Modifying Ubuntu for dyslexia

[Boynamedcharlie]

Hi,

I'm not sure if this is the correct place to post this, so if not, I apologize.

I have sister with several learning disabilities, one of which is somewhat severe dyslexia. I had read about a dyslexic girl who had a laptop that had been modified to suit her needs, and thought this sort of thing would be a great way to help my sister. I've tried searching for any information about this and, so far, haven't found anything. Though I have a good amount of experience with modifying OS X, I would assume, given it's customizable nature, Linux would be the way to go for this sort of project. My sister is not in school, so she wouldn't need a "learning tool", just something set up specifically for her (perhaps reversing the display to a "mirror image"' seeing as reversing text is VERY helpful to her) to accommodate for how she processes information.

I was hoping there might be someone in this forum with some ideas, useful tips, or knowledge about this sort of thing. I have some friends who are experienced ubuntu users that will be willing to help, and I'm willing to dedicate a large amount of time to this.

Thanks,
Adam

[kidders]

Hi there,

This is exactly the right place for this post, so don't worry. To be honest, I'm a little surprised it's gone unanswered for this long!

I'm not sure how much help I can be (I have no experience with severe dyslexia), but I'd be happy to learn, and try to lend a hand. Although most of my work has been purely web-based, accessibility issues are an interest of mine. It seems to me that if anything can be configured the way your sister likes it, Linux ought to be it hehe.


I have a good amount of experience with modifying OS XI'd be very interested in hearing about what you've done ... there must be ways of transferring your ideas into the Linux world.


My sister is not in school, so she wouldn't need a "learning tool", just something set up specifically for her (perhaps reversing the display to a "mirror image"' seeing as reversing text is VERY helpful to her) to accommodate for how she processes information.The handiest way (off the top of my head) to allow users to flip their screen on the fly might be to use xrandr. (Linking its reflection function to a mouse button, for instance, would be trivial.) Having said that, my graphics card driver (a recent Nvidia beta for 8800 GTS) only appears to support rotation (ie not reflection) for some daft reason, but here's hoping your sister's is smarter. It would provide a neat, instant solution to that particular issue.

My brother (who is only moderately dyslexic) occasionally uses screen readers (he has a Mac). I can't say I've come across anything fabulous for Linux though.

[UAResolved] (http://ubuntuforums.org/showthread.php?t=377083)

[CK0y0TE]

Now I am surprised this thread has not continued. Actually there seems to be a specific font developped for dyslectics.

I had me 9 year old kid read a little with that font on the resellers page. He said it is somewhat better to .... read. The letters are all unique.

go see if you are interested:
http://www.studiostudio.nl/project-dyslexie/

Downside is that its payware where it was initially freeware for home usage.

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[ubudog]

Old thread, closed.