Most spell checkers test for mis-spellings, but not misused words. For example, I been seeing the words "brake" and "break" used interchangeable, and the spell checker wont discover this since both words are spelled correctly. Other common interchanges: there and their its and it's good and well those and these we're and weir dove and drove mail and meal However, a grammar and puctuation checker may flag some misused words.

Mikie, Two suggestions that aren't what you asked for but others might find useful: 1. Freeware PhotoFiltre from http://photofiltre.free.fr/ I used it to edit out imperfections in both of our daughter's wedding photos e.g. confetti right across the groom's eye in the best photo of the day! The freeware version does everything that I have ever needed. It is much easier to master than the big commercial programmes like PhotoShop etc. There is also a shareware version for about $40 (29 euros) with a free trial if you require even more features. It's at their other site: www.photofiltre.com 2. An excellent no nonsense alternative to Picasa: FastStone Viewer. It is fully featured including an editor etc. etc. and is free for home users from: www.faststone.org/FSViewerDetail.htm Here is a link that might be useful: Freeware PhotoFiltre

I have a Nokia too. I use the star key or the #1 key for alternates. Keep pressing it and you will notice a little icon on the left side of the screen changing from abc/ABC/Abc and symbols. Don't get discouraged. It took me a long time to get the hang of it. You can also change in the middle of a word or sentence buy pressing *down* if you have a Nokia with the rocker key.

The ldonline site has all kinds of information. They have a section on learning issues/disabilities basics that they call 'abc's of'... Their 'ldindepth' section has links to all kinds of more specific information including assessments and how to interpret scores. The first thing to know is that _if_ there is a possibility or probability of a problem, the way for your child to get fast access to needed resources is to get them the assessments and/or diagnoses to which they are entitled so that they get those (they have rights to education, but that won't help them if they also require supports to get that). Early is better than later for this kind of thing because it's easier to start off stronger than to play catch-up later. Second, read up on all the relevant information. Your son has a right to an education, and to assessments and supports which may be needed by him in order to experience more successful learning. Third, one thing you can do initially pretty much is check out different learning styles and see which ways seem to work best for your son. That can help in the interim to find an effective method of studying for tests or quizes, or just to retain information he wants to retain. Experiment, and have fun with this. Everyone sort of eventually finds a method they can use well, especially people who've done well in school. Rote memorizing works for some, re-reading, saying out loud and repeating, writing and re-writing, flashcards, making up rhymes and things, studying while also dancing or moving or listening to music, and all other kinds of things. A tactile spelling trick can be to have a sand box to spell in. Using hearing, and helping with dyslexia can and should involve phonics. Visually of course the text appears. Try out different things as they come to you, and you work with your son. It's probably rough to work hard and to _try_ and to want to succeed and only get a couple words correct on a spelling test. You can ask the teacher what the class average was, and high scores and things like that; but it still is probably hard for your son to feel like he tried as hard as he could and could only get a couple words correct. (Look at the tests to see if you can assess his errors. Were they 'little' or minor spelling errors but the reader could tell he was close? Were there errors that seemed to defy all logic applied? How is the writing? (Is it consistent in style and letter formation, even if there are errors; or, do the letters seem to have different sizes and shapes and perspectives relative to each other?) These kinds of things can give you clues about what, if anything may be a contributing problem area for him. You can also ask the teacher outright, why, exactly do they feel your son may have a learning disability. And, given that they already shared that particular feeling, is there any particular disability they feel he may have (and if so, why). Take notes, so you can have a record. If taking notes is not going to work for you, you can also ask if the teacher would mind being recorded or if they could provide you written information so that you can have a record of this information. This page address is from the ldonline site and has their assessment-related links. (The link 'understanding tests and measurements for parents and advocates' is the one which goes into detail about how the different tests work and what the score numbers mean.) http://www.ldonline.org/ld_indepth/assessment/assessment.html This page address has a lot of information about learning styles and differences. They have interactive ways to find out which strengths a person has and tips on how to work with those strengths. http://www.ldpride.net/learningstyles.MI.htm get his hearing checked... people can have conventional hearing problems, they can also have auditory processing problems which affect how their brain processes what is technically heard by the hearing system (he can have 'normal' hearing, but still have problems as though he could not hear); also, with dyslexia people can have problems that look like hearing problems (they don't 'hear' or register phonemes, 'phonics' as a method of learning can sometimes help draw their attention to the smaller bits of words and sounds that make up words.... most people just have a brain-space that takes up that info as if on autopilot) P.S. It can be helpful when you look into getting assessments to make up a big notebook of his medical history (from your pregnancy experiences, his birth, and beyond... plus family history including any known or suspected learning disabilities); and of his schooling history, strengths and weaknesses and representative work. You are your son's personal 'expert' and 'advocate' so it can help to have a nice notebook and to look at appointments as 'meetings' or business conferences. P.P.S. The hello friend site is also very good. They have links on the left with good visual icons, and text. It's a very user-friendly site with good information. http://www.hellofriend.org/