Recent Trends and Challenges in Assistive Applications for Sinhala-Speaking Adults with Dyslexia: A Decade in Review

This paper discusses assistive technologies developed for Sinhala-speaking dyslexics, focusing on the challenges they face and how existing tools attempt to address them. Using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) framework, this review analyzed research publications from 2015 to 2024, highlighting topics such as phonetic processing, text normalization, and error detection. Of the 85 initially reviewed, 32 were included in the meta-analysis to represent major challenges posed by the lack of annotated datasets and Natural Language Processing (NLP) resources tailored to the cognitive and linguistic needs of the adult patient population. This review points out the need for the extension of low-resource language toolkits and proper integration of assistive NLP applications. The study concludes that while significant progress has been made, a collaborative, interdisciplinary approach is crucial to improving literacy, independence, and social participation for Sinhala-speaking adults with dyslexia.