Finalist category: BT Young Pioneer Award 2020
#T4GDimmingDyslexia
BT Young Pioneer Award, Winner, 2020
Dimming Dyslexia is a project that strives to help people with difficulties in literacy and reading so they can achieve as much as they are capable of. Developed as a project by schoolchildren from London the app analyses texts and resources that students are using and translates them into an easier format to comprehend, such as cartoons, videos or specific fonts.
When researching similar products, the team found that there were limited resources for students with learning disabilities. The few apps and resources that were available online, were catered to younger children aged 4-9. Dimming Dyslexia will change this dynamic as it caters for those in year 7 and above struggling with longer pieces of text given in class and as homework. The app can be used as a personal tool so teachers do not need to compromise the lesson, unlike other apps or solutions.
Dimming Dyslexia was created by a team of three 14-year-old students, Dorothy, Sonia and Justine, who attend Sacred Heart High School in London, and are passionate about helping dyslexic students. The team attend a STEM club during school lunchtimes and after school and have been national finalists in IBM’s Girls Who Change the World competition, the Longitude Explorer Prize and are currently in the running for the BT Young Pioneer Award 2020 for the app.
Currently, the team has developed a working Dimming Dyslexia prototype. Going forward, over the next few months they hope to have the opportunity to further develop and eventually launch the app, however we would need the help of experts as well as funding to achieve this.
