There is no evidence a dyslexic font will help a dyslexic reader read easier, faster, or even more accurately. But I do find using a less busy font less distracting, fonts that lack any special flourishes at the end of strokes and have a modern and simple look.
I find it helpful to increase the font size, word spacing, and with grade school children use a 13-14 point size. When testing for sure ask your Childs teacher to print the test using a larger font, or adjust the font size on the computer for your student.
I found with the Dyslexie font the lower parts of the letters are thicker, letters are slanted slightly, the sticks are longer, and the font uses better spacing. The font is free to home users but there is a fee for educators and business use.
OpenDyslexic, created by American Abelardo Gonzalez and released as a free and open source font in 2011. The following are a sample:
Comic Sans used for the younger readers also the font Lexia Reader for the older reader. Again simple letters no letter distractions and you can notice again with the heavier bottom, and also noticeable larger spacing inside the letters. The following are a sample:
Arial is a fairly common typeface that participants were likely to have used in the past. Your best gauge is to print a paragraph from your student’s educational material in different fonts and find the one that works best for them, than adjust the point size 13-14 points. So much of the students work is now using the computer and less reading out of books; also we are writing less with the use of laptops, iPads, messaging…. There are so many different fonts available not only for the computer, but iPads, and don’t forget your e-books!