Motivating a kid to wear glasses isn't always easy — take it from a once reluctantly bespectacled 5-year-old.
But one young girl in the UK found the motivation to not only don a pair of specs, but created innovative color-changing glasses that help her and others with dyslexia read more easily and comfortably, per BBC.
A reading rainbow
Struggling with headaches and difficulty reading due to dyslexia, 11-year-old Millie designed Rainbow Glasses.
- A prototype of the glasses were created by manufacturing firm Thales, which features lenses that turn red, blue, or green using LEDs.
- Users can select the hue that best alleviates visual stress and makes reading more comfortable.
- Millie's design won gold at the UK's annual Primary Engineer MacRobert Medal, beating 70k+ entries.
- She now plans to secure funding to get Rainbow Glasses on shelves.
While some organizations, such as the Irlen Institute, promote the use of colored lenses for dyslexia and other conditions, many medical authorities have found little scientific evidence to support their use as a treatment. Many people, however, say colored lenses can be life changing.
Through the looking glass
Dyslexia affects roughly 1 in 14 people globally, so it's not surprising that Millie isn't the only entrepreneur looking to help those with the learning disability.
- French startup Lili for Life unveiled a monitor that uses flickering light to stabilize visual perception and reduce reading effort.
- Boston startup EarlyBird Education developed a mobile game that can help identify signs of dyslexia before a child has even learned to read.
- Santa Monica-based Polygon uses remote assessments for early detection of dyslexia and other learning disabilities.
- An Idaho high schooler recently won $10Kk in funding for ReadBuddy AI, software that helps readers pronounce words and curates personalized content.
An entrepreneurial superpower
Multiple studies have shown that a high percentage of entrepreneurs are dyslexic, and many suggest that dyslexia offers a competitive edge thanks to big picture thinking and resilient problem solving, among other skills.
Richard Branson, who considers dyslexia his superpower, even launched the University of Dyslexic Thinking to demonstrate how dyslexia can fuel innovation and success across industries.
It seems Millie is in good company.
