About
Worldwide, dyslexia affects approximately 7% of the population. Research shows that dyslexia not only affects language development but also the social-emotional development of children. They often feel misunderstood and the difficulty they have with the subject matter, combined with regular failure where their peers have less difficulty, can seriously undermine their self-confidence. These problems often slow down their development, meaning they often only reach their potential later on. The consequences of dyslexia are therefore much broader than just reading and/or spelling problems, and there is a clear need for innovative solutions.
In this project we are developing an innovative game for children with dyslexia. Whereas current digital interventions often lack a social component, this project adds an AI-driven virtual co-player to provide an important social dimension.
Several innovations are being developed in close collaboration with experts in the fields of creative game design, research and dyslexia. The team is working on a motivational game that treats dyslexia and promotes self-confidence. Within the game, they are developing an AI-driven, adaptive play mode that adjusts to the optimal training level. Finally, large language models are used for speech generation and to enable a virtual co-player using a chatbot.
The research focuses on the question of whether we can use these digital techniques to design an attractive social context that, as an addition to a dyslexia training game, shows positive effects. In addition, we are looking at whether there is a difference between this virtual co-player and a human co-player. The game is designed for practical use in school and home environments and must therefore be motivating, challenging, adaptive and practical. Practice partner Hulan is collaborating with Taalkanjer and various primary schools in a transdisciplinary co-creation process. After the one-year KIEM phase, if the results are positive, the game will be further developed, validated and broadly applied in schools and institutions.