E readers and dyslexics

veronese68

Our 12 year old is dyslexic, this year she has started to read more, which we are of course delighted about. She does struggle a bit still, she tends to lose her place and often has to re-read a passage as she may have got something wrong. Apparently e readers can help as the font can be enlarged so there are fewer words per line which makes life a bit easier. We have recently discovered an open source font called Open Dyslexia which she finds easier to read than other fonts. The only e reader this is available on is the Kobo.
Can anybody confirm if e readers are easier for a dyslexic? Not seeing things the way she does I find it difficult to judge. Does anyone have experience of a Kobo? Are they any good? My wife has a Kindle which she is very happy with, so we are more familiar with that.
Thank you for any help and advice.

roger_merriman

Veronese68 wrote:

Our 12 year old is dyslexic, this year she has started to read more, which we are of course delighted about. She does struggle a bit still, she tends to lose her place and often has to re-read a passage as she may have got something wrong. Apparently e readers can help as the font can be enlarged so there are fewer words per line which makes life a bit easier. We have recently discovered an open source font called Open Dyslexia which she finds easier to read than other fonts. The only e reader this is available on is the Kobo.
Can anybody confirm if e readers are easier for a dyslexic? Not seeing things the way she does I find it difficult to judge. Does anyone have experience of a Kobo? Are they any good? My wife has a Kindle which she is very happy with, so we are more familiar with that.
Thank you for any help and advice.

Most e readers and apps if not all can make the text larger, my wife uses that for ibook on the ipad. she is far from dyslexic though I am but she has lovely but rubbish eyes in terms of seeing at least.

some though by all means all find coloured background etc can help, mainly those dyslexics who have Irlen Syndrome.

rick_chasey

If she says it helps then it must?

rjsterry

Certain coloured backgrounds - yellow IIRC - aid legibility for non dyslexics too. I think it is to do with the slightly lower contrast between letters and page.

nicklouse

as a lxdislic of many years. but please note that dyslexia is not the same for all. but reading what you have write i would say she is of the bad short term memory type.
many a time i have had to go pack a page or two as i have no recollection of what i have read.

had a look at the text and yes easy to read. the weight helps. but for me i tend to see words as shapes. once spent 1/2 in an exam trying to spell he word keep. I had written it correctly but it just looked wrong. this was before i was diagnosed as dyslexic or it was widely known about........ i had to be sent to London for diagnosis.

i would say go for it, good or bad it should help. the main thing i would say is find where here strengths are and keep playing to them. Also make sure she is getting all the help and aids she is entitled to. extra time for exams. disregard of spelling and punctuation in exams and find out whole the famous dyslexics are and point them out when they are on TV etc.


but most of this i would hope you know. Got any questions for a dyslexic PM me.

FocusZing

There is an E reader called the Nook Simple Touch it sells for £30, also an LED back lit (glow) one currently selling for £50. I have the £30 one it seems very good. It runs Android and can be modified (A bit technical) to install additional apps. There may be some useful ones which help her.



It does have a feature which allows you to click on a word giving you a definition as standard. Lots of classics can be downloaded or added via usb for free. The text can be enlarged as you mentioned and bookmarks can be set.

At that price it's certainly worth trying.

http://m.johnlewis.com/mt/www.johnlewis ... p231759497

Available from other large retailers at this price too.


Modified to add an E-Ink screen is used similar to the Kindle with infra red touch screen (works well).

mrfpb

If you have to go with the Kobo brand, then the choice becomes e-ink (black and white) or LED full colour screen. E-ink is a lot easier on the eyes than led screens. I can't read for more than half an hour on my Blackberry Playbook (essentially the same screen as a kindle fire HD) but can read a Kindle e-ink screen for as long as I'd read a good book.

Someone mentioned colour helping with the contrast. If you have e-ink, you may be able to get a colour filter or use colour specs to improve reading (if that works for your daughter).

nicklouse

correct on the colour. three brothers (family friends) used different colour tints in their glasses to stop the words from moving. and yes each brother had a different colour.

veronese68

Thank you all. You're quite right Nick, she has very poor short term memory. She sometimes forgets what we are telling her when we are mid-sentence and has to ask us to start again. She's very bright, but has to work that much harder to compensate so can get very tired.
I think you are completely correct about playing to her strengths. Her confidence is easily knocked with regard to school work, she often says she feels stupid. We spend a lot of time going over things with her to make sure she understands and to help overcome this. She has just moved up to secondary school and they seem a lot more clued up than her primary school so she should get the right support. The teachers are all aware and a copy of her diagnosis report is available for them to read. For the first half term they tend to keep more of a watching brief, then as they learn about the needs of the student they give help where it's needed.
Colours don't seem to make a difference to her, having seen the e-ink display on the Kindle I think that is the better option as far as display goes. No horror stories about the Kobo so it looks like an e-ink version of that is the way to go. I'll take a look at the Nook as well if it can take the Open Dyslexia font. If it helps her read with confidence I guess it can only be a good thing. My only concern would be that she doesn't become too reliant on reading only in that format.
Thank you again for the help and advice.

nicklouse

Thick. i know that word so well. and could do better.

re the only reading in that format dont be concerned. she will, when she finds her strengths, read anything and will need to go back and read back but you get used to it but if the interest is there it is not an issue.

again point out famous successful people who are dyslexic so see can see and relate to that is is not something that makes you thick but something that can enhance other skills.

she will not find school easy as dyslexics dont tend to follow the norm. and dont quite fit. but University is possible.

rick_chasey

A lot of it depends on the type of dyslexia too.

I'm very dyslexic but was diagnosed at University after problems with handwriting.

FocusZing

http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_ ... h_dyslexia

Certainly a confidence booster.

It might be worth skipping over Ozzy Osborne.


E-Books can be loaded via a micro sd card to the Nook Simple touches too (micro sd not included).

roger_merriman

Veronese68 wrote:

Thank you all. You're quite right Nick, she has very poor short term memory. She sometimes forgets what we are telling her when we are mid-sentence and has to ask us to start again. She's very bright, but has to work that much harder to compensate so can get very tired.
I think you are completely correct about playing to her strengths. Her confidence is easily knocked with regard to school work, she often says she feels stupid. We spend a lot of time going over things with her to make sure she understands and to help overcome this. She has just moved up to secondary school and they seem a lot more clued up than her primary school so she should get the right support. The teachers are all aware and a copy of her diagnosis report is available for them to read. For the first half term they tend to keep more of a watching brief, then as they learn about the needs of the student they give help where it's needed.
Colours don't seem to make a difference to her, having seen the e-ink display on the Kindle I think that is the better option as far as display goes. No horror stories about the Kobo so it looks like an e-ink version of that is the way to go. I'll take a look at the Nook as well if it can take the Open Dyslexia font. If it helps her read with confidence I guess it can only be a good thing. My only concern would be that she doesn't become too reliant on reading only in that format.
Thank you again for the help and advice.

I'd not worry about being too reliant, I personally find using notes and calender mitigated my memory or lack of it.

On the whole the with these things the better and less stressed, the easier it is.

davehun

I am very dyslexic but it hasn't stopped me getting a PhD. I developed coping strategies so don't read accurately but i do read fast. Over 50% of nasa's scientific employees are dyslexic as we are better problem solvers (the other 50% are to correct the spelling and numbers )

I have a (rooted) nook and really like reading on it as its not too hard. Cheap paperbacks are similar, easy to read. I do hate paperwork though and writing is scary.
Can't see why the open dyslexia font couldn't be loaded onto the nook as it is just an android device with an e ink screen. I would go for the simpletouch glowlight.
I wouldn't worry too much about becoming dependant either, for a while I used to dictate sections of written work to myself but after doing this a lot I found less and less need too and now only use this technique when I really struggle.

nicklouse

davehun wrote:

I have a (rooted) nook and really like reading on it as its not too hard. Cheap paperbacks are similar, easy to read. I do hate paperwork though and writing is scary.

do you also find it hard to put a book down once started, and your last two comments so so true.

rjsterry

I am intrigued by this Open Dyslexia Font. Conventional typographical wisdom is that serif fonts are easier to read for large blocks of text - something about the serifs 'catching' the eye more and helping the brain discriminate between lots of relatively similar shapes IIRC. This font seems to go in the opposite direction. I can se that with the lower half of all the letters emphasised, it more clearly defines each line of text - is that what helps?

No dyslexia in my family (AFAIK) just curiosity.

veronese68

I tried to ask her how it differed and she said it just seemed clearer. It's probably nigh on impossible for her to explain so that's good enough for me.
Maybe more clearly defining each line does help as when I used to sit with her and read she would often skip a line or go back a line as she'd lost track. We used to encourage her to use a finger to track what she was reading to try and help with that. It took her a long time to get into reading, but now she loves it. As Nick said above once she's into a book she can't put it down. She wakes up at the weekend and instead of going downstairs to watch telly she sits in bed and reads. That makes me very happy.
We just need to help her develop strategies to deal with it and keep encouraging her. Thankfully the SEN at her new school seems very good.

rick_chasey

rjsterry wrote:

I am intrigued by this Open Dyslexia Font. Conventional typographical wisdom is that serif fonts are easier to read for large blocks of text - something about the serifs 'catching' the eye more and helping the brain discriminate between lots of relatively similar shapes IIRC. This font seems to go in the opposite direction. I can se that with the lower half of all the letters emphasised, it more clearly defines each line of text - is that what helps?

No dyslexia in my family (AFAIK) just curiosity.

From my understanding/experience that is only applicable to a narrow type of dyslexia.

rick_chasey

Veronese68 wrote:

I tried to ask her how it differed and she said it just seemed clearer. It's probably nigh on impossible for her to explain so that's good enough for me.
Maybe more clearly defining each line does help as when I used to sit with her and read she would often skip a line or go back a line as she'd lost track. We used to encourage her to use a finger to track what she was reading to try and help with that. It took her a long time to get into reading, but now she loves it. As Nick said above once she's into a book she can't put it down. She wakes up at the weekend and instead of going downstairs to watch telly she sits in bed and reads. That makes me very happy.
We just need to help her develop strategies to deal with it and keep encouraging her. Thankfully the SEN at her new school seems very good.

Dyslexics inevitably develop their own mechanisms for working around their problems. Best way to do it is just practice.

Fwiw by the time I was diagnosed I needed no help at all since all the coping advice given I'd already worked out myself.

They measure your accuracy and speed on tests. Turns out I slowed down a lot to keep my accuracy up for example.

Don't put too much pressure on the dyslexia and don't make it a "thing".

With a bit of effort it shouldn't be a barrier to anything. I never felt hindered once.

nicklouse

rjsterry wrote:

I am intrigued by this Open Dyslexia Font. Conventional typographical wisdom is that serif fonts are easier to read for large blocks of text - something about the serifs 'catching' the eye more and helping the brain discriminate between lots of relatively similar shapes IIRC. This font seems to go in the opposite direction. I can se that with the lower half of all the letters emphasised, it more clearly defines each line of text - is that what helps?

No dyslexia in my family (AFAIK) just curiosity.

Serif fonts arggg.

too much noise.

there are many types of dyslexia but many involve the words seeming to move or letters moving in words.

when writing often words can get merged where the end and start of the consecutive words are the same or similar.

this is releated to reading speed and this also comes back to the missing bits that you have just read.

the brain works too fast and even when you read the words you dont "store" it. and when writing you are on the next word before you have finished that last and you dont see.

anyway back to the text. do you remember the weebels it has a similar effect to the letters and the words. which helps the words keep their shape and for me it was the shape of the word that was registered more than the letters.

just having seen Ricks comment about speed accuracy. being able to throw the accuracy worry out of the window helped in more ways than one. (diagnosed at 16 after having taken O level English 3 times and passed on the third attempt before diagnosis). without the worry the speed went up and the accuracy did not get worse.

PS writing this without a spell checker.

rjsterry

Thanks all for your responses, very interesting and enlightening. Yes, I know all about weebels - my littl'uns have the missus's original late '70s hand-me-downs in their toy box.

davehun

nicklouse wrote:

davehun wrote:

I have a (rooted) nook and really like reading on it as its not too hard. Cheap paperbacks are similar, easy to read. I do hate paperwork though and writing is scary.

do you also find it hard to put a book down once started, and your last two comments so so true.

yes
I am a programmer by trade and my terminal is black and green.
I did use coloured overlays for a while, it was magic the first time i used them.
I was shocked at how easy this reading malarky was once the words stopped moving. This was explained to me as there is no evolutionary advantage to seeing high contrasts well (black on white).