Whether they’ve suspected it for years or it all came a little out of the blue, a dyslexia diagnosis often marks a changing point in people’s lives and the way they see themselves. And from those initial assessment conversations come the building blocks of their support strategy going forward– but it’s still very much the beginning of the path. The next steps are a little more complicated, and it’s a stage where many begin to feel a bit lost. 

Especially with the amount of support choices and changes that they’ll have to navigate in the weeks after the assessment, it’s easy for the newly-diagnosed and the professionals who support them to wind up feeling a little overwhelmed. 

But that’s why we’re so proud to recommend C-Pen Reader 2! It’s a reading support tool that takes the stress out of dealing with text, provides readers with a complete toolkit for boosting their skills, and helps beat reading anxiety at all ages so that everyone can take on words with confidence. 

Introducing the best assistive technology in Australia! 

C-Pen Reader 2 is an award-winning text-to-speech reading pen that helps people with reading differences like dyslexia break down the barriers between themselves and books. And paperwork, timetables, communications, magazines, journals, worksheets and official documentation – anything goes when you’ve got the power to read right there in your hand.  

It’s recently been named Assistive Technology Product of the Year by the Australian Disability Service Awards, and it’s used by millions of people worldwide to learn and work with confidence. It’s available through the NDIS, so it’s easier than ever for people to access the tools they need to read and succeed.  

How does it work? 

Simply move the tip of the pen across the page to start scanning, and experience the text through the pen’s built-in speaker or discreetly through headphones. There’s no need for Wi-Fi, meaning that users can use it anywhere, and it’s simple and intuitive for even the youngest learners.  

There’s a whole suite of support tools, ranging from dictionary definition software to help with the trickiest words to a voice recorder and file storage to support those taking notes, and a word practice mode that helps clients keep track of problem areas and revise them to boost their skills. 

Being confident in your recommendations  

But we know that if you’re a speech pathologist, occupational therapist, or any other kind of support coordinator, you’re going to need more than a couple of lines of product description to confidently recommend a device to your clients. You need to be sure that you’re linking them up with the best and most appropriate support possible so that they can thrive, and that it’s easy for them to get hold of even if they’re accessing it via the NDIS.  

And you need to be confident that you’re supporting them in unlocking everything from confidence in the workplace to exam success, as well as any of the other millions of different scenarios in which reading happens. 

That’s why we’ve put together a checklist of what you’re really recommending when you recommend C-Pen Reader 2, and exploring how it can empower readers wherever and however they need to read. 

When you’re recommending C-Pen Reader 2, you’re recommending…  

✅ Reading confidence, the simplest way  

The thing about C-Pen Reader 2 is… it’s simple. And it’s fast.  

Many clients who have dyslexia or other literacy differences wind up believing that they’re ‘simply not cut out for school’ or ‘they’ll never be a strong reader’, but in our experience, the right support can flip the narrative every time. The problem comes when that support system adds a lot of extra steps to the reading process or is complicated to learn and get started with, which adds another layer of stress into an already stressful process.  

But when reading support is as simple as scanning across a line of text and listening to the words on the page, things are kept as simple as possible. It’s incredibly easy to access the words on the page in an instant, and we don’t see the degree of device abandonment that you tend to with more complicated technologies.  

It’s all about keeping accessibility easy, as well as smart.  

✅ A complete support suite 

Getting started with C-Pen Reader 2 might be as simple as scan, listen, understand, but that’s not all it can do. It’s also equipped with… 

A built-in dictionary function, so that problematic words can be identified, defined, and contextualised. It’s not just about learning to read them; it’s about understanding them too! 

A word practice mode that takes those problematic words and adds them into a practice rota so that learners can develop their skills and break through any barriers that might have taken root.  

And a library mode that allows paper materials to be transformed into personal learning supports. Save scanned text and voice recordings or save your own MP3 files to the pen – anything they need to hand to support their skills and grow their confidence.  

✅ Independence at all ages 

When it comes to kicking off a reading support conversation with your school-aged clients, you’ll already have found that the idea of human readers can make learners of all ages feel on edge, and very visible to their peers. Some report feeling embarrassed, and some feel like their behaviour is being called into question. And that’s when schools can even resource enough of these reading support professionals for all who need them– educational establishments all over the world are struggling, both in terms of salary budget and sourcing enough qualified people for the task.  

And clients are always quick to point out that reading doesn’t just happen in the classroom… or the lecture hall, the library or the office. It happens everywhere, from bus timetables to utility bills to reading the menu in their favourite restaurant. The right support needs to foster the ability to read and join in wherever they are, so that means their reading support has to be able to travel confidently. 

C-Pen Reader 2 puts support directly in the user’s hands and allows them to access support without human intervention or feeling observed. It’s totally down to personal choice if they want to be open about their reading needs, or keep them private for now.  

And it works without Wi-Fi, too. So it’s a case of no signal, no problem– and the 8+ hour rechargeable battery means that it’s good to go for as long as they are.  

✅ Exam success!  

We know that by putting the power to support themselves in a learner’s hands and fostering the confidence to tackle texts independently, we’re also freeing up educator bandwidth and creating less stressful, better-paced classroom environments for our school-age clients to thrive in. But some of the most common anxieties that clients with dyslexia have are to do with exams: timed conditions, reading under pressure, and memory skills all come into play, and they’re all skills that dyslexia can have a negative impact on.  

One of the key functionalities of the C-Pen Reader 2 is that it’s part of a direct progression of support tools that learners can take with them to exams as part of special provisions. C-Pen Exam Reader 2 the exact same design as the C-Pen Reader 2 (except for the orange), and it supports users via text-to-speech in the exact same way, but with no scope for file storage, word definitions or anything that would compromise the exam format.  

C-Pen Exam Reader 2 is approved for exam use by boards in every territory: you can check out the relevant exam board’s preferences to explore how your clients can get started.  

✅ …And access to new opportunities, too 

And with newfound confidence comes new opportunities! 

Whether it’s opening up TAFE, university or even workplace qualifications on the way to more developed roles and higher salaries, if your clients can find tools that help them hack revision and test-taking then they’re on the path to higher attainment.  

Doors that they might have thought were closed can be opened, and opportunities that they never saw themselves taking advantage of might be the next step on the road to the future that they really want.  

✅ Support across the language barrier  

There are 5.8 million people in Australia who use English as an Additional Language or Dialect (EAL/D), speaking another language as their primary preferred means of communication. And evidence suggests that around 20% of people in Australia (1 in 5) have dyslexia. That’s over 1.1 million people who have EAL/D and dyslexia, and they need support that can transcend the language barrier as well as boost their skills. That’s why we’ve ensured that the C-Pen Reader 2 has multiple accent and language choices to make comprehension as easy as possible, every time they scan.  

It’s also handy to note that even if they don’t have dyslexia, many EAL/D adults and learners report the C-Pen Reader 2 as one of the most important tools they have on hand because it makes comprehension so quick and simple. So you don’t need a dyslexia diagnosis to get in on the action either – anyone can benefit from a boost to language and reading confidence.  

✅ Adaptive support for changing needs  

You don’t grow of disabilities or neurodiversities– dyslexia doesn’t come and go. But that doesn’t mean that a client’s support needs will be the same throughout their entire lives; or are even the same from one lesson or task to the next. 

The C-Pen Reader 2 allows users to personalise a series of settings that can account for developing skills and differences in the kinds of reading that they’re doing. From early intervention to entering the workplace, it means no more changing support systems at important transitionary times or having to make changes. Support stays as simple and accessible as possible, even if they’re changing stages or taking on a new challenge that requires a step-up in reading.  

Playback speed can be customised so that users can experience the scanned text as quickly or as slowly as they want to. As they skill up and get more confident, it can be set faster, but if texts are complex or overly academic they can drop it down to a slower speed to make sure that they’re able to process words comfortably.  

They can also customise the playback’s word pause speed, to ensure that they’ve always got enough processing time between words to decode and understand. 

And they can also set their preferred accent and language, so that they can experience the audio speech in the most natural and accessible way for them.  

Unlocking the world of words with a reading pen 

When you put a C-Pen Reader 2 into a client’s hand to help them open up reading, it’s not just as simple as giving them a key to a door. You’re also recommending a support suite of functions, adaptable changes, new ways to develop and a new sense of empowerment around the world of words – it’s a key that fits any number of doors that they might encounter, and it allows them to respond to any reading scenario with absolute confidence.  

…But we understand if you want to explore and try it out for yourself, too.  

You can find out more about C-Pen Reader 2 and C-Pen Exam Reader 2 at Scanning Pens Australia. If you’re supporting adults in the workplace, you can also check out our data-secure reading pen designed for adults in the workplace: the C-Pen Secure Reader 2.  

Supporting healthcare professionals and NDIS claims 

You can also explore how we support healthcare professionals like speech pathologists, occupational therapists and other support co-ordinators at our Healthcare Hub. You’ll also be able to find more information on our handy 50% healthcare discount! 

And Scanning Pens Pty is a registered NDIS provider (registration ID: 4-4331-4749). For more information on the NDIS, head on over to our NDIS Information Page, where you can explore further.