A recent study showed that reading practice—one of the best ways to combat dyslexia—can become easier by manipulating the spacing of the text.

The study, posted on the Proceedings of the National Academy of the Sciences website [1], tested French and Italian children previously diagnosed with dyslexia and found two notable results that come from increased spacing of test.

The children showed significant improvement in reading errors with the increased spacing by a factor of two, and that the worse the children were at identifying letters, the larger the improvement with the increased letter spacing. Also, the children were able to read faster with the increased letter speed. The researchers concluded that the increased spacing of the text did improve reading performance overall, even with text that was new to the reader.

The study noted that the increased spacing in the text is a good complement to other dyslexia treatments, saying, "This finding does not detract from individual remediation based on training deficient component skills. However, practitioners only know too well that getting dyslexic children to read more is a key component in achieving long-lasting improvements in reading skills."

To read more about the study, visit The Atlantic [2].

Increased Spacing in Letters Helps Dyslexics Read Better