Do you know of a dictation software called Dragon? Neither did I until I engaged with neurodiverse training back in 2017. When I first heard about this software, my brain went to Middle Earth or Harry Potter! There was also the fire-breathing dragon from Chorlton and the wheelies.
In the beginning, the software was developed for busy top executives. Top CEO doesn’t have the time to type out documents, so to cut this lengthy process down invent dictation software. Through time, it was discovered that it aids dyslexia. I decided to find out how it would aid me and purchased it from Amazon. It was expensive, but I had a bit of extra cash. I also invested in a Plantronics headset to train my dragon.
Getting started.
My partner helped me set up the software on my laptop. The next step is training your dragon with your voice. As a Scottish person, it takes a few attempts, the two Scottish people in a lift are a prime example. Amazing that through the power of your voice, you can access all documents, emails, PowerPoint, and Excel. You can talk to the computer and the words magically pop up on the screen. You can put your dragon to sleep while making a cup of coffee. It also reads your documents back to you. This cuts downtime trying to remember how to spell words. It has built-in text-to-speech so you can listen back to what you have written. This cut down tracking issues as well as grammar errors which can be corrected easily.
Aiding work
I showed it to my friend who thought it would be a real benefit to me at work. My friend, it would also benefit her at work. As a businessperson, she decided to aid me with selling this software to my boss to aid my work. She made a short set of notes with five key points about the benefits of this software. She also gave me pointers on what to wear to look professional and the dos and don’ts of my presentation. I then went home and practised everything she had taught me. My boss said they would investigate integrating this into the system. As with everything else I tied my boss at the time was not interested in investing in his staff. My hard work in aiding my dyslexia was a dead duck in the water at work.
Home life
I use it at home to aid myself with emails and drafting short stories about being dyslexic. I also invested in the book Dragon for Dummies. It is complex software but can be used over various platforms. So, if you have a bit of extra cash, I will say invest in this software it’s a great bit of kit. It is also available through Disability student allowance (DSA) and Access to work
Student life
I am now studying criminology at the Open University. Dragon aids me with my assignments as I can use the academic language preferable for my course. It is also great that I can use it with my writing helper for my assignments. This reduces stress and anxiety as I don’t have to spend hours trying to work out what I am going to say in an assignment as I have no idea how to spell.