Do Dyslexia Fonts Actually Help?
Within the last 15 years, there’s been a fascination with special fonts designed to make reading less laborious for the dyslexic brain. Do they work? On the one hand: sadly, no.
On the other hand: kind of…
The Verdict on Dyslexia Fonts
The research demonstrates that these fonts don’t help struggling readers read faster or make fewer mistakes. Dyslexia involves a challenge with language, not vision, so font choice won’t make a big difference. Does that mean, though, that they have no influence at all? Was it all a hoax? Is it foolish even to try them?
In my opinion, nope.
A Silver Lining?
Even if a font can’t erase the difficulties of a dyslexic brain, that doesn’t mean it can’t, even in a small way, make reading slightly less strenuous for the dyslexic brain.
The right font won’t make a dyslexic child or adult a better reader, but the wrong font can certainly make reading harder. It’s a matter of finding a font that suits your eye. Maybe that’s a dyslexia font, maybe it’s not. It could be useful for the dyslexic person in your life to read on a device that gives them control over the font, size, and color of the text. Alternatively, perhaps their eyes would find some relief by reading from a printed page rather than a screen.
Finding the Right Font
Studies have found that the most readable fonts are the ones known as sans serif – “without serif.” Those fonts tend to be a little simpler, more paired down. They have fewer decorative flourishes that could be distracting for the reader who’s already having a hard time decoding. So, in addition to dyslexia-specific fonts (the example above is called Open Dyslexic), you might experiment with the sans serif fonts Helvetica, Courier, Arial, Calibri, Tahoma, Trebuchet MS, Verdana, CenturyGothic, and Comic Sans.
Dyslexia fonts aren’t a quick fix (is anything?), but that doesn’t mean they’re useless. Go ahead and explore them.
Prioritizing the Reading Experience
It’s all about comfort. The right chair won’t make you a better reader. Neither will the right lamp. But if it’s a comfortable chair, the lamp casts a nice glow, and the words on the page are presented in a pleasing font, these details will surely improve the reading experience.
Looking for a proven way to help your child read?
While fonts can’t help a child learn to read, structured literacy intervention, delivered by a compassionate specialist can. Learn more about our reading intervention options below:
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