This thesis investigates the topic of ‘Cognitive Perception for Dyslexic Readers,’ with a focus on the dyslexic subtype detection and the use of assistive technology. Through a review of existing literature, it became evident that there are separate insights into the challenges faced by individuals with dyslexia, as well as the assistive technologies that are available to support them. However, a significant gap exists between these two areas, as current technologies are often designed for a homogenised group of dyslexic individuals without considering the specific subtypes. This oversight can result in a frustrating reading experience and may lead to disengagement with texts.

The goal of this project is to design a digital assistive tool that improves the reading experience of dyslexic readers so that they can comprehend e-books in an immersive/engaging manner. The project was developed in close collaboration with the Koninklijk Bibliotheek (The National Library of the Netherlands) and emerged from a shared vision of creating accessible digital reading experiences with their extensive e-book collection. As a result, an assistive tool, the ReQuest application was created. The name of the application, ReQuest, has been coined from the combination of two words; Reading and Quest. The core idea of the application is that it acts as a buddy for every reading adventure that the reader takes on. ReQuest aims to provide the right assistance to dyslexic readers by identifying their subtype, giving them a custom toolkit and making the experience of reading engaging and immersive. When a reader opens the application they are onboarded in a few simple steps. They will then be guided into 4 quests that will detect their subtype. The first two quests focus on pseudo-word testing in isolation and context. The third quest employs eye-tracking to analyse gaze patterns. Research points out that pseudo-word testing; i.e. reading and speaking tests with non-words, and eye-tracking are effective ways of testing for dyslexic subtypes. Lastly, the fourth quest is to self-report reading deficits. Through these quests, the user will be presented with a relevant subtype and will then be prompted to open a toolkit that has been created for their personal needs.

Readers will then be led into a product demo that showcases how their toolkit can be used while reading with the Online Bibliotheek (online library) at KB. The application will then contract into a button on the right-hand corner of the screen and function as a plug-in would. It will contain embedded tools like a thesaurus, dictionary, text-to-speech etc. based on the contents of the custom toolkit. The user will also have the autonomy to add and remove tools as per their preference.