Do Special Fonts Help Dyslexic Readers? What You Need to Know

Has anyone ever suggested that a special font can “fix” dyslexia?

Avoid this gimmick.
It sounds promising—fonts like Dyslexie claim to “enhance the ease of reading, learning, and working.” Their creators suggest that just a few clicks in your settings can ease a reading disorder that affects 1 in 5 people.

Seriously? Show me the science.

What the Research Actually Says

Two well-designed experiments set out to test the claims behind the Dyslexie font by asking three questions:

1. Does the Dyslexie font lead to faster or more accurate reading?

2. Do children actually prefer the Dyslexie font?

3. Is font preference related to reading performance?

The participants—children with and without dyslexia in grades 2–6—were asked to read word lists of increasing difficulty in three different fonts.

The Results?

The science does not support the claims.

• No improvement in reading speed or accuracy was found when using Dyslexie font.

• In fact, most children preferred standard fonts like Times New Roman and Arial.

• Complex words remained difficult—because dyslexia isn’t about how words look, but how the brain processes language.

So What Actually Helps?

There is no “quick fix font” or visual cure for dyslexia. What does help—consistently, across studies—is instruction that is:

• Explicit & structured

• Multisensory—engaging visual, auditory, and motor pathways

• Intensive & frequent—delivered over 24–36 months by a Certified Academic Language Therapist (CALT)

This is what Structured Literacy offers. And unlike font claims, its success is backed by decades of cognitive science and real-world results.

Bottom line?
Special fonts may feel helpful for some, but they don’t address the root issue. Real change comes from real instruction—explicit, structured, and systematic.

Bibliography
Kuster, S. M., et al. “Dyslexie Font Does Not Benefit Reading in Children with or without Dyslexia.” Current Neurology and Neuroscience Reports, U.S. National Library of Medicine, April 2018.
Boer, Christian. “How a Font Can Help People with Dyslexia to Read.” TEDxFultonStreet. YouTube, 2015