As your eyes glide across the screen reading these words, complex underlying processes are at work deciphering and making meaning out of seemingly random combinations of symbols.
The process has likely become automatic for you. You do not have to put much thought into the reading process or the cognitive skills that underlie this ability.
For individuals with reading challenges, like dyslexia or non-verbal learning disability, this process is not automatic. Brain-imaging studies reflect structural differences in the way these individuals read and process language.
Understanding the parts of the brain involved in reading can help parents and teachers better assist both individuals with learning differences and those without.
Frontal Lobe
First, in the reading process, you must attend to the task. Directing your attention to the material you are trying to read is a function of the frontal lobe.
The frontal lobe is located just behind your forehead. It is the last part of the brain to fully develop and is involved in higher-order thinking.
Dysfunction or underdevelopment of the frontal lobe will lead to inattention, disorganization, and trouble with task initiation and completion.
Temporal Lobe
The temporal lobe is responsible for converting letters into sounds (phonemic awareness), decoding, and discrimination. In this area of the brain, you begin to "break down” and make sense of what the word says.
Dysfunction in the temporal lobe may lead to difficulty sounding out words, trouble spelling, and other non-reading tasks (like understanding instructions and paying attention in noisy environments).
Occipitotemporal Area
This part of the brain can be thought of as your brain’s dictionary storage. It allows a person to quickly and automatically recall a word.
Fluent readers utilize this part of the brain most when reading. Beginning readers or those with reading disabilities tend to use more of their frontal and temporal lobe when reading. This results in slow reading fluency because the individuals rely on sounding out every word instead of knowing it automatically.
Reading skills can be improved through interventions that directly target these areas of the brain. Cognitive Training that involves a thorough Skill Evaluation and individualized, one-on-one coaching is the best option for reading improvement.
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