Our Story
From Startup Idea to Real-World Impact — Kevin’s Ongoing Effort to Help Children with Dyslexia
A story of imagination, growth, and a mission to help others
When Kevin Ma was just 11 years old and a sixth grader at Bright Field Middle School in Bentonville, Arkansas, he noticed something many adults often overlook—some of his classmates were struggling with reading. Moved by empathy and a desire to help, Kevin became determined to make a difference in their ability to read and succeed in school.
What His Idea Is
He developed a visual and engaging method to help children with dyslexia recognize and remember high-frequency words. By turning common sight words into hand-drawn illustrations filled with personality and spatial patterns, he aligned his approach with the way dyslexic learners process information.
Kevin’s hand-drawn illustrations 
All original drawings by Kevin—no AI, just imagination.
Why this idea works
This is a child-centered approach backed by brain science. This idea works because children with dyslexia often struggle with traditional phonics-based reading methods, but tend to think more visually and spatially. By transforming high-frequency words into memorable illustrations, Kevin taps into their strengths—making the words easier to recognize, recall, and connect with meaning. The visuals create strong mental associations that bypass some of the challenges dyslexic learners face with text alone.
Each word in the Dyslexia Tool is transformed into a graphic string—a visual pattern that uses spatial reasoning to represent sounds and their positions within the word. If any part of this graphic string is missing, the entire visual structure breaks down, mirroring how a missing sound makes a word incomplete. This approach helps children intuitively grasp the relationship between sounds and letters.
Scientific research shows that typical readers activate the back of the brain during reading, but dyslexic readers rely more on the front. Kevin’s visual-spatial method is designed to engage the back of the brain, encouraging neural pathways associated with fluent reading.
By combining visual patterns with letter-sound awareness, Kevin’s tool gives children a new, brain-based way to grasp the foundations of reading and build independence.
How the Three-Step Flashcards Work
The Dyslexia Tool uses a three-step flashcard system to help children transition from picture-based cues to standard written text.
For example, for the word “Cat”:
- In Step 1, the letters are turned into a picture of the cat, with the “C” forming the cat’s head, the “a” as its body, and the “t” as its tail.
- As children move from Step 1 to Step 3, the visual representation of the word is gradually reduced, shifting towards plain text.
The tool uses three colors to reflect the level of support provided:
- Red for high visual support (Step 1)
- Yellow for moderate visual support (Step 2)
- Green for minimal visual support and just the word in black text (Step 3)
The progression helps children make connections between letters, sounds, and their meanings, giving them more independence in reading.
The Dyslexia Tool is a set of 150 flashcards that helps children master 50 foundational sight words through the three steps.
Each illustration is hand-drawn by Kevin—no AI —just pure imagination and heart.
Each card is uniquely designed to capture the essence of its specific word, making the learning experience memorable.
Now available on dyslexiatool.com and Amazon!
Patent Status:
Kevin has been granted a provisional patent and has filed a non-provisional U.S. patent application for his original learning system.
Kevin’s Vision Goes Beyond
Now 12 years old and heading into seventh grade, Kevin’s efforts continue.
As his skills develop, he plans to transform this tool into an interactive online app to help even more children with dyslexia.
He plans to invite other young creators to collaborate with him in illustrating and designing—because when kids create for kids, incredible things happen.
This method is now delivered through flashcards, but it will evolve into something much more than flashcards in the future. He promises to keep you posted on all the latest progress and innovations.
It is a child-led effort—a child-centered approach that helps children learn with clarity, confidence, and joy.
Whether you are a parent or a teacher, Kevin hopes this tool empowers every child to build confidence and succeed on their reading journey.
Below are the links to news reports covering Kevin’s idea and its recognition in a youth entrepreneurship competition:
- Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
- The Venture Center
- Bentonville Schools Facebook
- TREC Center for Gifted Education – Bentonville Schools
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