People who don’t have dyslexia may find it challenging to understand what it’s like when those who have it look at a page of text. A common misconception is that people with dyslexia read things backward. But in reality, they see words that can appear inverted, cut in half, backward, mixed up, chaotic, or moving across the page.
Dyslexia is a learning disorder that makes it more difficult for people to read and spell. It is linked to genes that affect how the brain processes reading and language.
A video by Dyslexia Improvements gives a great visualization of how words appear to someone with dyslexia. Concentrating on words that are moving all over the page and going three-dimensional has to be incredibly difficult.
“It just doesn’t stay still. It just sorta pulls away from the page a bit,” the narrator says. “It makes it a bit tiring to read. A bit tricky.”
The video also points out that not all people with dyslexia see the same thing. For some, the text appears to shatter across the page, like a broken glass pane. For others, words may disappear or swell and shake on the page.
The major takeaway for people who don’t have dyslexia is that it’s a very frustrating disorder to have in a world where we depend on the written word. This video is a great way to show people why it’s so important that people with dyslexia get the help they need.
“What an eye-opener! Very well presented. Every teacher and parent should view this! Thank you for sharing,” Deborah Palmer wrote in the comments.