Graphic designer Christian Boer developed the typeface, called Dyslexie, back in 2008. And while it isn’t the first font created specifically to help dyslectics, it may be the first backed up by some scientific evidence that suggests it works.
10 to 20 per cent of the population is estimated to have Dyslexia.
A recent study by researchers at the University of Twente in the Netherlands found the font helped to decrease the number of errors dyslectics made when reading.
Millions of people worldwide are affected by dyslexia, a language-based learning disability that causes problems in reading, spelling, writing and even pronouncing words.
Many people mistakenly believe that those with dyslexia read words backwards. In fact, what they are more likely to do is mix up and switch letters, especially ones that look similar.
For the average dyslectic, many of the letters in the Latin-based alphabet look frustratingly alike.
At least eight letters, for example, are based on the letter “o” with various “tails.” The letters “b,” “d,” “p,” “q,” “g,” “a,” and even “c” and “e” can be easily mixed up by someone with this learning disability.
For reasons not well understood, dyslectics have a tendency to rotate or flip letters in their minds. One theory is that dyslectics have a functional problem in a part of the brain called “the magnocellular visual pathway.” This pathway helps process visual information in the brain — specifically, movement.
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