Now let’s dig down into what the actual causes of “a difficulty with words” could be. And the possible solutions.
As we go through these keep in mind that most dyslexics have two or more causes for their difficulties. These underlying causes will also express differently in different people. All brains are different. So any given symptom does not necessarily map to the same cause. And truthfully, sometimes you never find the exact cause. You just work on all of the solutions together and the brain figures it out.
That being said, let's look at each possible cause individually.
Phonological
The first is phonetic issues. This is not a hearing problem, although it has been theorized that it may be caused by hearing issues early in life. This is a processing issue. Your child may have difficulty discriminating between similar sounds. They may have challenges breaking down words or manipulating sounds. As well as other phonetic skills. This is sometimes called phonological dyslexia. It’s very related to auditory processing disorder. The large majority of dyslexics do have some sort of phonetic processing issue. It’s estimated to be around 80%. Just not all.
But even those that are classified as a phonological dyslexic or having auditory processing disorder are very different from one another. As an example, it's widely believed that those with phonological dyslexia have extreme difficulty learning a new language. While that may be true for many, or even most, many report that learning a new language was the thing that helped them overcome their dyslexia. So for some, learning a new language is extremely difficult and for others, it was their saving grace. All brains are different right?
Visual
Another cause can be visual issues. This can be visual processing issues such as difficulties in visual discrimination, visual memory, visual memory manipulation, or visual closure. It can also be a problem in the actual eye muscles in the eye. These muscles help us track lines. Others help the eyes converge when objects get closer. They are essential for reading. For those with this problem, eye strengthening exercises are a fairly quick fix. But of course, if that is not the problem those exercises won’t do much. All dyslexics are different right?
These dyslexics might also experience letters changing places or jumping around the page. And of course reversals of letters and words. They may lose their place a lot. They may get headaches. And they are certainly working much harder to read than others. So that will affect comprehension. But these symptoms are not a diagnosis. There are several possible underlying causes for them. So be careful about jumping to a conclusion.
Irlen Syndrome
Also related to vision is Irlen syndrome. In this condition sensitivities to certain wavelengths cause visual distortions when reading. Colored reading overlays help with this. Some people are really helped by them. Others not at all.
Proprioception
Many dyslexics will also have difficulty with spatial awareness and directionality. It’s not uncommon for dyslexics to experience benefits by developing better proprioception. There is a link between our spatial skills, our sensory skills, and our cognitive skills. Developing proprioceptive skills and sensory skills is sometimes the shortcut to improving cognitive skills. These dyslexics are often mixed dominant and sometimes have trouble with fine motor skills. Links to more info on each of these are in the description.
The Amazing Brain
I think you're getting the point right? There are several possible causes of reading difficulties. Usually, two or more of these causes come together. That’s why it’s important to get a general idea of where the problem is coming from but also to treat all of the possibilities together. If you do that a better understanding will take shape and with that a solution.
Remember the brain is not a computer. It is not a machine. You can’t just fix or replace one part and expect it to be up and running. It does not work like that. Sure, we’ve all heard things like the left side of the brain is logical and the right side is creative. And that certain parts of the brain do certain things. Or that we can “Rewire” the brain. None of that is actually true. These are all just basic models that help us understand how the brain works by associating the ideas with things that are easy to understand. They are sort of true at a very basic level. Just not absolutely true. There are no wires. Some people's hemispheres are reversed. And areas of the brain can interact in many functions. They can even switch functions when conditions change. For example, the visual brain centers in blind people are usually remapped to the other senses. This is why they can be more attuned to sound and touch. For some, this neuroplasticity even results in echolocation skills. Meaning they can navigate using sonar as a bat does. The brain is amazing. It can change itself to suit the needs of the individual.
The brain is far more magical than a machine. We shouldn’t treat it like one. We should treat it like the wondrous thing that it is.
Combined Cognitive Skills
The brain uses all of the cognitive skills together to complete a task such as reading. It’s combining different forms of memory. It’s combining different senses. It’s using them all in ways that we can’t even perceive. It’s combining auditory processes with visual memory. It’s using spatial memory and even sensory memory. All working seamlessly together. Different people will do this in different ways. Some being stronger in auditory. Others in visual. And even others in spatial or kinesthetic. Each person finds a little different path.
The brain finds new ways of using these cognitive skills together. This brings me back to why defining dyslexia as one specific problem can be disastrous. When we try to work on only one cognitive skill in isolation that creates a problem. It creates an isolated skill. What we want is a generalized skill. We want the brain to pull that skill out and use it for different things.
If you only work one skill, the brain develops that skill but it develops only for that specific task. It’s like if you practiced crossword puzzles constantly you might get better at crossword puzzles but you won’t get smarter. The brain says “AHA, you want me to get better at crossword puzzles, no problem”. And it does so. It doesn’t improve memory or other cognitive skills by practicing crossword puzzles. Or any other single exercise. Instead, you have to challenge it with multiple cognitive challenges simultaneously
The brain has to work harder to do this but that's a good thing. When we challenge our brain it grows.