A font is a formal set of text characters, including letters, numbers and punctuation, created by a graphic designer in a particular style. Not all fonts are created equal and some typefaces may be more or less accessible for readers with visual impairments, visual processing disorders and dyslexia. For example, Dyslexie font is a font designed specifically for dyslexic readers. OpenDyslexic was also designed for people with dyslexia. Additional factors such as letter spacing, the spacing between words and lines on a page, font size, text color and background can all affect readability and reading speed.

A guest post by Cigdem Knebel.

Many dyslexic students experience challenges when it comes to language skills development, including reading, writing and spelling. Dyslexia is often referred to as a “learning difficulty” because dyslexia makes it harder for these individuals to reach their full potential in a traditional school environment.

Nonetheless, phonics-based, multi-sensory and evidence-based reading instruction has been shown to improve the language skills of dyslexic children. So while dyslexia may still be classed as a learning difficulty, the terminology “learning difference” may be more appropriate. And fortunately, with the right classroom accommodations, most students can achieve academic success alongside their peers.

A good quote can work in the same way as a supportive teacher or coach, providing us with the encouragement we need to strengthen our self-resolve. Quotes can make us feel better about what’s going in our lives. They often teach important life-lessons and are a great way for an individual to share his or her wisdom about an experience.

When it comes to quotes about dyslexia, you’ll find a mix of anecdotes, advice, and words of wisdom. You'll hear from dyslexic individuals discussing their experience at school pre-diagnosis, or in cases where they didn’t receive the help they needed. You'll also hear from people who view dyslexia as their greatest strength.

Teachers may wish to use quotes to inspire students with learning difficulties and raise awareness of dyslexia within the general student population. That's beause they provide opportunities for reflection and thinking about dyslexia in a new way.

Traditional approaches to teaching reading rely heavily on visual and auditory stimuli, including workbooks and phonics activities. However, children who experience difficulties learning how to read may benefit from a multi-sensory approach that involves physical movements and lets them use their senses to engage on a deeper level.

In particular, dyslexic students who struggle to split words into their component sounds may respond positively to the Orton-Gillingham style of learning. It uses multi-sensory techniques to facilitate acquisition of phonics knowledge, decoding, and sight-reading skills.

Capital and lower-case letters can look similar, like 'O' and ‘o,’ or they can look very different, like ‘A’ and ‘a.’ Nonetheless we still recognize that they are the same letter. This is because when children first start reading and writing they learn to associate two forms with the same sound. However, this doesn’t necessarily mean that upper and lower-case letters are processed by the brain in the same way for everyone. In fact, incongruent capital/lowercase forms may be problematic for unskilled readers.

When people hear the word dyslexia, they often think of reading and spelling difficulties. However, this narrow view overlooks the broader context. Dyslexia isn’t just about challenges - it’s about differences, and with those differences come strengths. Individuals with dyslexia often exhibit exceptional abilities in creative thinking, spatial reasoning, empathy, and more. These strengths aren’t just side notes; they’re central to how dyslexic people think, problem-solve, and succeed.

In fact, some of the greatest strengths associated with dyslexia come down to the unique way in which the dyslexic brain processes stimuli, including language. For example, many individuals with dyslexia are right-brain dominant. The right and left hemispheres of the brain are organized in a slightly different way. On the right, cells are more evenly distributed (versus in clusters). This means connections have to cross larger distances, which helps dyslexics with big-picture thinking, pattern spotting, and taking a more open and creative approach to problem-solving.

Many dyslexic individuals also consider themselves holistic rather than linear thinkers. While memorizing facts may not be their strong suit, children and adults with dyslexia can have the ability to integrate personal experiences with acquired knowledge, to generate new ideas. They can make great team players as well, and be extremely creative students who are artistically gifted and have an intuitive sense of spatial organization. That's because visual thinking and spatial reasoning are both associated with right-brain thinking.

Literacy skills are one of the most important areas of ability children develop in their first few years at school. That's why it's crucial to provide fluency strategies for struggling readers as soon as a learning difficulty is picked up.

Most children begin by sounding out words and learning to recognize common vocabulary from books and classroom materials. With sight reading and more spelling practice comes greater fluency. Reading then speeds up and comprehension of more complex texts becomes possible as vocabulary knowledge grows exponentially. However, not all students find learning to read such an easy process. Struggling readers can quickly fall behind their peers and may develop low self-esteem and a lack of confidence as a result.

Because reading ability affects performance across all areas of the curriculum, including writing skills, it’s important to provide adequate strategy training as early as possible. Ideally remediation is tailored to the individual student’s needs, particularly when a learning difficulty is involved.

A guest post by Cigdem Knebel.

The English language is full of linguistic inconsistencies that make reading much harder for students with dyslexia. If you are like the majority of native English speakers, you may not even be aware of these inconsistencies because it is your mother tongue.

The irregularities are due to using the 26 letters in the English alphabet to create 44 sounds. To make up for the difference, there are several different ways a letter can be pronounced (‘a’ for apple, car, or ball, and ‘c’ for cat, ceiling, or scent).

Moreover, letter combinations create new sounds (ch, sh, ea) and these combinations can also be pronounced in different ways (chair vs. chorus, eagle vs. earth). This makes decoding a serious challenge for struggling readers, particularly those students who have dyslexia.

Child-led learning is a term used to describe education programs in which children are responsible for deciding what and/or how to learn. In some cases, it extends to kids being in control of how long they spend on a particular lesson and the methods and materials used for study. Quite often it is undertaken in a homeschool environment or in a private tutoring context.

While this movement typically stands in opposition to a fixed curriculum, some schools offer individual classes or after-hours programs that take a more child-led approach. There are also situations in which giving a child a greater role in deciding how much and what to learn is more appropriate, such as sessions for kids who struggle with learning difficulties.

Spelling skills are not something people are born with – we learn to spell at the same time as we learn to read and write. For individuals who struggle with learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, spelling can pose a particular challenge as it requires the ability to split words into sounds and then match those sounds to letters and letter combinations.

This is easier said than done because in English there are many ways to spell the same sound. There are also plenty of silent letters, words that break the rules, and foreign words with unintuitive spellings.