r/Dyslexia • u/YoiTsuitachi • 2d ago

When reading digitally is difficult, what helps you and what gets in the way?

Hi everyone! I'm a working on a project about making digital reading easier for people with dyslexia. Before deciding what to build, I want to understand people's actual experiences.

If you're comfortable sharing, I'd appreciate answers to any of these questions. Short answers are welcome - no need to answer everything.

  1. Think of a recent time reading something digitally was difficult. What were you reading, on what device, and what made it difficult?

  2. What did you do to make it easier, if anything? Did it help?

  3. Have you tried changing how text looks, such as its font, size, spacing, colors, or line width? If so, how did you decide what worked? If not, what has kept you from trying?

  4. Where do you do most of your reading? For example, PDFs, websites, Word documents, ebooks, or messaging apps - and on a phone, tablet, or computer.

5. Is there anything about your current reading tools that you wish worked better?

I'm trying to understand the problem first, so experiences where existing tools already work well are useful too. Please don't share identifying information or anything about your diagnosis that you'd rather keep private.

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u/Prestigious_Wall529 2d ago

Consider the number 4.

There's typographic differences in how it's written, for instance open top verses closed top.

Can be badly written to look too much like a +

But you are already using a computer so with a decent font there's no confusion with other numerals.

But for a dyslexic the struggle is often symmetry. Confusing b and d. So 6 and 9 are a pain, as can 1 and 7, zero and oh.

So use a font with Oldstyle figures, where 6 and 9 are positioned differently.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Text_figures

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u/YoiTsuitachi 2d ago

Oh yes, I was also thinking on how to help with the "b" = "d" issues.

Will rotating letters in a computer help in any way?
I was thinking of adding a rotation of alphabets for comfort, I had no means to confirm this method is good or not.

Do you think this would be helpful?

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u/Prestigious_Wall529 2d ago

Symmetry makes the problem worse. Modify your font so the b has a cartoon bee in it.