The Brain of an Individual with Dyslexia

   What causes Dyslexia and reading disabilities and why do some individuals that seem intelligent enough to read have difficulty reading? There are many theories on this. I have heard many different explanations by educational professionals in my life as to why this would be. Many of which have nothing to do with research, but have to do with their opinions on why these children have difficulty learning to read. I have heard things such as these children just learn slower, they learn to read slower, need additional time with reading, and so forth.


    The issue as to what causes Dyslexia and what is going on in the brain of an individual with Dyslexia is something that cannot be fully discussed in a short blog post. This is something to could encompass a lengthy article or a book by those currently working in brain research (which I am not), but I have a few thoughts to share. Research has been conducted into the brain of individuals with dyslexia and has found some evidence that dyslexia does exist and it is neurological in nature. Dyslexia also has nothing to do with someone visual processing abilities.

    Research shows that dyslexia and reading disabilities are caused by language processing breakdowns in the area of the brain that processes language. Furthermore, scans of the brain of individuals with dyslexia and individuals without dyslexia have found differences in the way language is processed and the areas in which language is processed while reading. Scans have been taken of the brain called fMRI or functional magnetic resource imagining. Individuals with reading disabilities use different portions of the brain when reading. Reading is processed in the left hemisphere of the brain. Individuals with dyslexia have deficits in this area of  language processing in the brain. In seems that in order to compensate for these deficits, individuals with dyslexia use the right hemisphere of the brain. Such research has been done by Sally Shaywitz, M.D. at Yale University. This photo was presented in my reading methods class.  The brain of an individual with dyslexia is the bottom image. 

   This just begins to tap into some of the research that has been conducting and the continuing research into the brain of individuals with Dyslexia. This research shows that neurological abnormalities account for reading disabilities and that is why intelligence is not affected in individuals with reading disabilities.

   For more information about brain research in individuals with reading disabilities checkout the book "Overcoming Dyslexia: A New and Complete Science-Based Program for Reading Problems at Any Level" by Sally Shaywitz, M.D. or this link Dyslexia and the Brain: What Does Current Research Tell Us?