Optimizing text for an individual’s visual system: The contribution of crowding to reading difficulties

Reading is a complex process that involves low-level visual processing, phonological processing, and higher-level semantic processing. Given that skilled reading requires integrating information among these different systems, it is likely that reading difficulty—known as dyslexia—can emerge from impairments at any stage of the reading circuitry. To understand contributing factors to reading difficulties within individuals, it is necessary to diagnose the function of each component of the reading circuitry. Here, we investigated whether adults with dyslexia who have impairments in visual processing respond to a visual manipulation specifically targeting their impairment. We collected psychophysical measures of visual crowding and tested how each individual’s reading performance was affected by increased text- spacing, a manipulation designed to alleviate severe crowding. Critically, we found that many individuals with dyslexia showed elevated crowding, and that these individuals read faster when text was rendered with increased letter-, word- and line-spacing. Our findings point to a subtype of dyslexia involving elevated crowding and demonstrate that individuals with dyslexia benefit from interventions personalized to their specific impairments.