Dyslexia Awareness Day 2023 – Tobii's impact on a critical initiative

As industry leaders in attention computing, Tobii is an expert in communication tools. We understand the need for powerful initiatives like Dyslexia Awareness Week and Dyslexia Awareness Day.  

Most people know that dyslexia is a condition that impairs reading, writing, and spelling, but not many are aware that it’s a neurodevelopmental disorder estimated to affect around 10% of people worldwide.

Dyslexia is a misunderstood barrier for children and adults, and Tobii is proud to play a part in making the process of learning to read and write a more level playing field for everyone.

In honor of Dyslexia Awareness Week and Dyslexia Awareness Day, we’re sharing some stories from some of our clients that are using our technology to understand dyslexia better and improve lives.

Lexplore

Lexplore is a Swedish “all-in-one service that helps organizations systematically advance reading development”.  

They offer reading assessments, insights and development plans to both single schools and school organizations, helping children to become better readers, and empowering them to have a bigger impact on the world.

Since 2015, Lexplore has partnered with Tobii to significantly decrease the time teachers spent gauging reading ability in children, enabling them to offer more tailored support to the individuals that need it.

Our eye tracking technology was used to reveal exactly how the children's eyes travelled as they read, revealing patterns in both low and high reading ability and offering a clear way to identify dyslexia.

Download your copy of the success story here.

iTrack Reading

iTrack Reading is a deep-tech startup developing the first eye-to-speech technology for reading. The company was founded in Gothenburg, Sweden by CEO Wilma Emanuelsson and COO Lee Johannisson, who were just 18 at the time.

iTrack Reading uses the Tobii Eye Tracker 5 and AI to generate synchronized speech based on users’ eye movements. The solution empowers people with dyslexia to read comfortably, fluently, and at their own pace. It also offers multisensory reading for those learning a new language, where users hear clear pronunciation with the correct accents as they read.

Tobii is incredibly proud to provide the technology that not only drives such an important initiative, but also won Wilma the prestigious title of Entrepreneur of the year at the 2022 Nordic Women in Tech Awards.

Find out more about iTrack Reading.

Tobii webinar: A study on reading acquisition and eye movements

In May 2021, Tobii hosted an insightful webinar revealing how our eye tracking technology is the ideal tool to study children with reading difficulties.

The webinar featured our Senior Research Scientist, Marisa Biondi and Sales Director, Peter Reuter, who discussed a study conducted at the Humboldt University in Berlin with researcher Lea Wiehe and Professor Michael Wahl.

The study took place over nine years and included over 350 children from two schools, aged six to 11. A team of language experts specializing in reading and writing disorders used a Tobii Pro Spectrum eye tracker to reveal brand new insights into children with dyslexia.

One part of the study showed that children at a developmental reading ability did not read with “progressive saccades”, which is how we imagine a person typically reads, from left to right, word by word. Instead, they followed no particular pattern and fixated on words for a considerably longer time.

Watch the full webinar.

Want to know about eye tracking and dyslexia?

Head to our Reading and Language page to discover exactly how Tobii's technology reveals how humans interpret text when reading. Find out exactly how our solutions are driving innovation and enabling important breakthroughs in key industries.