As many as 20% of us may have some issues with dyslexia. That can make a simple study of the Bible a challenge that can take away from absorbing the powerful message of God's word. Focusing on the obstacle, experts have developed the Grace Bible.
"It uses the Christian Standard Bible translation, but what makes it unique is the design. It was created specifically to help readers with dyslexia and other reading challenges to help them engage scripture more comfortably and confidently. And so, it's not changing the words of the Bible, it's changing the reading experience. The font, the spacing, the layout, the visual design, were all developed to reduce reading fatigue and increase readability. And so, it's really about removing barriers so more people can access God's Word," explains Andy McLean, publisher for Holman Bibles at B&H Publishing.
"Dyslexia, I'm no expert, but working with the experts, dyslexia is a learning difference that primarily affects reading. And so, it can make it harder to recognize words quickly or decode letters and sounds or just read fluently. It has nothing to do with intelligence. Many highly gifted and successful people are dyslexic. Often, someone with dyslexia simply processes written language differently. And so, reading can require more effort than it does for others." Andy adds, "It's actually very common. And so, estimates often suggest around 20% of the population experiences some form of dyslexia or what they would call a language-based reading difficulty. So, in almost every classroom, in every church, every workplace, there are people who would benefit from tools like this."
A key to the helpful nature of the Grace Bible is the unique font
"The typeface was developed in partnership with 2K/Denmark, who is a typesetting agency, and it was tested with researchers connected to Cambridge University. It's called The Grace Typeface. And so, that's kind of where it starts. Now, what makes it special is that the letters are designed to be more visually distinct. So, commonly confused letters are easier to tell apart. Also, the bottoms of the letters are weighted a bit more heavily to help them feel more anchored on the line. And so in other words, they don't bounce around, which is a pretty common thing for people with dyslexia. And so, there's also other layout and design principles that went along with this research, extra spacing between the letters, the words, the lines and the paragraphs. All of that may sound really subtle, but for many readers, these small adjustments make an enormous difference in both reading stamina and comprehension."
The Grace Bible also comes with special transparent color overlays which may make reading even more comfortable. Andy McLean shares about this as well as the positive reaction from people who are currently using the Bible for personal study. More on this in our complete podcast interview just below:
"And I would just encourage everybody though, especially pastors and parents and grandparents, to take a look because I guarantee you that there's probably someone in your family or a congregation who has been waiting for something exactly like this," suggests Andy.