How Technology Can Assist Everyone in the Battle Against Dyslexia

John is dyslexic and he sets out to read at least one book this year but he ended up reading ten!

John has a severe case of dyslexia. He didn't find out until he was 18 years old, so he'll have to learn to live with it. He set a goal for himself at the start of the year to read at least one book in its entirety but he ended up reading 10 and gained a new appreciation and love for reading as a result. Reading was always a laborious pastime for John, and he never really enjoyed it. Now John reads for pleasure, and he can see why others do as well. In addition, he believes it has significantly helped his dyslexia.

Dyslexia is a mental condition that is often discussed but rarely understood. Essentially, it is a situation in which the expected and actual reading abilities are vastly different. It's when something goes wrong with the information flow from the eyes to the brain, a problem that scientists are still trying to figure out. It normally takes some time to get through the first one. However, it helps a great deal if you are reading something that you enjoy. You'll notice that your dyslexia slows you down when you're distracted or tired. It doesn't matter how long the journey takes, just that you'll get there in the end.

There's a font specifically for people with dyslexia that's available on Kindles. How does this font help people with dyslexia?

"Letters have heavy weighted bottoms to indicate direction. You are able to quickly figure out which part of the letter is down which aids in recognizing the correct letter, and sometimes helps to keep your brain from rotating them around. Consistently weighted bottoms can also help reinforce the line of text. The unique shapes of each letter can help prevent confusion through flipping and swapping."

The Orton-Gillingham technique is another option. It was developed in the early twentieth century as a multimodal phonics strategy for remedial reading education. It is a multi-sensory technique that is direct, explicit, cognitive and cumulative. While it is most typically used to teach those with dyslexia, it is also very successful for anyone learning to read, spell, or write.

Have you considered listening to audio books as well? Obviously, reading is vital, and you should keep doing so, but you may supplement your efforts with audio books so that you can read even more books during the year. Audio books are a terrific way to immerse yourself in the story without having to devote the time required to read them. Those who are eyereading this and have always considered themselves slow readers should try audiobooks. You might discover that you're one of the 40% of people who can earread better than they can eyeread.

John Teh is an ebook collector and runs a free ebook library, sharing legal free ebooks and resources to everyone on the web.