New type font said to help dyslexics

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NEW YORK, Oct. 1 (UPI) -- A new font designed for people with dyslexia is now available for use on mobile devices such as tablet computers and smartphones, its U.S. designer says.

The font, called OpenDyslexic, was designed by Abelardo Gonzalez, a mobile app designer from New Hampshire who has released the free font to word processors and e-book readers, Medical Xpress reported Monday.

Dyslexia is a learning disorder characterized by difficulty in reading for people with otherwise normal vision and intelligence. It affects up to 10 percent of the population.

Research has shown that "bottom-heavy" fonts using lines that are thicker toward the bottom than at the top results, for some, in less page-flipping and more successful reading.

While some font developers rushed to create their own "bottom-heavy" versions of existing fonts, hoping to capitalize on licensing fees, Gonzalez decided to design a font from scratch and then make it free to anyone who wants to use it.

Gonzalez has also created an app, called openWeb, which is available for iPhone and iPad and modifies text in the Safari browser by presenting web pages in the OpenDyslexic font.

The font is available for free to Android users, and Sony, Amazon and Google have reportedly contacted Gonzalez expressing interest in the font.