Research abstract

Dyslexia-friendly formatting Part 2: Dos and don’ts

If your speed of decoding is low, it will be even harder to read if you have text that is crowded together. But if you give somebody with dyslexia more space around the letters and words they can read faster. For most people, increasing the line spacing to at least 1.2 lines is a good idea so they can read better. By Dyslexia Action

dyslexia_spellings
Line spacing helps process text easier with the optimal spacing for student comfort being 1.25 for a dyslexia friendly text. In addition, increasing character spacing can be easier on the eyes as well as choosing a font such as Courier New or Consolas to help support dyslexia students. Avoiding text distortions is important and should be avoided for those with dyslexia this would include using ALL CAPS, italics, or underlining.
Left aligned paragraphs helps to keep eyes focused compared to center aligned or justified. Always use left aligned it looks better than you think and allows for more space with titles and helps with font space. To avoid visual stress choose contrasting text and background colors for example, black on white or light text on black. Avoid distracting background that may distort the text visually.

Key takeaways

  1. There are principles and guidelines, do’s and don’ts, that make learning, reading and writing easier for people who suffer from dyslexia,
  2. Spacing out letters makes it easier for people with dyslexia to read. Otherwise when letters are too close together they are very challenging to read and decipher.
  3. Some people with dyslexia have challenges reading and writing due to visual and physical distractions around them. They have an easier time when the color contrast is changed. 

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