HaDi | Growing up together

HaDi is a website whose goal is to help Hispanic children who suffer from dyslexia to stimulate their cognitive abilities, such as writing or memorization, while having fun playing.  

Dyslexia is a written language learning disorder that requires early intervention. As it is associated with different emotional pathologies, interventions usually include aspects related to their prevention and self-esteem. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), it affects 10% of the population worldwide.

A way to reinforce the intervention at home is to play games to work on dyslexia. In a playful way and as a family, we can contribute to the phonological awareness training of the child, an essential objective in dyslexia. That is why HaDi proposes classic games such as "word guessing", "memory game" or "word scramble".

These types of games to work on dyslexia do not require financial investment, and they can also be played anywhere. The most important aspect in their application is that the child enjoys them and that the difficulty is adjusted so that they can feel the progress, thus reinforcing self-esteem.

HaDi is a website whose goal is to provide a different alternative for Hispanic children suffering from dyslexia, allowing them to improve their cognitive skills, such as writing or memorizing, through games in a didactic and entertaining way. 

Each game has a different objective:

• Memory game: it is useful for developing visual acuity, reflexes and attention.
• Word guessing: one of the best training for phonological awareness is to mentally think of a word without writing it.
• Rewrite the text: it is useful for spelling and for learning new vocabulary. 
• Word scramble: it is recommended for children with phonological dyslexia as it develops lexical access and spelling.

The website uses the latest version of Bootstrap, making its performance optimal and efficient. Moreover, it uses a script that extends the limits of information accessibility for people with special portability. 

Currently, all Spanish-speaking countries, except Spain, are underdeveloped. As a result, there are insufficient resources for children with dyslexia and if there are, they are usually expensive.

Following the pandemic, the lack of technological resources in certain areas of Latin America has been demonstrated. That is why the website of HaDi is adaptable on all devices, making all games functional.

HaDi is a great option for children with this disorder, especially for those with low resources. And also some games are very helpful for adults. We believe that at least half a million people could be positively affected by HaDi in the next three years. But a higher number can be achieved if there is awareness and teaching about dyslexia in schools and/or communities.

Although HaDi is a prototype, it continues to explore and deepen in order to maximize the potential of the website, thanks to dyslexia professionals with their feedback and input. 

The main reason for the creation of HaDi was my cousin, Bruno, as he suffers from dyslexia. I had started this website since last summer (about a year), but I realized that I needed help. So I contacted Bruno and my aunt to get their input on the user interface of the website and the games. Also, I had the opportunity to show a psychopedagogist and she was able to provide ideas. 

And another reason that was of great help to HaDi was the oratorical speech I gave in my favorite subject, Greco-Latin literature, in which I was able to research and express my ideas about the correlation between dyslexia and motivation. 

Our solution is innovative for the following reasons:

• HaDi uses state-of-the-art technology, thanks to the latest version of bootstrap.
• It is adapted for all devices.
• It has amazing illustrations.
• It is free. 
• The website uses a Script that expands the boundaries of information accessibility for people with special portability.

With all these innovative ideas, it could make a broader positive impact than others. 

In the next year, HaDi aspires to position itself as a tool in institutions and organizations to improve cognitive skills in children with dyslexia. In addition, HaDi hopes to reduce the educational gap in Latin America by promoting motivation. 

There are two main barriers that HaDi faces:

The first barrier is the lack of web developers with little knowledge about dyslexia for the development of the website.

And the second barrier is the misconception about this disorder, making society believe that dyslexia is not a difficulty.