It also uses high-quality Acapela text-to-speech voices to read back text that the user has entered, allowing for proofreading and editing.

WordQ was first developed in the late 1990s by a research team led by Dr. Fraser Shein at the Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

WordQ's application and functionality was expanded to help those who struggled in writing as a result of learning disabilities and put to use in larger context in Ontario schools.

[2] Its use then widely expanded in schools in Canada and elsewhere around the world after further development, as the team added features and included SpeakQ and ThoughtQ®.

SpeakQ uses Windows Speech Recognition to allow the user to dictate into a microphone and have the text appear in the word processor.

SpeakQ was specifically designed to make it easier for people who struggle with the mechanics of writing to express their ideas.

[8] Another independent research study suggests that WordQ's word prediction and text-to-speech capabilities could have a positive impact on the writing skills of elementary school students with specific learning disabilities.

[9] PC Magazine reviewed this software in early 2011, giving it four stars out of five, and calling it "one of the simplest, most useful, and least expensive options" for helping with the mechanical processes of writing.