New Website Lets You Experience What It's Like To Have Dyslexia

This stunning website allows visitors to see what it’s like to have dyslexia

You can now see what it’s like to have dyslexia thanks to an amazing website created to show others how the learning disability works. Imagine reading the same page of a book for what feels like forever as you try to focus and make the letters stop moving around on the page. This struggle is what some people with dyslexia experience, and what Victor Widell attempted to recreate on his website.

“A friend who has dyslexia described to me how she experiences reading. She can read, but it takes a lot of concentration, and the letters seems to ‘jump around,'” Widell wrote in the introduction to his site.

Dyslexia is a general name for a disorder that affects people in various ways. The National Institute of Child Health and Human Development describes the disability in this way, “It is characterized by difficulties with accurate and/or fluent word recognition and by poor spelling and decoding abilities … Secondary consequences may include problems in reading comprehension and reduced reading experience that can impede growth of vocabulary and background knowledge.”

Even though dyslexia affects people in different ways, Widell’s site is receiving a lot of praise from people who have dyslexia and are sharing their efforts at tackling the disorder, according to indy100. Penelope Fox wrote on Facebook, “This is pretty close to how I saw words as a child in school … The more I read, the more it improves so, I try to read as much as possible. Seeing words/letters in the right order is still a challenge at times.” A candid post written by Sally Smallwood Muir raised some excellent points about education and the proper training of teachers who might have students with dyslexia. She wrote on Facebook, “I am so proud of my kids who have dyslexia. They are over-comers, strong and smart people who have become great writers and avid readers despite their difficulties … How difficult school is for the kid who is told he needs to ‘try harder’ and ‘just pay attention.'”

Instead of pushing the old “work harder” slogan, those without dyslexia can visit the site and get a better understanding of how incredibly difficult it can make peoples’ lives. “I wish I could show this to all my past English teachers, this is why I always refused to read out loud in class,” Stephanie Cook wrote about the site. You might have a friend or family member who has had a hard time explaining exactly what the disorder means for them. Even if you don’t, it is still worth checking out as research shows about 17 percent of the population have dyslexia, according to PBS.

And if you want to help someone with the disorder, consider these tips from Rebecca Benn, who has dyslexia:

-Lend your help only if it’s asked for by the person.

-Ask questions about the disorder, but don’t imply that the person is of a lower intelligence level. -If you think your child could have a learning disability get them tested and then get them help.