Document Type
Poster
Publication Date
Spring 2026
Abstract
readder is a web-based Rapid Serial Visual Presentation (RSVP) application designed to improve reading speeds and accessibility for students with Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) and convergence insufficiency (CI). ADHD affects approximately 9% of school-age children, and CI affects 5–15%, with recent evidence suggesting a 73% comorbidity rate between the two conditions (Moussaoui et al., 2025). Traditional reading demands coordinated saccadic eye movements that are disrupted by both ADHD and CI, leading to fatigue, reduced comprehension, and reading avoidance. RSVP eliminates saccadic demands by presenting words sequentially at a single fixation point and has been shown to improve reading comprehension in adults with ADHD by approximately 13% relative to neurotypical controls (Moussaoui et al., 2025). readder extends this research into a functional tool, incorporating evidence-based design decisions including a warm charcoal-and-cream color palette informed by the retinal dopaminergic hypothesis of color perception in ADHD, adjustable letter spacing validated by Zorzi et al. (2012), and peripheral word preview to reduce the abruptness of traditional RSVP presentation. The application also features real-time annotation tools, vocabulary flashcards, and struggle zone detection to identify passages where users experience difficulty. readder is deployed as a free, browser-based tool that requires no installation, login, or backend data storage; all text processing occurs locally.
Recommended Citation
Mangine, Adrian, "readder: An Evidence-Based RSVP Speed Reader for Students with ADHD and Convergence Insufficiency" (2026). IPHS 484: Senior Seminar. Paper 45.
https://digital.kenyon.edu/dh_iphs_ss/45
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.