Effect of Text-to-Speech and Human Reader on Listening Comprehension for Students with Learning Disabilities

Students with learning disabilities in reading often have difficulty with comprehension. Four participants with learning disabilities, ages 16 and 17, were assessed in listening comprehension to determine the effects of two treatments, text-to-speech and human reader. Results of this single subject, alternating treatments study indicate that student mean scores on excerpts and multiple-choice listening comprehension quizzes from a required grade level reading were greater during the human reader treatment. Implications and conclusions of this study revealed that text-to-speech may benefit students with learning disabilities who struggle with reading and comprehension when used as a supplement to explicit teacher instruction; however, the text-to-speech was not as effective as a human reader on listening comprehension for students with learning disabilities.