Math-to-Speech Effectiveness and Appreciation for People with Developmental Learning Disorders
Chiara Magosso, Dragan Ahmetovic, Tiziana Armano, Cristian Bernareggi, Sandro Coriasco, Adriano Sofia, Luisa Testa, Anna Capietto · 2022 · Proceedings of the 19th International Web for All Conference (W4A 2022) · doi:10.1145/3493612.3520472
Summary
This short paper presents a user study with 19 Italian university students who have Developmental Learning Disorders (DLD), examining whether text-to-speech (TTS) access to mathematical formulae improves their ability to memorize math syntax and their subjective experience compared to visual reading alone. The researchers used a toolchain built around Axessibility, a LaTeX package that embeds alternative text representations of mathematical formulae within PDF documents, combined with ePico!, a compensatory software suite designed for people with DLD that provides a TTS reading environment. Custom dictionaries translate the LaTeX math code into natural spoken language — for example, rendering "f(x) \geq 0" as "f of x greater than or equal to zero." Participants had varying severity levels of dyslexia and dyscalculia, were drawn from non-mathematics courses to avoid confounding expertise, and ranged from no TTS experience to high familiarity. Each participant accessed two of four one-page math documents (containing university-level theorems with 2-3 formulae each), one via reading and one via TTS, in a counterbalanced design. After each document, participants selected the correct reading of formulae from multiple-choice options and rated the experience on ease of use, accessibility, and usefulness.
Key findings
Participants overwhelmingly preferred TTS access across all subjective measures. TTS was rated significantly easier to use (U=47, p<.001), more accessible (U=62.5, p<.001), and more useful (U=10.5, p<.001) than reading alone, with 18 of 19 participants selecting TTS as their preferred modality. For memorability, 84% of formulae were correctly recalled with TTS versus 68% without, but this difference was not statistically significant overall — largely because most formulae were simple enough to be memorized correctly in both conditions. However, two specific formulae showed consistently better results with TTS, particularly where visually similar symbols were involved. For instance, three of four participants reading without TTS confused the intersection symbol (∩) with union (∪) — a "mirrored letter" error typical of DLD — while only one of five made this error with TTS. Participants with low math syntax expertise appeared to benefit most, correctly memorizing 88% of formulae with TTS versus 61% without. Qualitative feedback highlighted that TTS reduced cognitive fatigue, provided unambiguous readings of symbols, and that concurrent audio-visual access aided memorization.
Relevance
This study provides early evidence that TTS can meaningfully improve how students with learning disabilities access mathematical content — a domain where accessibility tools have historically lagged behind general text accessibility. For web developers and content authors, it reinforces the importance of providing proper alternative text for mathematical notation in digital documents, whether through LaTeX-based approaches like Axessibility or through MathML with appropriate ARIA labeling. The finding that visually similar mathematical symbols are particularly prone to confusion by people with DLD strengthens the case for semantic markup over image-based math rendering. While the study is small and limited to relatively simple formulae, it opens an important research direction at the intersection of STEM accessibility and learning disabilities — an area where most prior work has focused exclusively on visual impairments rather than cognitive processing differences.
Tags: developmental learning disorders · text-to-speech · mathematics accessibility · dyscalculia · dyslexia · STEM accessibility · PDF accessibility