Planet Word, a museum in downtown Washington, D.C. that explores the history and power of language, collaborated with a Georgetown professor to create “Inside Look: Dyslexia,” an interactive exhibit that has been on since early October. 

The exhibit, which opened in honor of Dyslexia Awareness Month, seeks to normalize dyslexia by exploring the science behind the disability and the experiences of dyslexic people. Guinevere Eden, professor of pediatrics and director of Georgetown’s Center for the Study of Learning, drew upon her expertise as a leader in dyslexia research to ensure the exhibit was highly informative and scientifically accurate.

Eden, who also serves on the museum’s scientific advisory board, said that given the prevalence of dyslexia, as one in five people have the disability, the exhibit’s mission of normalizing dyslexia is crucial for the promotion of inclusive literacy.

“It’s important to recognize those individuals early on so that they can be helped,” Eden told The Hoya. “It’s important to recognize that teachers need training to be able to help those individuals, and it’s important to recognize that there are many amongst us who have dyslexia. We really ought to all feel comfortable knowing what it’s like to have dyslexia.”

Eden said she was excited to work with Planet Word to develop materials for the exhibit, aiming to ensure the exhibit was engaging and backed by thorough research. 

“I was very happy that they were doing this, happy that they were doing it in time to be launched during Dyslexia Awareness Month,” Eden said. “I gave them feedback on the materials they had produced and made some suggestions.”

While dyslexic children often struggle in traditional classroom settings, “Inside Look: Dyslexia” details educational techniques that researchers have proven help dyslexic children learn to read effectively. For example, the exhibit features a video of a dyslexic child sounding out a word by breaking it down into vowel graphemes, small subunits within words containing a single vowel sound. 

Eden said the exhibit helps push back on the idea that learning to read quickly or easily is normal, a notion that makes it difficult for children with dyslexia to feel confident in the classroom. 

“I think we shouldn’t take written language for granted,” Eden said. “It’s something we have to learn, and it’s difficult to learn.”

According to Eden, the museum also designed the exhibit to clarify commonly misunderstood aspects of dyslexia. Through narrated video components and interactive quizzes, “Inside Look: Dyslexia” teaches that dyslexia manifests itself differently in different people; though a hereditary condition, the disability greatly varies in severity and nature, with some people struggling more with phonics and others with spelling. 

Alison Schug (GRD ’23), a postdoctoral neuroscience researcher at the Center for the Study of Learning who studies the brains of bilingual children with dyslexia, also hopes the exhibit will help people understand dyslexia better by dispelling misconceptions about how dyslexia presents in children and adults. 

Schug said the general public lacks a complete understanding of what it is like to live with dyslexia, in part because the media portrays dyslexia inaccurately at times. 

“In general conversation, movies and TV, people think that dyslexia is letters moving around or looking backwards,” Schug said. “That’s not what dyslexia is at all, and I’m not sure why it’s represented that way. Instead, dyslexia is difficulty in breaking down the sounds of spoken languages.”

Ann Friedman, founder and CEO of Planet Word, said that the dyslexia exhibit demonstrates the museum’s advocacy for inclusive literacy education. The museum also provides free lesson plans and educator outreach sessions for local reading and writing teachers in support of literacy education.

Friedman said that she hopes the exhibit will encourage museum visitors to show compassion and support for adults and children with dyslexia. 

“At Planet Word, we inspire a love of words, language, and reading for everyone—including those for whom reading does not come naturally,” Friedman said in a recent press release. “As a museum that welcomes people of all ages from all over the world, Planet Word has a unique opportunity to promote public understanding, encourage empathy, and highlight evidence-based support for those who have dyslexia.” 

Eden said she hopes visitors will leave the exhibit with a greater awareness of how, with proper recognition and support from family, friends and educators, people with dyslexia can achieve great success and become lifelong readers. 

“I think it will really provide a wonderful conduit to let thousands of people who go through the museum know what dyslexia really is,” Eden said.  

Schug said that in teaching the public about dyslexia, Planet Word can pave the way for future dyslexia treatments by boosting support for emerging dyslexia research.

“With a better understanding, we can take meaningful steps towards treatment and getting people the help they need,” Schug said.