E-Readers Can Benefits Dyslexics, a study reveals

While an obvious benefit of using an e-reader is that you can carry your library with you on the go, researchers have found that e-readers can help dyslexics read short lines too.

In an interview with Medical News Today, lead author of the study, Matthew Schneps, how e-readers can help those who cannot read, in saying “With the widespread adoption of e-readers and other digital technologies for reading, reading methods are rapidly evolving, opening the possibility that alternate methods for reading can perhaps reverse historically imposed constraints that have caused so many to struggle, and make reading accessible to many currently excluded.”

Published in the journal PLOS One, the research conducted showed that dyslexics were able to read text that wasn’t possible earlier, thanks to the reduction of visual distractions within the text. For the study, the team used data collected from reviewing the reading performance of dyslexic students from a high school in Boston.

What was found was that using an e-reader improved both the speed and understanding of the lines of text which were only two to three words long. This benefited students with visual attention deficit most.

While earlier studies indicated that shorter lines helped dyslexics read better, this team found that e-readers can help people with issues pertaining to visual deficit. This was because these devices were able to eliminate the distracting text that would usually appear on the same line.

They also concluded that using an e-reader can be an effective intervention for those who struggle to read while also working as an educational solution for dyslexics.