Have you ever considered it weird that they made the word “dyslexia” so hard to spell? It’s a learning disorder that can be hard to imagine if you aren’t a sufferer yourself. Victor Widell aims to change that, as he has coded a page to read as someone with dyslexia would see it. And there’s a bookmarklet that you can use to change any website to read dyslexic. You may be able to read it, but imagine how it looks to a student just learning to read or trying to study elementary subjects. Or someone who avoids reading because it is difficult. How accurate is it? It’s hard to say, as the disability varies from person to person.
One redditor who claimed to be dyslexic said that Widell's simulation was "accurate" but presented "a more extreme case."
Others questioned how true the simulation was, including one user—who claimed to be school psychologist and who said "diagnosing dyslexia is my bread and butter"—who commented, "The whole letters-move-around-on-the-page thing is not it at all."
Regardless of whether the code depicts with complete accuracy a naturally occurring disorder that medical professionals and researchers don't fully understand yet, the simulation does recreate the experience described by some who have been diagnosed with dyslexia.
Read more about the simulator at The Daily Dot.
(Image credit: Flickr user Eye to Eye National)