Inspiration
In our community, students with developmental disorders are not receiving sufficient resources and aid from schools. Especially the disorders that are overlooked, such as Dyslexia, where there is a lack of support and we wanted to supply the needed resources to them. One of our main focuses is highlighting the hardships students with Dyslexia face in reading, writing, and language processing skills. Unfortunately, our current methods do not effectively teach reading and speaking strategies, like repetitive boring worksheets, so this initiative is needed. Everything is theoretical and lacks real-life application - like learning how to play basketball by studying about it instead of getting on the court and shooting the ball. Our central motive in choosing this project was a team member’s friend's experience with dyslexia and the struggles she goes through every day, with her daily assignments and other simple tasks.
What it does
Dyslexia Pal is an app that teaches young dyslexic students interactive ways to improve their reading, writing, and speaking skills. Using multisensory techniques and AI, the app aids children in decoding words, recognizing letters, and practicing their reading comprehension skills. We also have a Homework Helper feature where AI transforms words on a worksheet into a Dyslexia-Friendly font. Our mobile app is unique, free, and created specifically for young children with dyslexia. Utilizing interactive reading and spelling practices, along with visual and audio cues, the app provides playful and calming methods of learning. The availability of the Dyslexia-friendly font throughout the app ensures it is accessible and engaging for the children to use, giving children the power to progress in their future and build their base skills.
How we built it
We used React Native and Expo Go as our frontend framework for the Dyslexia Pal app, enabling us to build for both iOS and Android simultaneously. The assistive features—such as our OCR-powered homework reader and speech-to-text audio quests—are driven by API features that upload data to a cloud for processing. Additionally, our design relied on pictures and native items imported into the app to ensure UI appeal. The app is coded in JavaScript, allowing us to create answer-checking capabilities throughout each application effectively.
Challenges we ran into
This was our team's first time using React Native with Expo Go to build an Android app. We encountered several anomalies, such as inconsistent font throughout the app. Furthermore, we experienced a lack of API response from unreliable or unsupported cloud servers that caused our program to function incorrectly and expose it to errors. Our debugging skills aided the program's functionality and allowed it to run seamlessly.
Accomplishments that we're proud of
The AI feature that translates the text into Dyslexia-friendly is our most cherished element of the application, as something similar to this has never been seen before. Developing an app to solve a global difficulty fills us with a sense of accomplishment as it addresses a lack of resources in something as typical and overlooked as dyslexia.
What we learned
We learned that React Native and Expo Go provide an efficient platform for building cross-platform Android applications. Throughout the development journey, we effectively learned how to use APIs and state management protocols, which enabled us to integrate external processing units and achieve seamless screen transitions in JavaScript. Additionally, our team honed our design process, enhancing the app's UI and encouraging creative thinking. The project also offered valuable opportunities to connect, allowing us to exchange ideas and expand our thoughts.
What's next for Dyslexia Pal
Our future goals for Dyslexia Pal are to expand and publicize, providing worldwide access in multiple languages and making it available to everyone. Another key goal is to further specialize in the homework helper tool and expand our understanding of dyslexia to find more promising methods to help support our users. Dyslexic children may struggle with self-confidence, self-esteem, and real-world skills issues, and we intend to fix that by providing a supporting sense of community.
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