Netherlands · Nijmegen · See the Netherlands profile · See the Nijmegen profile
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A commercial typeface designed for dyslexic readers was tested in two controlled studies with 300+ Dutch children; it neither helped nor hindered reading, a caution for evidence-free 'inclusive' design.
Dyslexie is a commercial typeface, created in the Netherlands, marketed as making text easier to read for people with dyslexia.
Kuster et al. (Annals of Dyslexia, 2017) tested it in two experiments. In Experiment 1, 170 children with dyslexia read text in Dyslexie and in Arial; they were not faster or more accurate in Dyslexie. In Experiment 2, 102 children with dyslexia and 45 without read word lists in Dyslexie, Arial and Times New Roman, again with no gain in speed or accuracy.
The authors conclude that the font neither benefits nor impedes reading. Related work on the OpenDyslexic font (Wery & Diliberto) also found no improvement, and a Reading Rockets review notes that where small gains appear, they are attributed to wider letter spacing rather than letter shape.
Lesson for inclusive design: adjustable spacing and size are better supported than special letterforms, and tools sold as accessibility aids should be checked against independent trials.
Read the full analysis: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5934461/
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