The effect of a specialized dyslexia font, OpenDyslexic, on reading rate and accuracy

Jessica J Wery,Jennifer A Diliberto

doi:10.1007/s11881-016-0127-1

Jessica J Wery, Jennifer A Diliberto

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.1007/s11881-016-0127-1

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Abstract

A single-subject alternating treatment design was used to investigate the extent to which a specialized dyslexia font, OpenDyslexic, impacted reading rate or accuracy compared to two commonly used fonts when used with elementary students identified as having dyslexia. OpenDyslexic was compared to Arial and Times New Roman in three reading tasks: (a) letter naming, (b) word reading, and (c) nonsense word reading. Data were analyzed through visual analysis and improvement rate difference, a nonparametric measure of nonoverlap for comparing treatments. Results from this alternating treatment experiment show no improvement in reading rate or accuracy for individual students with dyslexia, as well as the group as a whole. While some students commented that the font was “new” or “different”, none of the participants reported preferring to read material presented in that font. These results indicate there may be no benefit for translating print materials to this font.

Highlights

An estimated 15–20 % of English-speaking school-aged children experience difficulty learning to read (International Dyslexia Association (IDA), 2007; Lyon, Shaywitz, & Shaywitz, 2003)
One male student was removed from the nonsense word reading on the second day of data collection because his articulation patterns interfered with accurate scoring
For both measures of each reading task, the visual analysis of the data does indicate an overall increasing trend over time, as one would expect with the effect of practice

Summary

Introduction

An estimated 15–20 % of English-speaking school-aged children experience difficulty learning to read (International Dyslexia Association (IDA), 2007; Lyon, Shaywitz, & Shaywitz, 2003). IDA has adopted the definition of dyslexia published by Lyon et al (2003): Dyslexia is a specific learning disability that is neurological in origin. It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities. These difficulties typically result from a deficit in the phonological component of language that is often unexpected in relation to other cognitive abilities and the provision of effective classroom instruction. Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge (p.2)

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