Do dyslexia fonts work? (2022)
31 comments
·December 14, 2025smokey_the_bear
al_borland
I don’t have dyslexia, that I’m aware of, but have always had trouble tracking line to line, and end up having to reread a lot. I do have AuDHD, so that’s probably part of it. During the pandemic I took a course to improve my reading speed as something to do. One of the techniques was to use a tracer, either a finger or pen, to keep track of where you’re at and move it at the pace of the reading. As a kid I always thought kids who did this were worse at reading, so I never wanted to do it, but is immensely helpful and probably had the biggest impact of all the techniques when it came to improving my reading. I also found that one of the reasons I got distracted and bored while reading was how slow I was. As I sped up, I was able to better engage with a story (for fiction reading).
andai
I don't have dyslexia, but I find it much, much more difficult to read on a screen. I think it's partly the eye strain, and partly the opportunity cost of "this device could be doing something more exciting right now".
cubix
I prefer to read on screen if it can set to “night mode” (white-on-black), large font, and full screen. For one, I find it’s more ergonomic to look at a well-positioned monitor than bending my neck to read a book.
greazy
I believe (no evidence) that printed text is easier to read because of the mono spaced serif fonts used.
The serifs are visual cue to lead the eyes onto the next letter or word.
duskwuff
I don't think you mean "monospaced". Monospaced fonts (where every character cell has the same width, like an old typewriter) are almost never used for normal text in Latin scripts.
justsomehnguy
> I bought her paper versions of the same books.
Then e-ink screen would provide the same benefits ie: contrast.
smokey_the_bear
I could not figure out a way to extract a pdf of the textbook to send to her kindle. I would have liked that solution, since she has one of the large format kindles.
gorgabal
This might be anecdotal evidence. But seeing this is really jarring, as I find the Dyslexia font actually easier to read. My girlfriend actually has dyslexia and also finds it easier to read. (maybe it is just more comfortable to read, not necessarily faster? Same with dvorak vs qwerty)
There are more and more cases where my personal experience seems to contradict with science. And I am not sure what to make of that.
cycomanic
> maybe it is just more comfortable to read, not necessarily faster?
The article says that participants in the studies preferred the traditional fonts over the dyslexia fonts. I would argue that this contradicts the thesis that they would be more comfortable to read. Moreover, the way I read the article, it wasn't just reading speed but accuracy that was tested as well.
> There are more and more cases where my personal experience seems to contradict with science. And I am not sure what to make of that.
I find that I often have to question my preconceptions when I encounter this issue. In other words, I have invested e.g. time, effort and thought into something which I thought works and it is difficult to not fall into a kind of sunken cost fallacy, i.e. my brain doesn't want me to believe it does not work, because I have invested effort into it.
nemomarx
I expect familiarity would be a big confounder either way? The first time you see the new font it might be harder than something like times new Roman if you've seen that thousands of times and gotten used to its hinting
Emen15
Since dyslexia exists on a spectrum, it's not surprising that no single dyslexia font shows consistent benefits in controlled studies. Fonts may still affect comfort or personal preference for some individuals, which isn't the same as consistent gains.
thaumasiotes
> Since dyslexia exists on a spectrum, it's not surprising that no single dyslexia font shows consistent benefits in controlled studies.
This makes no sense. A spectrum would involve everyone having the same problem to different degrees; anything that addressed that problem would consistently show an effect.
soneca
> "A spectrum would involve everyone having the same problem to different degrees;"
I learned the opposite, that the term spectrum is used when it is not same problem to different degrees. That's how the autism spectrum was explained to me, because the problem differs over the spectrum. In opposition to "level" or "gradient", which is intended to be something more linear over the same dimension.
I believe this redefinition of the term comes from how a "rainbow spectrum" is perceived, as different colors (and not as it is defined, as a linear degree of wavelength)
thaumasiotes
> I learned the opposite, that the term spectrum is used when it is not same problem to different degrees. That's how the autism spectrum was explained to me, because the problem differs over the spectrum.
The autism spectrum, in specific, was unified from what had been listed as separate disorders. That was done because the view was reached that these disorders reflected different degrees of the same underlying problem.
Spooky23
It’s a neurological problem where people essentially have difficulty mapping written material to sounds.
That’s difficult to measure objectively. Many schools lack the specialists who can spot this, and when they do, Teachers try different adaptations that help kids, so you’re going to have varying results based on the adaptations the person understands.
I have something called APD (auditory processing disorder) which essentially means that the areas of my brain that listen to speech, especially higher pitched female speech aren’t fully developed — I had chronic ear infections and my heading was negatively impacted. I adapted well, although with undiagnosed ADHD. Others do not for a variety of reasons.
randall
2d spectrums exist. autism being one example where it’s both sensory under / overstimulation and repetitive activity preference / avoidance.
nephihaha
I suspect that autism is more a cluster of conditions than a single line. I may be wrong.
There is a fashion for calling everything a spectrum. Maybe "range" would be a better term for a linear progression.
RobotToaster
Spectrum is probably the wrong term. IMO it's probably a bunch of different underlying issues that sometimes occur together.
So something may help type 1 dyslexia, but not help type 2 or type 3 etc.
thaumasiotes
That would also show consistent benefits in controlled studies.
tartoran
As a non dyslexic I find these fonts "easier" on the eye when reading for longer periods of time despite not liking them aesthetically (I don't hate them either). However, I am in my 40s and my eyes are starting to fail me, I may need an eye prescription but can still read without glasses.
interloxia
“Contrary to popular belief, the core problem in dyslexia is not reversing letters (although it can be an indicator),”
I always assumed the visual processing limitations were part of the issue with the reversal/transcription problem. A sort of neurological sequencing disorder swapping out the correct visual sense with a mistake. Xerox style. One that the dyslexic font wouldn't help with.
If that's apparently not dyslexia, or part of their spectrum, what is it if it is a processing disorder that remains into adulthood?
They come across rather dismissively when their own links, as far as I clicked at least, were less firm. I do appreciate that visual aids hawked to parents are not going to help for this issue either. I would like a name for the thing which is so importantly not Dislexia.
technothrasher
> If that's apparently not Dislexia
Dislexia is a difficulty learning to read. It is a symptom, not an underlying condition. There are different underlying conditions which lead to different processing issues, which in turn lead to dislexia. So you're almost always going to be wrong when you say "dislexia is..."
al_borland
I had read in the past about these fonts being mostly snake oil, and how studies showed that simply having large text showed more benefits than the dyslexic fonts. Based on this article, it sounds like that’s due to large fonts being easier to read for everyone.
slg
Dyslexia is just the overall name for a learning disability that causes difficulty with reading or writing. There is no unified cause or group of causes, it's all based on symptoms.
Therefore, the only things that will "work" for all dyslexics are things that fundamentally make reading and writing easier for everyone and not just dyslexics. So something like a font can help in the same way some fonts are easier to read than others, but the idea of a "dyslexia font" is a little silly.
batisteo
> For better reading outcomes, font size should be between 12 and 14 points
imperio59
Please please please, if you have young kids learning to read or who will need to soon, educate yourself by listening to the "Sold a Story" podcast from NPR (it's on Spotify and other places).
There is so much bullshit out there about how kids should be taught to read, and too many schools unfortunately still use wrong methods disproven by science.
What works is phonics, old, tried and true. If your school isn't teaching it, you need to do it yourself at home or your kids risk never being good readers.
bashkiddie
I did not know about phonics
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phonics
English is my second language. I found writing and pronunciation disconnected and learned two separate languages.
My 11 year old daughter uses the open dyslexic font in her kindle. She has dyslexia, and also had to do some vision therapy when she was younger. She thinks she is able to read for longer with fewer headaches. She specifically has trouble tracking line to line.
She finds it very challenging to read her school textbooks, which are provided online on her Chromebook with a bad screen. I bought her paper versions of the same books.