OpenDyslexic font gains ground

[Doitsu]

I just stumbled upon an interesting BBC News article about the OpenDyslexic font project, which provides free sans serif fonts for dyslexics.
The OpenDyslexic fonts can be embedded in ebooks or installed as a system font.

[steven522]

You've just got to love stories like this.

[taming]

It is one of the fonts that came preloaded on my new Kobo Glo!

[RainingLemur]

That's fascinating. I'm wondering just how/why the "weighted" bottoms to the letters are the key to preventing them from doing wonky things to dyslexics.

Either way, that's a really great font to have.

[Apache]

My wife is Dyslexic. She starts displaying the symptoms when she is extremely tired. She can be affected in three ways. The one most people think of when they hear Dyslexia is reading when letters and numbers appear backwards. Sometimes she can not even read a stop sign. She knows that it is a stop sign by it's shape and she can recognize the letter O.
Another form of Dyslexia she displays is sense of direction. She will lose her sense of direction to an unbelievable degree. I have seen her get lost on the way to my parents house. And she has been driving to the house for over 22 years.
The third one is sense of time or punctuality.
Apache

[robbw]

This is fantastic! I'm going to show my son. He's in high school and had medium dyslexia. He has some pretty great T-shirts he likes to wear: "Dyslexics of the world, untie!" and "If life gives you melons, you're dyslexic"

[derangedhermit]

My son, now 25, is dyslexic. I think it's inheritable, and he got it from his mother. I think dyslexia comes in flavors, or strengths. Neither one of them can reliably tell left from right; I have them point instead when giving directions. He reads upside down or in a mirror as fast and easily as he can "normally". He says there's no difference in how the words look.

They are both uncannily good at Scrambles in the newspaper. Evidently it's not very different than just reading to them.

Dyslexics show symptoms more when they are tired, since they are *always* working harder mentally, but have developed coping skills that usually make it not as noticeable.

I looked into the linked font, and ended up spending $10 on Gill Dyslexic instead. It looked of higher quality to me on casual use, and if it helps, it's easily worth the $. If my son reports interesting results, I'll pass them on.

I hope this helps someone esle

[Kumabjorn]

Dyslexia is something that has always baffled me. Japanese script is inherently much more complicated than the alphabet and when I have asked my Japanese friends about Japanese dyslexics they shake their heads in bewilderment, never even heard about the phenomena. When I was a student there I also asked foreign students from China, they were equally baffled. I'm not saying it doesn't exist, but it certainly doesn't seem to take the same proportions. I wonder why? Can it be that training a young brain for a much more complicated script forces them over some mental hurdle? I have no idea, but it sure is puzzling.

[owly]

There is a great book "Proust and the Squid: The Story and Science of the Reading Brain" by Maryanne Wolf in which she talks about how reading effects the brain. Apparently several different areas in the brain are activated when reading. The areas used differ depending on if you are reading Latin text or Chinese/Japanese text. There is also quite a lot about dyslexia and how there are several different types and how they can be treated.

[Apache]

They are both uncannily good at Scrambles in the newspaper. Evidently it's not very different than just reading to them.

My wife loves to do scrambles and now I know why.
Another thing I thought was affected by Dyslexia is her handwriting. I used to attribute it to her being left handed. And I have wondered if left handed people are more likely to have dyslexia. When she fills out a claim ticket for customers, I have a hard time deciphering it. She does not stay in the lines well and she can put directions anywhere on the envelope.
When she was in high school, in Texas, Dyslexia was not recognized or treated. They thought you were just stupid. Her high school counselor said she would never make it in college. She said her daughters were intelligent and struggling at The University of Texas.
My wife was accepted at the University of Texas and graduated with a dual degree in all phases of Special Ed.
She first heard of Dyslexia in one of her class courses at UT.
Apache

[taming]

Originally Posted by Kumabjorn

Dyslexia is something that has always baffled me. Japanese script is inherently much more complicated than the alphabet and when I have asked my Japanese friends about Japanese dyslexics they shake their heads in bewilderment...

My son did not display dyslexia in Hebrew. His doctor said that left to right languages are more associated with dyslexia than right to left or up and down.

[Kumabjorn]

Thanks for all the replies, I did not know that dyslexia is so tied into the alphabet. Growing up with it and beginning to study different languages I was always impressed with how logical and easy the alphabet seemed to other orthographies, hence it seemes illogical that people had difficulties with it compared to those more difficult script systems. You learn something new every now and then. Wonder if those old Greeks would have started writing right to left if they knew what we know today?

[Apache]

I showed my wife the fonts and she loves them. I will now add them to her Nook Color. She finds they are easier for her to read. Thank you Doitsu for this thread and link.
Karma coming your way.
Apache

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by RainingLemur

That's fascinating. I'm wondering just how/why the "weighted" bottoms to the letters are the key to preventing them from doing wonky things to dyslexics.

Either way, that's a really great font to have.

I wonder too. I took one look at it and it made my eyes go in and out of focus. I guess all Dyslexics are not the same. For me I have to have a font with an even weight on all sides. This is one of the reasons Times Roman and I don't get along. I use more Sans Serifs more than I do Serifs with the exception of Amasis.

As for driving and getting lost. I have a worst issue. Left and right disorientation. I forget which is the brake and which is the gas. I haven't killed anyone but I really haven't push getting my regetting my license after too many close calls. My hubby isn't as understanding. He seems to think I use as an excuse. He gets mad when I mention I'm dyslexic even though all of my mom's side is to some degree. Mine acts up most when I am stressed, tired or excited. If I am having a moment where things jumble and ask for his help. He doesn't help me. *sigh* He only likes to correct my jumble speech.

I do hope the font helps someone though.

[Blossom]

Originally Posted by Apache

My wife loves to do scrambles and now I know why.
Another thing I thought was affected by Dyslexia is her handwriting. I used to attribute it to her being left handed. And I have wondered if left handed people are more likely to have dyslexia. When she fills out a claim ticket for customers, I have a hard time deciphering it. She does not stay in the lines well and she can put directions anywhere on the envelope.

This is so me! I gave up writing and now just type everything. You gotta love Technology. I hate having to sign my name. *sigh* I always forget how to write my married last name. I got a F in writing. Teachers put those stupid rubber triangles on my pencils in school. Never helped because the problem was I couldn't remember how to make the letter correctly. Yes I am left handed.