[NPR] How Science Is Rewiring The Dyslexic Brain

Part 2 of the WNYC series “Unlocking Dyslexia.”

Our ancient ancestors were able to speak long before they were able to read or write. That history is etched in our brains.

The human brain naturally picks up spoken language. Not so for reading.

“You can think of the reading brain as moonlighting,” says Guinevere Eden, director of Georgetown University’s Center for the Study of Learning. “Your brain will essentially take other brain areas — that were designed to do something else — and use [them] toward reading.”

Learning to read requires co-opting parts of the brain and training them to recognize letters, clump those letters together into small units, relate those units to sounds and, eventually, blend those sounds together into a word.

For millions of people with dyslexia — the most common learning disability in the U.S. — that process doesn’t come easily.

Read the full article here.