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A learning aid for children with dyslexia
A different way of seeing things.
Dyslexia is a learning disorder prevalent in the English language which affects 20 percent of children worldwide. It affects the brains' ability to make connections between the words seen and their pronunciation. This slows down the meaning-making process for dyslexic children and can severely affect their learning in schools, where most of our learning is text-driven.
This project attempts to explore how the reading and writing process can be made easier for children with dyslexia using multi-sensory interactions and their natural strength of explorative mind and recognizing patterns.
DESIGN BRIEF
An interactive learning aid for children with dyslexia to help them read by making connections between grapheme (word seen) and phoneme (word pronounced).
PRODUCT DESIGN + INTERACTION DESIGN
WHY DYSLEXIA IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE?
English is an opaque language to read.
Reading process for a person with Dyslexia -
WHOM ARE WE DESIGNING FOR?
Children in the age group of 5 to 8 years of age have been diagnosed with dyslexia or have trouble reading words.
RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
The project started with the idea of building blocks for ease of learning words in the English language. Throughout the project worked with children and occupational therapists ideating and testing light prototypes. This included the creation of fun interactions with blocks for children to engage multiple senses - sight, touch, and sound; exploration of form from board to book, play with simple electronics to activate feedback for each interaction, etc.
PHONIX FUNBOOK
Phonix fun book is an interactive playset for phonetic learning with a conductive board and led letter blocks. It is a tool for children with dyslexia to connect how the letters they see are pronounced together. As the letter blocks are placed on the board, it lights up and gives a sound of the phonetic progression for it.
The tool is supported by an app 'Phonix word builder which can further help children make the connection between the word they see and what it means.
concept testing with children
COMPLETING THE LEARNING LINK
Complementing the physical learning tool with an app. Complete the learning process by bringing in an element of visual /drawing and practice writing to build motor memory.
Through an app - bring in an element of gamification and open up possibilities, no limit to words they can create, parents, can see progress and manage screentime. Good mixture of physical and digital tools to make learning a fun process, not an intimidating task.
PHONIX WORDBUILDER
Phonix word builder is a fun learning app that lets children scan words made on phonix, see what they mean, and also practice writing them to build motor memory for the words. It helps children know the word and build an association with it in different ways. Children can also play fun challenges and keep track of their progress.
NAVIGATION
EARLY EXPLORATIONS
SCAN AND LEARN
Make the words on phonix fun book and scan on the word builder to take the learning journey further. The word builder checks the spelling, shows you what it means, and has fun tools for the child to practice writing the word.
REVISIT WORDS
The app keeps a record of all the words created. Children can go back and explore those again.
EXPLORE FUN CHALLENGES
WHAT DID I LEARN?
Children and parents can keep a track of the progress and learning process through the profile page and visual data.
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