Extra-large letter spacing helps dyslexic children read more efficiently.

The scientific goal of Dys (for dyslexia) is to improve our understanding of the most important reading impairment -dyslexia – and propose tools to help dyslexics. Dyslexia is long-lasting learning disability that impairs a person's ability to read fluently and effortless, spell correctly, and comprehend texts efficiently.

Although the causes of dyslexia are still debated, all researchers agree that the main challenge is to find ways that allow a child with dyslexia to read more words in less time, as reading more is undisputedly the most efficient intervention for dyslexia. Sophisticated training programs exist but they typically target the component skills of reading, such as phonological awareness. Once the component skills have improved, the main challenge remains, that is, reading deficits must be treated by reading more – a vicious circle for a dyslexic child.

Researchers recently showed that a simple manipulation of letter spacing substantially improved text reading performance on the fly, without any training, in a large unselected sample of dyslexic children. Extra-large letter spacing helps reading because dyslexics are abnormally affected by crowding, a perceptual phenomenon with detrimental effects on letter recognition that is modulated by the spacing between letters. Extra-large letter spacing may help to break the vicious circle by rendering the reading material more easily accessible.

To help us in our endeavor, this app offers the possibility for readers to find their optimal letter spacing when reading simple sentences. In addition, users -with dyslexia or not- can test their optimal letter spacing by reading single sentences and responding to a simple question: does the sentence I read seem coherent (correct, or true) or not coherent (not correct, or false)?

The goal of Dys is to collect a large database of responses from users all over the world, which would give scientists and publishers some precious insights about the optimal letter spacing depending on a person’s age and reading level.

Thank you for your participation in this scientific program.

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Reference : ‘Extra-Large Letter Spacing Improves Reading in Dyslexia’, published by Zorzi and coll. (2012) in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (USA).

Dys is a joint project of CNRS, Aix-Marseille University and University of Padova.