Stakeholders have called for increased deployment of AI and assistive technologies to improve reading and writing outcomes for children with dyslexia in Nigeria. They made the call in separate interviews on Wednesday in Lagos.

They stressed that technology could provide personalised learning support for children experiencing difficulties with reading, spelling and written communication.

Dyslexia is a learning difficulty that can affect a child’s ability to read and process written language, despite having normal intelligence and learning potential.

Praise Okafor, a health writer, said many children with dyslexia are often misunderstood in conventional classrooms.

According to her, some affected children are wrongly labelled as lazy or academically weak because their learning difficulties are not identified early.

Mr Okafor urged schools to combine technology with professional assessment and individualised teaching strategies.

Chinedu Eze, a special needs education consultant, said teacher training was essential for the effective use of assistive technologies. Mr Eze said teachers needed to understand how to identify possible signs of dyslexia and determine the appropriate digital support for individual learners.

“Technology should complement the teacher, not replace the teacher. The effectiveness of these tools depends largely on how well educators understand and apply them,” he said.

Amina Bello, a primary school teacher in Lekki, said speech-to-text and text-to-speech technologies could reduce the pressure experienced by dyslexic pupils.

She explained that children who struggled to read written instructions could listen to them, while speech-to-text tools could help them communicate their ideas.

Bello, however, cautioned against excessive dependence on digital tools.

“Teachers and parents must continue to provide encouragement, guidance and direct learning support,” she said.

David Ibrahim, an educational technology developer, called for the development of affordable Nigerian AI-powered learning platforms.

Mr Ibrahim said many families could not afford expensive subscriptions or reliable high-speed internet. He urged developers to create applications with offline features, low-data options, and locally relevant educational content.

Ngozi Nwosu, a parent, said affordability remained a major barrier to accessing assistive learning technology. Ms Nwosu urged government, schools and technology companies to make such tools available to children from low-income families.

Samuel Adeyemi, an education researcher, said digital inclusion must remain central to Nigeria’s adoption of AI in education.

Mr Adeyemi noted that children in rural communities would be excluded if schools lacked electricity, internet connectivity, computers and trained personnel.

He called for stronger partnerships among government agencies, technology companies, schools, parents and non-governmental organisations.

The stakeholders also advocated increased public awareness about dyslexia and early identification of affected children. They stressed that parents should seek professional assessment instead of relying solely on AI applications to identify learning difficulties.

According to them, the success of AI-assisted learning will depend on accessibility, affordability, teacher preparedness and responsible use.

They said technology, when properly deployed, could help Nigerian children with dyslexia overcome learning barriers and participate more confidently in the classroom.

Stakeholders said AI could become a valuable tool for helping dyslexic children overcome learning barriers if deployed responsibly and made accessible to all.

(NAN)