Lifeway Creates First-Ever Bible for Dyslexic Children, Learning Impaired
Lifeway Christian Resources has done something not terrible with their time (see endnotes) by creating and launching the first-of-its-kind bible for children with Dyslexia.
The Grace Bible for Kids, which will be available November 1st, was launched in partnership with 2K/DENMARK and Cambridge University and is aimed at kids aged 7-12 with learning disabilities who suffer from visual stress as they read. A press release from Lifeway explains:
The Bible integrates academically tested typeface and design principles developed by 2K/DENMARK and Cambridge University’s research department.
The layout and design adds space between letters, words, lines and paragraphs along with distinct letter forms to help with readability.
“If you are dyslexic, sometimes you see letters as bouncing balloons because they don’t stay on the baseline,” explains Klaus Krogh, founder of 2K/DENMARK. “In designing the Grace typeface, we made sure to fix the letters to the baseline by making them heavier towards the bottom.”…In addition to the added weight to the baseline of letters, the Grace typeface helps readers differentiate between pairs of similar letters like m and n or p and q. Readers will also notice special-colored page overlays that enhance visual processing and can reduce visual stress.
Learning disabilities when reading go far beyond getting words out of order, but feature a variety of visual effects for the reader.
For this reason, other features of the bible include line lengths that do not exceed 35 characters and have no hyphenation breaks at the end of the line. Paragraphs over 11 lines are divided into text blocks, the text font is larger than usual, and no additional fonts are used, like bold, italics, or words in all caps. There are no footnotes or callouts, and the bible includes a built-in pocket that includes colored overlays, which some children find helps them read and remove visual stress, as well as keeps the letters from wobbling or fading out.
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Lifeway Christian Resources, once primarily known as the Southern Baptist Sunday School Board, has morphed into a controversial behemoth in the Christian publishing world. A purveyor of spiritual strychnine and peddler of outright heresy, their portfolio includes heavenly tourism, omen interpretation, new age mysticism, prosperity gospel, word-faith theology, and good old fashioned wretched theology, demonstrating Lifeway’s commitment to upholding doctrinal standards is primarily swayed by profit motives.
Lifeway’s progressive leanings aren’t exactly surprising. Just look at how Lifeway Employee Political Contributions Favor Democrats 4:1, or their decision to omit Voddie Baucham’s anti CRT, best-selling Fault Lines book from their catalog, or the fact that they seem to only carry women authors, or the controversy surrounding Lifeway’s Spring 2022 Curriculum.
Financial difficulties have plagued Lifeway since 2014, with a series of losses leading to the closure of 170 physical stores in 2017. A staggering $50 million was lost between 2014 and 2019, and the 2020 budget year saw a $45 million shortfall in revenue. In a desperate move, Lifeway sold its $100 million headquarters in 2021, after occupying it for less than 4 years.
h/t to The Christian Post
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