Ghotit!

Reported by Jordanna McMillan
Written by Kasey Barr
August 2009
Israel In Our Day Listen online: http://frontpagejerusalem.com/site/index.php


Today more and more communication is being done online. Whether drafting formal business emails, instant messaging or posting updates on social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitters, writing is an integral part of our daily lives. To dyslexics, these interactions can become overwhelming and potentially limiting to their social and professional experiences.

According to the International Dyslexia Association, an astounding 15-20% of the population have a language-based learning disability most likely associated with Dyslexia. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin and characterized by difficulties with accurate word recognition, letter decoding and incorrect spelling.

The complicated relationship most dyslexics have with the written word frustrates their writing abilities. More often than not the complication is rooted in their difficulty to spell words. Often times their attempts are not recognized by conventional spell-checkers which require the user to be very close to the intended word.

Israeli businessman, Ofer Chermesh, partnered with a technology graduate from the Weizmann Institute in Israel, and together they created Ghotit, “G”, “H”, “O”, “T”, “I”, “T”. Ghotit is a context spell checker with an integrated dictionary and a text-to-speech function. It was developed by dyslexics for dyslexics. Chermesh, a dyslexic himself whose struggle led him to create Ghotit, says “Only a true dyslexic can understand the pains of a dyslexic and translate these pains into an effective solution.

Chermesh believes that confidence in spelling often has a profound effect on a writer's self-image. He claims that with Ghotit, dyslexics can communicate more confidently, with the assurance that Ghotit will highlight spelling and grammar errors and not only offer the right corrections but also help the writer to decide which option is the best choice.

Ghotit was founded in 2007, and is based in Netanya. The algorithm, or engine that Ghotit runs on is constantly being improved and updated. A community of dyslexic regularly offering valuable insights and ideas for improvement which are quickly tested and implemented.

Unlike most new devices on the market, Ghotit is not bragging high-tech bells and whistles but rather simplicity and ease of use which is intended to give dyslexics some peace of mind.

Ghotit is free for all educational institutions. There is also a free application for online users. For those who want to integrate Ghotit with Microsoft applications on their personal computer, they can download the application for just $10 a month. About 30 schools in the US are already providing the application to their students with great satisfaction. Also schools in Germany and the UK are increasingly plugging into the program.

If you have a complicated relationship with the written word and find writing and reading comprehension to be difficult, Ghotit may be just the thing you need to help you get it!