EarlyBird Dyslexia Screener and SoapBox Speech Recognition Technology Paired to Help Predict Reading Problems in Young Pre-Readers

  • By Kate Lucariello
  • 12/08/22

EarlyBird Education and SoapBox Labs have partnered and paired their technology to identify potential dyslexia or other reading problems in young children who have not yet learned to read. The technology was developed at Boston Children’s Hospital, along with faculty at the Florida Center for Reading Research. It is now available for pre-K and first-grade levels, and will be expanding to second- and third-grade levels, EarlyBird reports.

Using a cloud-based platform, the EarlyBird dyslexia screener features a friendly robot that extends a microphone to invite the child to speak. SoapBox’s automated speech recognition engine listens to and identifies the child’s speech patterns, processing various accents and dialects. The results are scored automatically by an AI and shown on the dashboard. Assessed are the main predictors of reading skills: naming speed (Rapid Automated Naming), sound symbol correspondence, phonemic/phonological awareness, word reading, phonics, and oral language comprehension. The software provides a customized plan to help teachers work with students in specific problem areas before they learn to read.

SoapBox Labs will hold a webinar Tuesday, December 13, at 11:30 a.m. EST on how EarlyBird uses voice technology for dyslexia screening. Register here to attend.

Visit EarlyBird Education to learn more about how it developed its assessment technology.

Visit this SoapBox Labs’ page to understand how child speech recognition technology is used in language assessment.

About the Author

Kate Lucariello is a former newspaper editor, EAST Lab high school teacher and college English teacher.

Featured

  • classroom scene with students gathered around a laptop showing a virtual tour interface

    Discovery Education Announces Spring Lineup of Free Virtual Field Trips

    This Spring, Discovery Education is collaborating with partners such as Warner Bros., DC Comics, National Science Foundation, NBA, and more to present a series of free virtual field trips for K-12 students.

  • glowing padlock shape integrated into a network of interconnected neon-blue lines and digital nodes, set against a soft, blurred geometric background

    3 in 4 Administrators Expect a Security Incident to Impact Their School This Year

    In an annual survey from education identity platform Clever, 74% of administrators admitted that they believe a security incident is likely to impact their school system in the coming year. That's up from 71% who said the same last year.

  • horizontal stack of U.S. dollar bills breaking in half

    ED Abruptly Cancels ESSER Funding Extensions

    The Department of Education has moved to close the door on COVID relief funding for schools, declaring that "extending deadlines for COVID-related grants, which are in fact taxpayer funds, years after the COVID pandemic ended is not consistent with the Department’s priorities and thus not a worthwhile exercise of its discretion."

  • pattern of icons for math and reading, including a pi symbol, calculator, and open book

    HMH Launches Personalized Path Solution

    Adaptive learning company HMH has introduced HMH Personalized Path, a K-8 ELA and math product that combines intervention curriculum, adaptive practice, and assessment for students of all achievement levels.