The Influence of Visual Information During Reading in Children with Dyslexia

Abstract

The current understanding is that digital texts can be made accessible to children with dyslexia by presenting them in a simplified layout, with suitable fonts, or by using audio synchronized with word highlighting. However, it remains to be elucidated whether ease of reading for children with dyslexia is affected by audio synchronized with highlighted text or underlined areas (words or sentences) in digital texts. To determine whether any other type of text highlighting color or underlined area affects the ease of reading for children with dyslexia, we studied their reading eye movement. Four children with dyslexia (two boys and two girls) between seven and ten years of age participated in this study. The digital texts were created using different text highlighting colors and underlines. The digital texts were read using the Apple reader application iBooks on a 9.7-inch Apple iPad Air. We found that it was easier for children with dyslexia to read along with audio synchronized with text highlighting rather than without text highlighting. The eye movement responses of children with dyslexia were affected by the color and area of text highlighting. These observations indicate that the methods of presenting visual information in reading might help children with dyslexia to read.

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Author Information
Hanae Ikeshita-Yamazoe, Sagami Women’s University, Japan
Sho Yamaguchi, Nagoya Gakuin University, Japan
Toyoshi Morioka, 1-10 drive, Inc., Japan
Takashi Yamazoe, Tokyo Polytechnic University, Japan

• Category: Education and Technology: Teaching, Learning, Technology and Education Support

Posted by James Alexander Gordon

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