Dyslexia is a challenging, and poorly understood disorder - but one Dutch Designer may have
just cracked the code!
Hey guys, Tara here for Dnews, and something we haven’t really discussed on this show
before is dyslexia - despite the fact that it affects such a large portion of the population.
It’s by far the most common learning disability - but it can be difficult to understand for
people who don’t actually suffer from it.
A common misconception is that people who have dyslexia are stupid, or below average
intelligence.
Which is not the case.
In fact, in order to qualify as dyslexic - a person must be of average, or above average,
intelligence.
It’s simply a neurological disorder that prevents someone from reading, and occasionally,
speaking properly.
The biggest misconception is that people who are dyslexic can only read or write words
backwards - which can sometimes happen - but only in a small percentage of dyslexics.
Most people who suffer from it, have more trouble with identifying words, and grasping
the phonetics and pronunciations of them.
They might have trouble spelling, or reading aloud, or comprehending what they’re reading
- and all of these symptoms can vary depending on age.
By adulthood, most people with dyslexia learn to comprehend words pretty well, but they
might still have trouble spelling, or reading as quickly as other people their own age.
In some cases, brain trauma or serious ear infections can lead to dyslexia, but for the
most part - it’s a genetic disorder, thought to be caused by a phonological processing
impairment.
Phonological processing is what allow us to bridge the gap between reading and writing.
We learn what letters make up certain words, how those letters are pronounced in combination
with each other - and then we piece those sounds, or phonemes, together to make words.
Once we learn them, that’s it - we know ‘em forever.
But people with dyslexia face a lifelong battle - that’s helped only through very targeted
training.
Fortunately, a new approach, invented by Dutch designer Christian Boer, aims to alleviate
some of the pain associated with reading and recognizing typeface.
Boer, who is dyslexic himself, says that people like him will often unconsciously switch,
rotate, or mirror letters in their minds.
And traditional typeface, which has very consistent strokes, can make it hard to distinguish from
one letter to the next.
A “b,” for example, is really just a backwards “d.”
And an “n,” likewise, is just an upside down “u.”
So for his thesis project back in 2008, he sought to create a typeface where each letter
appears unique.
By making all of the letters heavier on the bottom, it prevents the reader from turning
them upside down in their head.
Letters that look highly similar - like lower case “p,” “b,” and “d,” have been
subtly italicized to make them more distinct.
And by lengthening the ascenders and descenders - which is the part of the letter that stretches
beyond the normal length, like the bottom part of a “p” - it makes them easier to
tell apart.
He also added more space in between letters, and words, as well as bolded punctuation marks
and capital letters - so people can clearly tell when a sentence is supposed to end.
Obviously, these changes won’t be a cure-all for absolutely everyone, since dyslexia can
come in many different forms.
But it does represent a breakthrough in the fight against dyslexia, and especially for
the modern age.
Plus, it’s just kinda awesome.
Who would’ve ever thought, right?
What do you guys think?
Do you any of you out there suffer from dyslexia?
And if so, how do you deal with it?
Feel free to share your experiences with us in the comments down below.
And as always, thank you guys for watching!