“Learn-to-read” Application for Remediation of Dyslexic Children Based on Multisensory Approach Muhamad Risqi Utama Saputra 1 and Kuntoro Adi Nugroho 1 1 Research and Development Division, NextIn Indonesia, Yogyakarta, Indonesia (E-mail: risqi@nextin-indonesia.com) Abstract-This paper describes “learn-to-read” application for assisting therapist/teacher in conducting remediation programme of dyslexic children. The application is developed in Indonesian language for 5-7 years old dyslexic. Based on multisensory approach, the application is designed to utilize all of sensory receptors of dyslexic hence incorporating visual-audio feedback and supporting tactile-kinesthetic interaction. The contents of the application is comprehensive by including pre-reading and specific skill for dyslexic’s daily life (such as short-term memory and directionality) in addition to reading skills. Implemented using Windows Presentation Foundation technology, the application provides smooth animation and nice graphic to engage and attract dyslexic attention. Adapted from Heuristic Evaluation, testing by dyslexic experts (n = 6) results in high scores of usability of user interface (4.113, scale of 5) and content of the application (4.078, scale of 5). Keyword: dyslexia, reading and learning problems, remediation, computer desktop application, multisensory I. INTRODUCTION Dyslexia occurs in approximately 10% to 15% of school age children [1]. Dyslexia is a specific learning disability in area of reading which is characterized by difficulties with accurate word recognition and poor spelling-decoding abilities. It is a lifelong condition that affects people who have at least average intelligence. It is heritable condition that cannot be cured because it is not a disease [2]. But, with proper intervention and remediation program, dyslexic children could cope with their problem, thus they can finish school successfully [3]. The remediation program includes all aspects of reading and all of activities or subjects that support reading. Usually, these programs are conducted using pen, paper, blackboard, or educational toys. However, with more advanced information technology, new alternative applications emerge. These applications may help dyslexic children to learn easily or can be used as complementary media to assist dyslexic therapist in conducting remedial therapy. Many works had been done to develop application for dyslexic children. Rello, et al. [4] developed a game named “Dyseggxia”. “Dyseggxia” is Android and iOS mobile game that contains word exercises in Spanish Language especially designed for Dyslexia. The word exercises are divided into 5 types, namely insertion, omission, substitution, derivation, and separation. This content of the game is designed by combining linguistic, pedagogical criteria, and corpus analysis. To evaluate the game, it was tested with 7 dyslexic children. The result shows that the game is helpful and more appealing than doing exercise in paper. Similar with what was done by Rello, Skiada, et al. [5] developed a mobile application called “EasyLexia”. “EasyLexia” contains interactive material that encourage learning process of dyslexic children and may foster the fundamental skills in English language. Preliminary evaluation with 5 dyslexic children shows that the children showed progress, not only in recognition of words and reading, but also in phonological decoding. Daud and Abas [6] created “Dyslexia Baca”, a mobile application that help dyslexic children to recognize and to distinguish letter p, q, b, d, m, and w. The application is designed based on multisensory approach and intended to assist alphabet recognition in Malay language. With this game, dyslexic children hopefully can learn and recall the information in a fun and exciting way. Heuristic evaluation of this application indicates that the application is well designed in area of content, approach, and multimedia elements. Created in Malay language as well, Ahmad et al. [7] developed “Bijak Membaca” as an application for dyslexic children which applies Phonic Reading Technique, multisensory approach, and interactive multimedia. This application is also evaluated using heuristic approach. The result shows that “Bijak Membaca” is considered success in integrating all of learning strategies mentioned before. All of the works previously mentioned indicate that application software development for dyslexic children is an active reasearch and development area around the world. Application software for dyslexic is available in many countries and many different languages. Unfortunately, the availability of this kind of application and the research that deal with it is still rare in some developing countries, including Indonesia. However, the application in other languages could not be ported directly in other mother tongue because each language has different characteristics and different steps in order to learn it. So, the development of this kind of application should be conducted carefully with supervision from dyslexia experts. It have to meet the need of dyslexic children and must fit the “learn-to-read” steps in particular language. Furthermore, most of the developed application only focus on specific problem of dyslexic children, for example phonic or spelling problem while application with more complete contents is definitely necessary in order to learn comprehensively and faster. This research designed and developed “learn-to-read” application for dyslexic children implemented in Indonesian language. The application is developed in desktop computer and it is addressed to assist dyslexic therapist in conducting remediation programme for 5-7 years old children. As an