Participatory Design with Dyslectics: Design and Evaluation of an Enhancing Reading Skills Tool

Participatory Design (PD) was used successfully in many projects but the question is how participatory design works with people with a cognitive disorder like dyslexia. In this study, we analyzed observations on PD sessions with dyslectic participants for developing designs of a reading software application by applying two participatory design methods: the IDEAS and CI methods. Furthermore, we conducted online surveys to gather information on dyslectics participants’ and their special-education teachers’ opinion regarding the participatory design process, methods and final designs. The results indicate that participatory design works effectively with dyslectic people provided the participation of Proxy Users to represent dyslectics, when it is necessary, the participation of an experienced on dyslexia facilitator who has the knowledge to address incidents caused due to dyslexia, and a proper allocation of the groups in proportion to the required tasks to prevent biases.