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"The report concludes that working with language technology, particularly the Yak-Yak language processor software and synthetic speech, leads to remarkable developments in dyslexic children's reading and writing skills after even a few days."
"A total of 12 children aged 11-18 took part in the five-day courses. All the students were classified as severely dyslexic, the majority had language difficulties beyond this, and all had great problems with schoolwork."
"Developments made in writing with Yak-Yak from day to day were enormous. The quality and length of writing improved for most everyone. Some understood punctuation for the first time in their lives. The creative use of words and metaphors was something that appeared for some on the last days."
"There were eight students among the 12 with light to severe language disorders. A significant improvement in spelling was measured with four of the six most severe cases after the 4 days. Also nine increased the volume of written words by 4-79%."
"Looking at both courses, 11 out of 12 students produced interesting and age-corresponding texts that were almost entirely free of errors. Some managed to write in English too."
(The Bredtvet Report on the Yak-Yak language processor, Bredtvet kompetansesenter, Oslo, Norway 2001, excerpts from the summary)
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"The results in one short week were amazing. The potential to increase spelling, writing and reading success is very high as the results have demonstrated. I look forward to continuing to promote the use of Yak-Yak software as a viable and enriching learning tool."
(Maureen Smiley, Principal, Rockridge Junior Secondary School)
"After four days of work with the Yak-Yak software, synthetic speech, the Internet, and two Yak-Yak instructors, six Rockridge Junior Secondary LD students (13-14 years old) managed to improve their non-assisted spelling by an average of 19%. The individual improvements ranged between 6% and 39% of distinct words. This was established with a 15 minute dictation on the first and last day of the seminar in essentially equivalent conditions."
"In general all students fared well with the software, at once understanding its ways, without reservation. It very quickly became second nature to them. Although time was short, and they became tired from being challenged in unfamiliar ways, most developed their own way of using it. Working with this tool was uniformly accepted and they found the software "cool.""
(The Rockridge Report on the Yak-Yak language processor, Rockridge, Vancouver, Canada 1999, excerpts from the conclusion)
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"I received special education for 10 years. The community must have spent at least a million Kroner on this. I attended the leading institutes for dyslexics. I could still neither read nor write until my local community provided a portable computer with Yak-Yak. After being trained by a SuperYak'er, I can now write almost perfectly by means of the software. I also now begin to make short hand-written notes. I read with a scanner and OCR. My hope is that I may begin to read and write in English as well. I do not foresee doing without Yak-Yak - my dyslexia is really severe."
(HL, watchmaker)
"We are using Yak-Yak in a class where the students have the greatest difficulties. It is certainly a help - they can barely do without it. At the moment it is only used in one class, but other students can go and use it too. It is a sort of open workshop. It's a smashingly fine initiative that Dan Larsen has taken. We gladly support it."
(Hans Rabenhøj, Kragelund School for Dyslexics, Denmark)
"We have two children with portable computers and Yak-Yak. One (in 6th grade) keeps going till it gets perfect - he really benefits from it. The other pupil (in 8th grade) lacks motivation, but when he must, he gets his stuff entirely in order. You can really see how they advance when they achieve. Both are very good at listening to the text. The children like to show the software to others. One of the mothers also has difficulties, and she quickly learned how to solve them."
(Erik Eriksen, Frederiksberg School, Sorø, Denmark)
Project Report "Supporting self-support - A study of the computer program Yak-Yak in Norwegian schools" by Superintendent of Schools, Trygve Ellingsen, Radøy County, Norway.
Some quotes taken from its conclusions:
"We have identified a significant improvement in the reading and writing proficiency of many students when they use the Yak-Yak program. Those students who received extensive teacher support also made the greatest advances. In addition, at the end of the three-month project, we found that these students had also made progress in writing without Yak-Yak, to varying degrees. There were larger variations in the tests of reading comprehension and reading speed."
"All the students who worked with Yak-Yak have improved, some students remarkably. The students achieve notably better results with Yak-Yak, than without, and we have observed improvements in spelling in several students during the project period. We conclude that, students who used Yak-Yak improved their abilities to summarise, spell, vary their use of language, and increased their speed. For these students, the teachers reported, there was increased work satisfaction, a more positive attitude towards school work in general, and increased self-confidence."
"Our foremost perspective is that we believe this effort will give our dyslexic students a more rewarding time at school, and that they will achieve results in accord with their true potential and capacity. We are in any event confident that this language technology can decisively improve the quality-of-life for those students who normally suffer much because of their dyslexia. Given that the present indications of learning by using the technology persist we should see a breakthrough for dyslexics, together with savings for the communities and our society in general."
Part 1 describes the project, and contains its conclusions, Part 2 statistical analysis, and Part 3 detailed reports by each individual student's teacher, including many statements by the students themselves.
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"Following these tragical developments, he was granted a computer with Yak-Yak and 7 hours of instruction in computer, scanner, etc. Now he writes on his own, is a happy student at the Technical School, and his newfound self-confidence is plain to see. A Department of Education consultant states that, Yak-Yak is without comparison the best at the job!"
"Yak-Yak can be used by anyone who writes and works with language. The program has great potential for improving reading and writing abilities, in children and in adults, whether having disabilities affecting speech, reading, writing, or hearing. Even capable readers and writers may use Yak-Yak for certain tasks."
"Yak-Yak shows genuine respect for its user's intelligence."
(Gyldendal 1997, in Danish)
"It is obvious that the program’s original aim, to give the language disabled a language, has been achieved. This alone recommends the program, but as an extra bonus, the rest of us have gotten a fantastic tool. A good language toolbox which can help at many levels." (1.9.96)
In June 1996, the computer magazine “Multimedie Café” featured an analysis of Yak-Yak several pages long. Claus Witfelt wrote:
"Yak-Yak is a program that gives people with an otherwise totally illegible language the possibility to write, and people for whom reading is an insurmountable difficulty the possibility to have texts read aloud - no matter which text."
"Yak-Yak is a powerful system for helping dyslexics, right from the ordinary to a dyslexia so severe that written communication is illegible."
"The Wordfinder can, almost without regard to how badly you spell, guess the word in question. The mechanism used to guess which word you mean, is fantastically convincing, and is technically speaking, based on the use of artificial intelligence. It is incredibly convincing trying to write a word completely wrong and still be able to choose between 10-12 offers including the word you originally intended to write."
"The synthetic speech is also a fantastic possibility for dyslexics and people with poor eyesight."
"Yak-Yak has an admirably easy user interface."
"Despite the fact that it (Yak-Yak) has been used in special education in Ballerup for only a short time, there has already been noticeable progress in reading and writing, in the presentations by those pupils working with the program." (24.04.96)
