On November 29th at 12:00 there will be an online talk entitled "How helpful is a specialist typeface for children with dyslexia?" by Daisy Powell (University of Reading, UK). The talk is part of the "Acciones de Internacionalización en Casa" of the School of Psychology. Attendance will be recognised as a "Specific Activity" by the Doctoral Programme in "Reading and Comprehension".
Please, register to receive the link to the on-line conference: https://go.uv.es/interpsi/charlaspsico
Abstract
Dyslexia is a relatively common neurodevelopmental disorder, defined in DSM-V as a specific difficulty reading and spelling words. It is well-established that phonological processes are causally linked to dyslexia: phonological problems are typical in children with dyslexia, and interventions targeting phonological awareness and the relationship between graphemes and phonemes have been shown to be effective. At the same time, interventions for dyslexia targeting visual aspects of reading have also been proposed, including coloured overlays, and specialist fonts and typefaces. However, research evidence for these interventions is mixed, and the purpose of the current study was to carry out a detailed evaluation of the effect of one such specialist typeface, Dyslexie, on reading in children with and without dyslexia. Seventy-one children, who were aged 8-12 years and of whom 37 had a diagnosis of dyslexia, participated in the study. We examined children’s ability to name letters, read words, and comprehend text, which was written in Dyslexie as compared to a standard typeface. Results showed no benefits of the specialist Dyslexie typeface for reading words or for reading comprehension, either in the children with dyslexia or controls. However, all children named letters more fluently when they were presented in Dyslexie than in the standard typeface. This finding suggests that the distinctiveness of letters in the specialist typeface might be beneficial for all readers, which has implications for a role for this typeface in the early acquisition of letter knowledge.
Bio
Daisy Powell is Associate Professor in the Psychology of Written Language at the Institute of Education, University of Reading. Since she completed her PhD in psychology at Royal Holloway, University of London, her research has focused on the typical and atypical development of literacy skills. Her work has investigated the cognitive mechanisms that are fundamental to early word reading and spelling, such as phonological processing and rapid serial naming, and the broad range of factors, both cognitive and environmental, that play a part in primary school children’s developing reading and writing ability.
