Mac Vs Dyslexia

I am dyslexic and did an degree in chemical engineering and my LEA bought me a mac (2 in fact).

You could argue that your dyslexia makes it harder for you to use a system you are unfamiliar with and that having a system you know will help you. With dual booting you can use windows for any specific programs you might need with the ability to fall back to the system you know for general use.

I have found that in general use with the system wide spell checker I am less prone to making mistakes with my mac than I am with a windows machine.

I used the built in speech funitionality a lot when writing reports as I found I would easily skim over mistakes, typos, wrong words etc but when it was spoken back to me by my mac I would pick up on it straight away. It also helped me learn how to pronounce words that the were new to me.

The most compelling argument for me is that the class is taught on macs, and you are getting a laptop for that class.

How

Hey guys
Im dislexic and so im really wanting to utilise this oppotuinity , might i ask how did you go about claiming your laptop ?
thanks
James

I'm dyslexic and nobody ever bought me a computer. Mind you when I went to school we didn't have computers.

mr-q said:

Hello,

I dyslexic and starting a degree in design. I have access to a new laptop and would ideally like a mac over a pc laptop as the course is taught on macs. I have been told that I can not get a mac as I have no reason for needing one (as the computer is for dyslexia purposes only).

Thing is, I don't have a laptop and as they are giving it for free it would make sense to try and get a laptop that I can use for my dyslexia AND that I can take to lectures and use for my course.

Anyone know a list of strong reasons I can use to support my claim to say that I might benifit from using a mac over a PC? I know theres the voice over thing but just wondered if anyone can help me strengthen my claim.

Thank you

Click to expand...

You in the UK, going through the DSA?

PM me if you need more details.

keysofanxiety said:

You in the UK, going through the DSA?

PM me if you need more details.

Click to expand...

I am currently in waiting to hear back from the DSA, and would like to know if you know of anything in particular which would mean i require a mac for my dyslexia.
I study a biological science and therefor do not require any CAD software, but are there other types of software which are mac spcific?

thanks

dhoogie said:

I am currently in waiting to hear back from the DSA, and would like to know if you know of anything in particular which would mean i require a mac for my dyslexia.
I study a biological science and therefor do not require any CAD software, but are there other types of software which are mac spcific?

thanks

Click to expand...

No. Dragon Dictate, ClaroRead and TextHelp Read & Write (likely programs you'll receive if you have dyslexia) all have Mac versions.

Really the only way you can get a Mac is if you can only use Macs -- in which case they'd do an existing 'health-check' on a Mac you have. If you don't have a Mac and use a Windows PC, you're SOL. In which case, buy an old PowerBook G4/2006 MBP and claim that's your main machine. But that's a little dodgy.

You have to remember that the DSA is funded by SFE, who in turn are funded by taxpayers' money. Now they're a lot more conservative about throwing Macs around unless they have to, as they're more than twice as expensive compared to i3 Wintel laptops. It used to be that you were guaranteed a Mac with CS5 as standard if you were doing any sort of photography/design course -- not any more!

So, your alternatives are:

- Convince your assessor you need a MacBook and can't work without anything else
- Request a MacBook and offer to pay towards the difference (you can do this once your supplier has been chosen)
- Get one of your lecturers to write a letter stating you need a Mac for your course
- Play a dodgy game by claiming/proving you use an outdated underpowered Mac as your main machine, as they'll be obliged to provide you with a Mac as a replacement

Those are your four alternatives -- might just be best to pay towards an upgrade for a Mac. Hope this helps.