Researchers have discovered evidence that dyslexia is not simply a reading disorder, but instead is a result of a dyslexic person’s brain being unable to adapt as quickly or as thoroughly as the brain of a person without dyslexia. This inability of the brain to adapt occurs in many areas of the brain, but is most obvious during reading, as it is a complex task that requires multiple areas of the brain to work simultaneously.
Scientists find people with dyslexia have to work twice as hard to process information.
Dyslexic’s brains often lack the ability to adapt.
In order to read properly, scientists have discovered that many areas of the brain must work together to interpret letters into words, and then interpret those words into sounds and the sounds into language. The ability for the brain to adapt, neuroplasticity, is reduced by almost half in people with dyslexia. This significant decrease leads scientists to believe that these changes occur very early in individuals with dyslexia, and likely affect many areas in addition to reading.
Brain scans revealed that people with dyslexia have to try twice as hard to process sensory information, such as images and words, as people without the condition, and the deficiency could lie at the heart of the disorder.
Laura Lurns · Learning Success expert
Key takeaways
- Brain scans revealed that brains of those with dyslexia work twice as hard as an average brain.
- A person’s brain puts together a picture to gather what is happening in that picture and it could differ person to person.
- Images were shown to someone with dyslexia and someone without and often the answers are entirely different.
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