The Student Support Portal interviews Neil Cottrell from Lexable. Lexable develop innovative auto-correct and task management software for individuals with additional needs and disabilities.Their products are used in universities, schools, blue-chip companies and charities throughout the world.
In this video with Neil Cottrell, founder of Lexable and we learn all about his story and how Lexable supports those with learning difficulties and mental health struggles. With over ten years experience in assistive technology, Neill became involved in assistive technology of his own through his own experience using it from a very young age.
In this video, I sit down with Ross Nichols, Ergonomic Seating and Equipment Specialist at Online Ergonomics. With fourteen years experience, Ross started as an assistive technology trainer and within his current role, while there is training elements, he looks after the assessors within the business. While studying as a student, Ross witnessed students first hand that needed additional support for their needs and can relate the importance of the assistive technology support.
In this video, we speak down with Helena Harrison, the training and account manager at Sonocent. Prior to joining Sonocent in 2015, Helena had worked as an assistive technology trainer for over fifteen years and would also create replicas of cochlear implants for children's toys to help explain to children what it would be like before they had their own fitted. Sonocent have been been supporting learners with audio note-taking technology since 2007. Helena travels all around the UK and Ireland providing training on using their technology. Their two main products are Audio Note Taker and Glean which are designed to help students take notes.
Interview with Charlotte Downing, the Regional Manager for Eudcation at Abilia. Education at Abilia aims to provide a socially sustainable society where everyone can contribute in their education regardless of their needs. They strive to empower children by helping them focus on their abilities . Abilia believe that all children have a right to a high-quality education regardless of their needs and should be able to lead full lives, participate and feel included at school.
Ted Pratt - Andrea Communications - Education Audio - Audio Learning - Assistive Technology Products. Learn more about Ted's business journey and the support his business provides to those with special educational needs in education and the workplace by watching our full interview.
In this video, we sit down with Edward McCann, the business development manager for Medincle. The company has developed a tool that augments all of the most popular pieces of assistive software. This allows an accurate British biomedical spellchecking, mind-mapping, word-prediction and dictation.
In this video, we sit down with Keene Braganza, Managing Director of Kaz Type. The business has been providing it's software services for over twenty five years to a number of organisations. The neurodiverse touch typing software was developed with guidance from the Dyslexia Research Trust and is suitable for anyone with a range of special educational needs from Dyslexia to ADHD. Keene's role within the business falls under a number of different categories within the business and the company has continued to grow over the years.
With TechEd Marketing, originally set up 8 years ago as a marketing consultancy business, they have many strings to their bow with the main focusing on the publishing side of the business which recently acquired Inspiration.In this video, we sit down with Reeza Awoodun who is the founder and director of TechEd Marketing.
In this video, we speak with Patrick Garrington from Contour Design. The company is one of the leading ergonomic mouse manufacturers in the world. Patrick is a qualified ergonomist and assessor and has a role focused on building awareness of the business and their services and products.
Welcome to the Student Support Portal
We help students with additional needs attain their educational goals!
Is there something inhibiting you from obtaining the qualification you need to do what you love?
The Student Support Portal will connect you with companies who can offer proven solutions to the problems you face when engaging in study tasks.
Join a community who believe in unlimited possibilities!
Who are we?
We are an on-line community made up of professionals, students with additional needs or a disability and their parents. We use the portal to discuss and share best practice and engage with software and hardware vendors to keep up to date with the latest developments in assistive technology.
For professionals such as SENCOs or DSA Needs Assessors working with students with additional needs, we have a number of specific private groups for you to engage with your peers throughout the country.
For parents and students, we have forums and resources you can access for support and answers on topics that are of interest to you.
What do we offer?
The Student Support Portal has an open forum group which is free to all members and contains examples of the types of supports offered through our various communities.
We understand that it is impossible to follow every conversation and discussion thread on the portal. so to help keep conversations relevant, we have created a number of groups specifically for those who are interested in focusing their time and involvement.
Autistic Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Specific Literacy Difficulties (SpLD)
Physical Impairment and Mobility Issues
*This is not an exhaustive list. You are welcome to open a new discussion on any disability related topic on our Open Forum. Our Open Forum can be accessed by all members. We have many closed private groups for professionals including Special Needs Co-Ordinators (SENCOs), Learning Support Co-Ordinators (LSCs) and Disabled Student Needs Assessors.
If you would like us to host an educational related special interests group, please contact us to discuss your requirements.
Assistive Technology Titles
The below directory of Assistive Software titles is based on the list of software reviewed and approved for use by Student Finance England (SFE) on behalf of the Department for Education (DfE). The Student Support Portal is working directly with many of the Publishers of these titles to ensure students, parents and professionals in the Education sector can access the support they need by engaging directly with the publishers. Any software title below in bold will link you to the publishers group on our portal, where you can ask a question or start a conversation with the publisher.
Composition:
Hardware:
Learning:
Mind Mapping:
Notetaking / Recording:
OCR:
Personal Development:
Referencing:
Screeners:
Specialist:
Speech to Text:
Spelling/Grammar:
Study Skills:
Text to Speech:
Time Management:
Training:
Typing Tutors:
Visual Impairment: