OpenDyslexic is a free typeface/font designed to mitigate some of the common reading errors caused by dyslexia. The typeface was created by Abbie Gonzalez, who released it through an open-source license.[3][4] The design is based on DejaVu Sans, also an open-source font.[citation needed]
Like many dyslexia-intervention typefaces, most notably Dyslexie, OpenDyslexic adds to dyslexia research and is a reading aid. It is not a cure for dyslexia.[5] The typeface includes regular, bold, italic, bold-italic, and monospaced font styles. The benefit has been questioned in scientific studies.[6]
In 2012, Gonzalez explained their motivation to the BBC: "I had seen similar fonts, but at the time they were completely unaffordable and so impractical as far as costs go."[1]
There is also a Google Chrome extension available,[11][12][4] which was developed by Abbie Gonzalez and Robert James Gabriel.[4][13] It is also part of the "dyslexia-friendly mode" in Oswald Foundation's web accessibility products.[14]
Scientific studies
Two small studies have investigated the effect of specialized fonts used with students with dyslexia. Rello and Baeza-Yates (2013) measured eye-tracking recordings of Spanish readers (aged 11–50) with dyslexia and found that OpenDyslexic did not significantly improve reading time nor shorten eye fixation.[15] In her master's thesis, Leeuw (2010) compared Arial and Dyslexie with 21 Dutch students with dyslexia and found Dyslexie did not lead to faster reading, but may help with some dyslexic-related errors.[16]
↑ In the Wikipedia skin introduced in 2023, OpenDyslexic can be used by clicking the "n languages" button in the upper-right of the page, clicking the gear icon, clicking the "Fonts" button, checking the "Download fonts when needed" box, and selecting "OpenDyslexic".
↑ Wery, Jessica J.; Diliberto, Jennifer A. (18 March 2016), "The effect of a specialized dyslexia font, OpenDyslexic, on reading rate and accuracy", Annals of Dyslexia, 67 (2), Springer US: 114–127, doi:10.1007/s11881-016-0127-1, PMC5629233, PMID26993270
↑ Rello, L.; Baeza-Yates, R. (2013). "Good fonts for dyslexia". Proceedings of the 15th International ACM SIGACCESS Conference on Computers and Accessibility. ACM. p.14.
↑ Leeuw, Renske de (December 2010). Special font for dyslexia? (MA thesis). University of Twente. Archived from the original on 2023-05-22. Retrieved 2015-05-07.
↑ British Dyslexia Association (August 2015). "Typefaces for dyslexia". BDA Technology. Archived from the original on 31 July 2018. Retrieved 13 March 2020.
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