images.jpgThat is the case for at least one reader, Howard Hill, as he recounts in a blog post in the Guardian entitled My iPhone has revolutionised my reading.

So why I had found it easier to read from my iPhone? First, an ordinary page of text is split into about four pages. The spacing seems generous and because of this I don’t get lost on the page. Second, the handset’s brightness makes it easier to take in words. “Many dyslexics have problems with ‘crowding’, where they’re distracted by the words surrounding the word they’re trying to read,” says John Stein, Professor of Neuroscience at Oxford University and chair of the Dyslexia Research Trust. “When reading text on a small phone, you’re reducing the crowding effect.”

I was so impressed that I contacted the Dyslexia Society, where Sue Flohr, herself dyslexic, recounted how her iPhone had changed her life. She told me that many others share my experience reading books and the Society is in talks with the government over making school textbooks available as eBooks.

2 COMMENTS

  1. I think it’s wonderful that technology is making it easier for some people with print disabilities to read. However, I wish that the big companies like Apple were taking a more active role and approach in making their devices and software beneficial to readers with a variety of needs. Imagine if Apple was focused on making a device that addressed all of the reading needs of dyslexics! I’m happy for the accidents that help, but I encourage readers to demand more than just accidents. Real commitment!

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