Dyslexia Font In Children’s Books
Back in August we reported on a new font called Read Regular that was designed specifically for dyslexics. In the font, the letters a subtly different so, for example, b and d are not mirror images of each other. The idea being that it makes each letter more distinct and easier to read.
Now the Chrysalis Book Group are publishing books using this font. The Read Regular web site has very little on it so there is no evidence that this font actually helps. It would be nice to see controlled trials of reading speeds using this font. Regardless of this, it is good to see publishers considering the problems of dyslexics when creating books.
Comments on: Dyslexia Font In Children’s Books
My only reservation about this font business is that it perpetuates the mistaken notion that dyslexia is a matter of the eyes or visual perception, rather than a matter of linking sound to visual cues, which seems to be the current wisdom.
In other words, it is NOT the case that dyslexic people “reverse letters”. It IS the case that dyslexic people to some degree have difficulty matching the sound of spoken language to its representation in print.
I used to know a lot more about typography and the study of readability than I know today (forgot a lot of it over a 20-year gap). There is however a lot of discussion in typography literature about readability.
Posted by: liz June 30th, 2005 at 4:22 am
There is enough evidence to show that for some dyslexics there are visual problems. e.g Meares–Irlen Syndrome ( http://www.myomancy.com/2005/04/meares8211irlen.html ). If dyslexia is just a problem in linking sounds / visual clues, why would coloured glass help about 10% of dyslexic’s to read?
The idea behind the font, to make the ‘reversible’ letters different from each other is valid. The brain is very good at picking up clues that we don’t consciously notice. Whether this difference is significant enough to show up in test of reading speeds I don’t know.
Posted by: Chris Tregenza June 30th, 2005 at 10:26 am
I am writing about dyslexia so I need this book
Posted by: Mohamed May 8th, 2008 at 12:34 pm
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