OpenDyslexic – a font (un)suitable for dyslexics’ needs

Abstract

The primary task of a typographer, a creator in the field of applied art, is to ensure the legibility of their design. At work, however, they may encounter problems that go beyond their cognitive abilities – after all, how can one create a book that is readable by someone who will perceive the text placed in it differently than they do? The phenomenon of dyslexia has long aroused the interest of researchers, who have struggled to estimate what its causes actually are. This has given rise to a great many theories that today, perpetuated in the public consciousness and perceived as true – often even in the teaching community – only hinder the proper development of children diagnosed with reading difficulties. Adults, on the other hand, looking for a quick and easy way to deal with the problem, are coming across phonics for dyslexics that have been created specifically for their needs, designed on the basis of scientific research. One of these is OpenDyslexic by Abelardo Gonzalez, a dyslexic who created the project for his own use and began making it available under a free license. However, as Sally Shaywitz argues on the basis of research conducted in the 1990s, damage to a specific element of the language system, the so-called phonological module, should be considered the main cause of reading disorders. This finding makes it possible to cast doubt on the positive effect of fonts for dyslexics on reading speed and the number of errors made during reading.