should add that we are at a mission school in Africa, so no federal funding or FAPE here!) I'm hoping you all can give me some input on other programs available that might be more user friendly for this case, and help me find a good value for the money, particularly as our resources are quite limited.

But those research doesn't include the latest word prediction software. I recommend Typing Assistant, it supports OS from Windows 2000 to Windows 7.
http://www.sumitsoft.com

This has worked quite well for determining the best option. Don't forget the basic word processors, too. I include Microsoft Word in that comparison.



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