Can Technology Help Overcome Learning Difficulties?

Today I met an angelic boy named Treavor, an 11 year old, who looks just like any other school-aged boy. But Treavor is different and he knows it-he has some severe learning difficulties. Treavor came to my office along with some folks from Schwab Learning, a nonprofit organization to help children with learning difficulties, to show me how he uses assistive technology to help him get through school.
 
For Treavor this means using a talking dictionary/spell checker and an AlphaSmart Neo keyboard that completes words as he types. Treavor said that not having to type every word himself let him go faster and not be afraid to use bigger words.
 
Marshall H. Raskind, Ph.D., the director of Research and Special Projects at Schwab Learning, explained that technology can be used both remedially (to give a child extra practice in areas in which they're deficient) or to help them compensate for skills they don't have. Listening to audio books and using speech-to-text are two other examples of the many technologies these children can use to help them manage their workloads.
 
For those of you who know your legends, Charles Schwab, the head of a vast financial empire, and his son, both suffer from dyslexia, a disability that makes it difficult for them to read.  
One of Schwab's passions has become helping children, their parents, and teachers who suffer from all sorts of learning difficulties find the right tools and resources. Two resources on the site that should not be missed are SparkTop (which uses games to help kids understand their own difficulties) and a helpful assistive technology database. This database lets a parent search for a tool based on the child's disability. Many of the recommended products are inexpensive and often sold at toy stores or on Amazon.