Grammar girl here, today I have a bunch of tips from Erika Enoch about how to make your writing

more accessible to people who have dyslexia and visual impairments. Have you ever tried to

read something in a foreign language? Maybe some words looked familiar, but it was hard to determine

what the next sentence meant. Maybe the structure didn't seem to follow the rules you used to.

Now imagine having the same problems reading your native language. Today we're going to talk

about how to write for that special group of readers, people with dyslexia. Before we get to

the writing tips, you first need to know that dyslexia is a learning disability that affects reading.

Some people see words or letters jumbled around. They might see left as felt, or the letter P

as the letter B. They may not be able to understand jokes or idioms, and some have a hard time

following complicated instructions. Dislexia is not a sign of low intelligence. In fact some of

the most successful people in history were dyslexic, including Albert Einstein, Walt Disney, and Roland

Doll. Dislexia can't be cured, but reading specialists can help people cope with the problem,

and as a writer, you can help too. First, write short, simple sentences. Have you ever read a

sentence that was so long you were lost by the end? Many dyslexic readers have that problem

all the time. Keep your sentences brief, use short words, and use a simple subject verb object

sentence structure. Keep your paragraph short too. Use bulleted lists if it makes sense.

If you're writing a list of instructions, break it down step by step no matter how simple each

step might be. Second, avoid using unnecessary abbreviations. Dislexic readers have trouble keeping

track of abbreviations, and avoiding them is actually a good tip no matter who your readers are.

In his book Garner's Modern American Usage, Brian Garner says, overuse of abbreviations,

quote, requires the reader to refer constantly to the original uses of terms to grasp the meaning.

This kind of writing is tiresome and inconsiderate, unquote.

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