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A few years ago, 18-year-old Truly Heft was diagnosed with dyslexia after struggling with reading and comprehension while being home-schooled.
Heft, like between 5% and 10% of people in the United States, suffered from the learning disability, which can affect reading, writing and comprehension skills, according to the National Institutes of Health.
So her family sought help from private tutors, one of whom suggested that they try an Artificial Intelligence (AI)-powered software program called Dysolve AI, created by Coral Hoh, a clinical linguist and CEO of EduNational, LLC.
Based in Lagrangeville, New York, EduNational is a minority-owned educational company that seeks to create AI programs to treat neurological conditions.
Today, Heft, who lives in East Greenville in Montgomery County, attends Gwynedd Mercy University in Gwynedd Valley after she graduated from high school.
In addition to Truly, Heft’s two siblings, Paisley, 16 and Ellis, 13, also experienced problems with reading and writing.
“All three are competent in their ability to do schoolwork and comprehend the reading necessary to do well,” Tember Heft, their mother, said. “Dysolve helped their processing speeds and their ability to read and retain the necessary information.”
She said that the family paid monthly subscriptions for each child, who then logged onto the cloud to use the software, which featured a game.
At first, it was tedious, she said.
“Our youngest wasn’t reading when he started the program at 9 years old. But within a few months, [he] learned to read with no other intervention,” Tember Heft said. “I’m not sure if it was Dysolve but he is the only one of my kids who will pick up a book to read for enjoyment. I believe since Dysolve came into the picture earlier for him, he overcame many of the processing issues sooner, which allowed him to learn to love reading.”
