Open dyslexic

A presentation from #TMSussex about dyslexia font, OpenDyslexic

1. Dyslexia Reading gives me headaches The words are always moving I hate to read When I am reading if feels like I skinned my knee, it stings…

2. The British Dyslexia Association suggest that 4% of the population will be severely dyslexic (requiring support at school and beyond ). A further 6% may have mild dyslexia. Oak Grove College has approximately 35% students with dyslexia in SEN environment. Current estimates are 1 in 10 children have Dyslexic tendencies which is about 2-3 children per average class in a Mainstream environment.

3. A Dyslexic Student May Read Text As..

4. What is OpenDyslexic ? OpenDyslexic was invented by Abelardo Gonzalez to increase readability for readers with dyslexia. OpenDyslexic Alta was developed Abelardo and Rob Carpenter to include a rounded ‘a’ OpenDyslexicMono designed to be used for text editors and working with source code T ypefaces includes regular, bold, italic, and bold-italic styles.

5. OpenDyslexic OpenDyslexic Alta OpenDyslexic Mono Alternative fonts to increase readability.

6. How Does It Help ? OpenDyslexic tries to help prevent some of these things from happening. Letters have heavy weighted bottoms to add a kind of "gravity" to each letter. You are able to figure out which part of the letter is down which aids in recognizing the correct letter . It helps to keep your brain from rotating them around. Consistently weighted bottoms help reinforce the line of text. The unique shapes of each letter can help prevent confusion through flipping and swapping. Your brain can sometimes do funny things to letters.

7. OpenDyslexic Uses Unique Letter Shapes to help prevent confusion Gill Sans rn m MW dpqb l1IijJ

8. OpenDyslexic Uses Unique Letter Shapes to help prevent confusion Gill Sans rn m MW dpqb l1IijJ Verdana rn m MW dpqb l1IijJ

9. OpenDyslexic Uses Unique Letter Shapes to help prevent confusion Gill Sans rn m MW dpqb l1IijJ Verdana rn m MW dpqb l1IijJ Comic Sans rn m MW dpqb l1IijJ

10. OpenDyslexic Uses Unique Letter Shapes to help prevent confusion Gill Sans rn m MW dpqb l1IijJ Verdana rn m MW dpqb l1IijJ Comic Sans rn m MW dpqb l1IijJ OpenDyslexic rn m MW dpqb l1IijJ

11. OpenDyslexic also takes a different approach to italic styles. It is recommended that italics be avoided in reading material for dyslexia. OpenDyslexic’s italic style has been design to allow for its use for “emphasis “ while maintaining readability .

12. Initially these fonts look very different to what our eyes are used to reading. But as you continue to read text in this font, you realise that it is easier to read than other fonts and typefaces. This is due to the ‘weighted’ letters holding the text to the page.

13. OpenDyslexic is Open Source This means it is Free for all to use. It is being updated continually and improved based on input from dyslexic users. It Can Be Downloaded Here http://opendyslexic.org/

14. Other OpenDyslexic Products also Free Browser Extensions ! Safari extension - includes off-white background, alternate paragraph shading. Chrome Extension - includes off-white background and alternate paragraph shading. Opera Extension Courtesy of Federico Panico

15. As a side note ….. At Oak Grove College we have found that these fonts have produced great results when used with students with ASD and ADHD as the next makes everything look less ‘Noisy’