Reading Buddy Software 

MIRACULOUS!
This program not only helped my son improve with his reading and comprehension skills, it also helped his self esteem. He is more engaged in his reading then ever and gladly participates in class now when he would hold back before. He was able to meet all his grade level reading expectations within WEEKS of using this program.

It's Ok. Haven't decided if its worth the money. We constantly have problems with the microphone ( we bought the one recommended), and is very slow to boot up and the software freezes once in awhile.

But my biggest issue is the frustration the boys have with the software telling them they pronounced a word wrong when it wasn't... the issue revolves around the conjunctions in a sentence. Kids often add them, or miss them when reading. The software doesnt handle these inaccuracies at all well. lets say the sentence reads ".. the red and yellow flowers..." If my son adds a "the" in there, and says "the red and THE yellow flowers..." the software will usually catch the mistake, but not the right mistake. It will have him repeat the closest verb or noun to the error. In this case, make him repeat "yellow" 3-4 times, and the kids get really frustrated, because they don't understand what they did wrong.

Improvements in the software logic are needed. If conjunctions or other words are added or omitted in a sentence, I think the software should say, "Oops, I think we missed or added a word in there. Lets start that sentence again." the software then should highlight each word as the child reads it back.

I like the idea behind reading buddy, and will probably keep it, but the software really only corrects pronunciation errors, not reading accuracy errors, which occur way more often at least with my kids. Fix that in the software, and I'd be at 4-5 stars for sure.

Reading Buddy is excellent. The voice recognition function of it is on par with everything available on the market, and the prize system lets parents tailor incentives to fit their kid’s interests. The stories offered are quick and fun, too, so that reading feels like an accomplishment rather than a chore

My daughter Anna, when she was 8 years old she could hardly read. She was crying a lot because her classmates were able to read well, but she had hard time to read and it was making her very sad and disappointed. I was frustrated with my daughter and finally I found this program online and enrolled. She was very happy about this program she spent hours a day. She's used this program 11 months and also used Track and Read program (vision therapy) for the last three months and now she reads very well and no more stress for her. Anna is not afraid anymore of her classmates and I'm so thankful for this program and recommend for kids who have reading problem.

This program has potential adverse impacts for children wanting to improve their reading skills and the customer service and tech support is the worst I've ever experienced with any company, product or service.

The glitches have been very frequent with the program skipping ahead many sentence, not picking up when my son pronounces many words correctly or incorrectly. My son has been almost in tears with frustration so we stopped using the program until we can receive some sort of IT support. I do not want my son to associate the feeling of frustration and anger from the glitches in this program to reading. This company has failed miserably at addressing very basic IT support to ensure their program works for parents and kids who genuinely want to use it.

I previously had reviews outlining how the 24/7 IT line is virtually non-existent. I've tried 10-15 times to try and iron out the kinks in the software and have never been able to speak to a single person when I called to fix the issue. The IT line would either simply disconnect over and over again while on hold or they would not return voicemails. After multiple calls and emails, I received a call from their customer service department. The manager I spoke to seemed sincere in wanting to fix the problem a set up an appointment for me to speak with IT and gave me a cell phone number to call if I had any issues. They also asked if I could take down previous reviews about problems I was having which I did. I never received the call from IT that I was scheduled for. I followed up via text, phone and email and have not received any communication back.

Again, the idea of the program seemed promising, but the most basic functions fall flat. If this company is not committed to ensuring their product works properly, this program may have the unintended consequences of kids not enjoying reading.

The software is good doesn't always pick when my daughter says the right word. Biggest frustration is the advertised 24/7 tech support if you call in it just rings, then goes silent and then hangs up.

Update reading buddy went above and beyond to solve my issue. We ended up getting it fixed by reinstalling the software. They called me constantly to see if they could do anything else to help.

Pros - My children really enjoy reading buddy it does make them slow down. What I like most is that it makes them announce the words clearly and by listening to the story re-read to them they are able hear how it should be read. The stories are very interesting and they are not using simple words. My children's vocabulary has increase with the using Reading Buddy. Customer Service and Tech Support are amazing and do there best to assist.
Cons - The program is not user friendly all the time sometimes it would not catch when a word was said wrong. It sometimes freeze and you have to log out take a while to load but If you get past this (patience) you will see a difference in their reading. I have been told that a web base program is on the way. I will keep a look out for it and will try again when it comes out.

Reading Buddy gave us hope again that our child would learn how to read. The intuitive design of the software teaches on a multi-sensory level. Learning to read with Reading Buddy became something our child looked forward to each day.

We were very excited about Reading Buddy. The reviews looked great. The program sounds like a winner. Unfortunately the software does not run on Chromebooks. We have cancelled our subscription. Again very disappointing. I will not talk poorly about something I have not had the chance to experience. It's just very disappointing that access is limited. I hope Reading Buddy will make the software available on many platforms and will contact me when that is the case. We would try again.

Paid for the subscription still waiting for download link takes forever :(
There is no 24/7 tech support :(
Will be asking for refund !

Reading Buddy helped improve my child's reading tremendously!
I see that the more he uses the program the more his reading improves.

Love Reading Buddy. Thank God for this incredible program. It was a huge help for my two children. Thank you.

Bought this for my son and he is really enjoying it. His teacher recommended it. It’s still early but the biggest change is that he looks forward to reading now. His comprehension scores are increasing as well. Great so far.

Reading Buddy has really improved my son's reading! My ten year old son is a boy's boy; always on the move. He does great in every subject, but was having trouble with reading. This led to him loosing self confidence, which led to not wanting to read at all, because who wants to feel bad about themselves? I read to and with him all the time, but he still was having trouble, and even felt embarrassed to read to me. This was breaking my heart! I had to find a way to help. I searched A LOT of programs; tried several. Nothing was working. Many were just too boring to keep his attention. I stumbled across Reading Buddy and we gave it a try. I am so glad we did. He enjoyed using the computer to learn reading. He loved being able to do it on his own. I guess there is something about the computer helping him with a word that is not as bad as mom helping. The reward system is a good motivator as well. My son is now reading books on his free time; I thought that would never happen. I know that not everything that works for one child will work for another, but I do highly recommend Reading Buddy. I wish we had found it sooner!

Reading Buddy is incredible! It works very well and is very kid friendly. They also have great customer support.

I just purchased Reading Buddy a few days ago and now the software will not load. There is also no 24/7 tech support available. I sent a message but didn't receive confirmation that the message was received. Not sure when I will hear from them.....

11/17 Update- Customer support contacted me, but the issue is still not resolved.

11/24 Update- We are now able to get into the application.

After only a month, we are seeing significant improvement in reading and comprehension. Even more importantly, it’s fun so my son doesn’t feel like it’s work. He actually looks forward to it and reminds me when it’s time to do Reading Buddy

I don't know where we would be without this. Every once in a while something truly life changing comes along and reading buddy software is it for us. A dyslexia diagnosis can leave you feeling hopeless- especially when you invest all your time and money into tutoring and products that don't work. We are grateful for reading buddy every single day!

We love the program and my son improved, the customer service however needs improvements. We have been one week without the service because our computer died and we want to transfer it to another computer and the company is not returning any of my messages.

Update: I just received a phone call from the company. They are providing me all the information to transfer the program to another computer and have indicated they were replying to my messages. We are doing an investigation as to why i never received anything.

My son finished all libraries and raised his reading level by about 5 grade levels over the last 1.5 years DUE TO READING BUDDY! Amazing program. It should be in every school!