The aim of this thesis was to write, illustrate and design a children's book aimed at children with dyslexia and gauge the result on a small group of test subjects.
After reviewing existing research on the topic of reading and dyslexia, we collected the most recurring guidelines regarding text preparation for dyslectic readers. Based on the collected data, we prepared two different text designs for a children's book. In one, we took the suggested text alterations into account, whereas in the other we tried to emulate the text design that would be available in a school library.
We prepared original illustrations and text for the children's book, the latter in collaboration with the Faculty of Education of the University of Primorska. Our two hypotheses were that both reading speed and reading accuracy (measured by the number of mistakes made while reading) would improve in the book where the guidelines were considered, in both the children with and without dyslexia.
We tested both designs on a small group of eight children, of whom four had been diagnosed with dyslexia. We tested the designs separately, with a fourteen-day break between testing to minimize the impact of memory on the results. We tested reading speed, reading accuracy, and reading comprehension.
The results showed that the adjustment of font size, additional empty space between letters and lines of text, and less contrast between the color of the text and that of the background all had a positive impact on reading speed, accuracy and comprehension in children with dyslexia. The adjustments also proved beneficial for the group without dyslexia. Because the variables were not tested separately, we cannot prove the positive impact they each had; we can however confirm that none had a negative impact on reading.
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