Bold Stroke: New Font Helps Dyslexics Read

[Recursion]

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=new-font-helps-dyslexics-read

I love science...

After years of fumbling while reading the written word, Christian Boer, a graphic designer from the Netherlands, has developed a way to help tackle his dyslexia. The 30-year-old created a font called Dyslexie that has proved to decrease the number of errors made by dyslexics while reading. The font works by tweaking the appearance of certain letters of the alphabet that dyslexics commonly misconstrue, such as "d" and "b," to make them more recognizable. This month Boer released the font in English for U.S. users to purchase online.

Boer began designing the font in 2008 while studying at the University of Twente in the Netherlands. It eventually became his graduate school project. In December 2010 a fellow student conducted an independent study on the font as part of a master's thesis and discovered a significant reduction in reading errors by dyslexics when reading Dutch text typed in Dyslexie as opposed to the Arial font.

Seriously, check it out...

[peace13]

1. Very cool! nt

[Bibliovore]

2. This is really neat.

For a better example of the letters and the way it looks in print, see the Dyslexie website itself:
http://www.studiostudio.nl/en/information/?lang=project-dyslexie

It's not a brand-new concept; here are some others:
http://bdatech.org/what-technology/typefaces-for-dyslexia/#lexia

One potential problem with Dyslexie is that it looks very informal, which could make it less likely to be adopted by publishers or accepted by (not always well informed) teachers. Apparently Barrington Stokes books in the UK makes dyslexic-friendly kids books and commissioned their own professional-looking font for it; see a sample on the typefaces-for-dyslexia link above.

[LeftInTX]

5. I've got mild astigmatism and find Dyslexie hard to read.

However, I don't have dyslexia. But I know that astigmatism is an extremely common visual problem. I assume that it can co-exist with dyslexics.

Anyway, this is really neat.

I'm glad that there are fonts available for those with dyslexia.

[rwsanders]

6. Interesting, I found it uncomfortable also, but I'm very glad it works for them.

[Bibliovore]

16. I, too, have astigmatism

...mild in one eye and more substantial in the other, along with a few other eyeball quirks; I'm not dyslexic, but the two conditions can absolutely coexist. I don't personally find Dyslexie hard to read, but my glasses correct my vision to 20/20. It'd be interesting to hear from others with astigmatism -- and/or dyslexia! -- on how readable they find the font.

[Johnny Noshoes]

3. I'm not dyslexic BUT

I find this font really easy to read. It is very easy on the eyes I like it.

[JDPriestly]

4. Much easier to read. And I'm not dyslexic. Or at least I don't think I am.

But that font is great! The letters have just a little big more personality. I can see that children would love them and be able to learn them much faster than our current font.

I like the a's and e's the best. Now if someone would do that with numbers too.

[Javaman]

7. This is absolutely wonderful!

I suffer from a mild form of dislexia and reading the examples was actually pleasurable.

I now have to figure out how to make all the fonts on my computer dislexie.

[AtheistCrusader]

8. The researcher is selling the font.

It's not cheap, either.

[R Merm]

12. You are right

It is not cheap, trying to decide if I should purchase it or not. Many dyslexics, myself included, develop coping mechanisms for reading. At this point in my life it may not make as large a difference for me as it might of made in my grade school through undergraduate years.

[AtheistCrusader]

15. I would wait for peer review of the font.

The 'study' didn't seem very rigorous. If it works for you, great, but attaching it to a document and sending it to someone else who is dyslexic might not have the intended effect.

[Javaman]

14. That figures. :(

I grudge no one wanting to make money off of something they invented, but to make it so pricey that it deters the very people who would benefit from it unable to afford it, well that just sucks.

[blogslut]

17. I am sad about the price as well, however...

One would hope that web developers who care about accessibility should be happy and willing to pay to use the font on their sites.

[Bibliovore]

18. There are also some free fonts designed for dyslexics

This lists and gives examples of some, free and otherwise:
http://bdatech.org/what-technology/typefaces-for-dyslexia/

If you want to install any of those on your computer, you might do a web search for how to change default fonts on your operating system or in specific programs you use. Good luck!

[Javaman]

19. Thanks for the link and the tip. :) nt

[Javaman]

21. update...

I just changed everything on my computer to comic sans. What a difference.

thanks!

[Bibliovore]

22. Excellent!

I hope it helps a lot. If you do eventually wind up getting one of the less commonly seen fonts, let us know how it works for you and whether it was or wasn't worth the cost?

[SoCalDem]

23. I love that font & have used it forever.. I have visual issues

and that one is easiest on my tired ole eyes..

I know it's a longtime meme online, but I don't care

[mwooldri]

9. Well it isn't Comic Sans... but it's very readable.

I like Gill Sans, Dyslexie appears to me to be a cross between Gil Sans and Comic Sans. The "Arial" font to me is a bit squishy, but very readable for me. It's a good "default font" for me.

[ananda]

10. This is wonderful!

I will spread the word.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

11. My first thought was "Road signs".

[RebelOne]

13. I wish this font had been available

when my son was in school. I had to send him to special reading classes because of his dyslexia. He has overcome it now, but it took 40 years.

[pokerfan]

20. Video