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[ Music ]

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(Narrator) There's no way you
can pick them out of a crowd.

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People with learning
disabilities blend right in.

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Sometimes, they
don't even know.

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(Kristin) I always
struggled academically,

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since I can remember,
since first grade.

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And so I pretty much had
convinced myself in my mind

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that school was really
difficult for me,

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and that's just the way it was.

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(Narrator) Learning disabilities
are invisible disabilities.

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A child may struggle with
schoolwork for years before

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being diagnosed, years in which
people don't understand why she

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"just doesn't get it."

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(Kristin) Most of
my friends could

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study for about half
an hour and get As.

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And I would study for, you know,
in the beginning of the school

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year I'd study maybe for
four hours and still get a D.

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(Narrator) Kristin, who
will soon return to school

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for a graduate degree, didn't know
she had dyslexia until college.

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The first step is diagnosis.

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When academic achievement
is significantly

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below intellectual
ability, the cause

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may be a learning disability.

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Chris, a high school student
with dyslexia and dysgraphia,

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was diagnosed in grade school.

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(Chris) I didn't really
find out until second grade,

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when my mom started making me go
to all these places where they

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made me do tests for,
like, hours and hours.

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And that kind of
got me really bored,

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but then I finally noticed
after they started telling me

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that I had slight
problems in certain areas

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like reading or writing.

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(Narrator) There are various
types of learning disabilities,

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and they affect individuals
in different ways.

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What they all have in
common is that they

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affect the way the brain
processes information.

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(Lyla) I think what it means
to have a learning disability

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is that the students
in some way are having

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their processing interrupted.

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So they're not able to
maybe assimilate information

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as easily as other students,
and then again they're not able

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to express it as easily
as other students.

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So even though they're
trying very hard,

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their ideas may not get across
as well as other students.

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(Narrator) Or they may not be
able to take in the information

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effectively in the first place.

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(Chris) Sometimes I,
like, will read a line,

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and then I'll start on the next
line, and halfway through it,

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I'll jump up to that same line
I've already read and keep

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reading the same
sentence over again.

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Which gets annoying.

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And sometimes, like,
words change places

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or go upside down, and it makes
it kind of hard in that sense.

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(Narrator) Learning disabilities
can appear in any one or more

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of these four categories:

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Spoken language –
listening and speaking;

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Written language –
reading, writing, and spelling;

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Arithmetic –
calculation and concepts;

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Reasoning – organization
and integration of ideas.

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Individuals may be affected
in more than one category.

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Within those categories,
there are specific types

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of learning disabilities.

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For example:

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People with dysgraphia
may have difficulty

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forming letters and
words, as well as

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producing legible handwriting.

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Those who have
dyscalculia find it

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difficult to understand and
use math concepts and symbols.

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With dyspraxia,
language comprehension

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does not match production.

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A person with dyspraxia may
mix up words and sentences

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while talking.

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Someone with dyslexia may
mix up letters within words,

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and words within
sentences, while reading.

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This person may also have
poor spelling skills.

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(Kristin) The way that
a learning disability

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affects each individual and 
their learning style is different.

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For example, in my situation,
my learning disability

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really affects my
reading comprehension.

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And I really have high
math skills, or I did,

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when I practiced.

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But for others, math is
really difficult for them,

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and their reading
comprehension is up to par.

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(Chris) Imagine like
you're sleeping,

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you're getting really sleepy,
and you're reading a book;

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you start to–your eyes
start to wander on the page,

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and you start seeing things
moving; you read the same line.

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Well, it's about the same thing,
except that I'm wide awake.

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(Lyla) They can have
problems reading,

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they can have problems
with auditory information,

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maybe they only hear every
five words that you're saying,

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instead of every word; and we
have some students that process

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every word singly
as they hear it,

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instead of the entire
sentence or the concept.

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And then we have other students
who can take in information

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just fine, but they're not
able to get it back out.

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(Narrator) People can
develop strategies

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to compensate for the effects
of learning disabilities.

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Computer technology
has played a vital role

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in helping people achieve
academic and career success.

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Taking more time to study,
outlining my textbooks;

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using a word processor,
spell check, grammar check.

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(Chris) When writing papers,
I can use my NaturallySpeaking

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program, which allows me to
talk into a computer and it will

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write what I say, 'cause I
have problems–my handwriting's

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really bad and sloppy.

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(Narrator) It takes time to
choose hardware and software,

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to get the right
fit for each person.

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But generally,
these accommodations

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are not expensive.

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(Lyla) A lot of the software
they?re using comes standard

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with the computer now.

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Spell check and grammar
check are often built right

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into the program, or
they come with programs;

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when you buy your dictionary,
they're already in there.

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(Narrator) We'll show you some
of the computing tools that

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people with learning disabilities 
have found effective.

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Again, these are some
of the possibilities;

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you may find something else
that works best for you.

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Many people with dyslexia use only 
standard built-in word processing features.

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Spell checking,
grammar checking,

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and the ability to change font
size and color are all that's needed.

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Those tools allow the student to stay
focused on what she's writing,

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instead of bogging down 
in spelling errors.

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(Lindsay) I think that for
people with disabilities

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computers are really useful
because they have spell check

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and grammar check and you can
use those for writing an essay

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and you don't need to take more
time consulting a dictionary.

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(Narrator) Finally, many
word processing programs

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include options for color-coded
text or outlining capabilities.

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These are useful
for people who have

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difficulty sorting and
sequencing thoughts and ideas.

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Reading systems are
useful for people

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who understand things
better through listening

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than through reading.

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For them, speech
output is effective.

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Software allows the computer
to read aloud text, email,

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or Web pages?basically,
anything on your computer.

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Adding a scanner gives
access to printed text.

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(Crystal) When I have
to, like, read books,

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I just scan those so they can
read the books to me so I don't

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have to spend 2 hours reading
one page or something.

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(Narrator) A scanner converts
printed text into a format

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that the computer recognizes.

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Then the computer reads
the information aloud,

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at the same time that the words 
appear on the screen.

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(Screen reader) A tall
fellow in a Batman costume

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comes soaring out
of the winter sky...

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(Narrator) Reading systems
may include options

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for using contrasting
colors to highlight words,

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or to make the words
bigger on the screen.

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(Screen reader) The second tier?

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(Narrator) Concept
mapping software

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offers visual representation
of ideas and concepts, which

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helps people who have difficulty
organizing and integrating

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thoughts while writing.

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(Kristin) Writing is
one of my strengths,

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but it does take me some time
to get my thoughts together.

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(Narrator) With concept
mapping, ideas can be linked,

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rearranged, and color coded.

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Concept maps can then be
turned into a traditional text outline.

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This can be used to
start and organize

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a variety of writing projects,

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including poetry, term papers,
resumes, or schedules.

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Word prediction software
is helpful for people

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who are poor spellers.

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It prompts users with

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a list of most likely word
choices, based on what

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has been typed so far.

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The person using the program
can refer to the list,

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choose a word, and
continue writing.

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Speech output is often
combined with word prediction.

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(Chris) Most people's lives'..

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Speech recognition
software allows

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people to dictate
into their computers.

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They may use this for email, Web
browsing, or word processing.

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(Chris) It helps me write. 
I can think and write faster

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and don't have that problem
where I'll have that thought

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and it will go away.

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(Dan) It requires a significant amount
of training and practice.

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(Narrator) The person using this software
speaks into a microphone.

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The user has to have fairly
good reading comprehension

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to use this effectively,
because you have

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to correct some of the words.

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(Dan) Scratch that.

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(Narrator) The computer doesn't
always recognize exactly what

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you meant.

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(David) It sometimes doesn't
translate words quite right.

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My favorite one was one of
the first papers I wrote on;

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it was on space.

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And it translated "cosmonaut"

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to "cow snot."

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(Narrator) Other technology-related 
products include:

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Talking calculators

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Phonetic spellers and

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Electronic organizers

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And don't forget
the low tech tools.

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Post-it notes, highlighter
pens, and Daytimer notes

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can be effective in
organizing tasks and ideas.

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They can be used in combination
with computer-based tools.

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Whatever you choose, the
most effective strategies

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are the ones you
develop yourself.

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(Kristin) I have to just
write everything down;

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I have to be really organized;
I have a Daytimer which I kind

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of live out of; and I just have
to keep organized and on top

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of things, and be in regular
communication with the people I

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work with to make sure that
I understand the project

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correctly and that I'm working
up to the expectations that I...

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that are expected of me.