Dyslexie

Being an asbie, I've often wondered if dyslexia is part of the package in terms of seeing reversed or upside down letters when reading or printing out a message in the chicken scrawl style yours truly exhibits when trying to communicate with the world outside of the world of computers and keyboards. AFAIK, the answer is no although I do get fatigued when reading content requiring intense concentration in order to understand what the author is trying to say. 

But help is on the way to enable dyslexics to read, something pretty cool I must say. 

Most of the 15 to 20 percent of people in the United States who have a language-based disability suffer from dyslexia, a condition that makes reading and comprehension difficult. Those who suffer from dyslexia often transpose or rotate letters (a b becomes a q; an n becomes and u), and they have difficulty differentiating letters that look similar, such as i and j. Those who suffer from severe dyslexia might even see the letters moving, or in three dimensions, as they try to read them. All of these factors greatly impede the speed and clarity with which they can read.

A Dutch graphic designer and dyslexic, Christian Boer, developed a font specifically for dyslexic readers. It’s designed to make letters more distinct from each other and to keep them tied down, so to speak, so that the reader is less likely to flip them in their minds. The letters in the font are also spaced wide apart to make reading them easier.

To view or purchase the Dylexie font, click here. Click on the iPad image to see the upcoming Ling Apps App Writer, a program using Dylexie to help folks with reading and writing disabilities.

Last but not least, the Scientific American article titled Bold Stroke: New Font Helps Dyslexics Read  is a must read to learn more about this very thoughtful and needed technology.

Addendum: Click here to see the theory behind Dylexie. You won't be disappointed.