Dyslexia is a learning disability that affects the way people’s brains process written, and sometimes spoken, words. Often this disorder can go undiagnosed as a child struggles through learning how to read at school. They can be left feeling that it is their fault for not being able to keep up in class, where as in reality they are often highly intelligent individuals who excel in all other areas of life.
There are devices which allow us to feel what it is like to be blind or deaf, but it’s often difficult for someone without dyslexia to really understand the realities of trying to read with this disorder.
Website developer Victor Widell has created a website that simulates what it’s really like to try and read with dyslexia. And having given this website a go ourselves and tried to read the jumping around letters, it’s not easy!
“A friend who has dyslexia described to me how she experiences reading,” Widell writes. “She can read, but it takes a lot of concentration, and the letters seem to ‘jump around.'”
Of course as some visitors to the website have pointed out, dyslexia manifests itself in a variety of ways. So while some people like Widell’s friend see letters that appear to jump around, others see words that appear to be incomplete, backwards or upside-down.
However, despite some of these limitations, the website provides our first look into the daily struggles of reading for someone with a learning disability, and should allow people without dyslexia to have a glimpse of just how hard reading on a daily basis can be.
Try out the dyslexia simulation website for yourself here.
One Reddit.com reader commented, “I have dyslexia and… the people saying this isn’t what dyslexic people see… DUH!!! Nothing will ever show you normals exactly how it truly feels to read while dyslexic. But this is close. The point is to give you normals a little taste of the struggle we have to endure, especially as kid trying to learn how to read.”
“Thank you for sharing,” another reader commented on Widell’s website. “I hope others will see how it feels for us.”
Images via freeimages.com and geon.github.io