In today’s classrooms, assistive technology is often celebrated as a breakthrough for students with dyslexia. Audiobooks, speech-to-text tools, screen readers—they’re modern, convenient, and allow struggling readers to access information quickly. For many parents and educators, they feel like a lifeline.
However, while these tools can support a child, they should never replace instruction. Because we owe children more than workarounds. We owe them real literacy.
Coping is not the same as mastering
Let’s be honest: learning to read with dyslexia is hard. It can be slow, frustrating, and discouraging. So, it’s understandable that schools lean on tools that ease the pressure. If a child can listen instead of read, or dictate instead of write, it can feel like progress.
But, assistive technology doesn’t teach a child to read. It compensates for the difficulty—without remediating it. It helps them get through a worksheet or pass a test but doesn’t build the brain pathways needed for fluent reading.
And that’s a problem. Because a child who doesn’t learn to read may not become an independent adult in a literate world.
Real life doesn’t offer read-aloud mode
In school, supports are often built-in. But out in the world?
Most jobs require functional literacy. The ability to:
- Read and understand written instructions
- Write clear, accurate communication
- Navigate emails, reports, systems, and forms
Very few employers are set up to accommodate someone who can’t read or write independently. It’s not about fairness—it’s about what the world demands.
If we don’t give children the tools to meet those demands, we risk trapping them in a cycle of dependency and underemployment.
The good news is the brain can change
Reading is not a natural skill. No child is born wired to do it. But with the proper teaching—structured, explicit, consistent instruction—the brain can change. Even the brain of the person with dyslexia.
It takes more time. It takes more repetition. It often requires going back to the foundations: visual and auditory processing, working and long-term memory, phonemic awareness, decoding, and fluency.
But it works.
When a child who thought they “couldn’t read” begins to unlock words and starts reading with their own eyes, you see confidence blossom. You see independence. You see the beginnings of possibility.
Kindness means believing they can learn
Yes, assistive tech has a place. It can support, extend, and sometimes even inspire. But it must never replace the hard but hopeful work of teaching a child to read.
Because real kindness doesn’t lower expectations; it doesn’t accept “you’ll never be able to” as an answer.
Real kindness says: I believe in you. And I will teach you.
Final word
Assistive tech is a lifeboat.
Teaching reading is the ship.
Yes, it’s harder. Yes, it takes longer.
But it’s the only thing that sets a child up for full participation in society —not just surviving in school but thriving in life.
Edublox provides personalized cognitive training and live online reading instruction to students with dyslexia. We’ve helped students across the United States, Canada, Australia, and beyond build the skills they need to succeed. Book a free consultation to talk with one of our specialists about your child’s unique learning needs — and how we can help.
Why We Must Teach Dyslexic Children to Read—Not Just Help Them Cope was authored by Sue du Plessis (B.A. Hons Psychology; B.D.), an educational and reading specialist with 30+ years of experience in the learning disabilities field.
Edublox is a member of the International Dyslexia Association (IDA), a leading organization dedicated to evidence-based research and advocacy in dyslexia and related learning difficulties.
