Cracking the Code
Dyslexia impacts how letters arrange on a page to form words, often leading to letter shapes interpreted as inverted, backwards or even with missing identifiers. Decoding, or the process of breaking down letters and sounds to arrive at meaningful words and sentences, is a complex and often rapid-fire conversation between the eyes and the brain. When we read, our eyes track along the linear path of text, stopping briefly along each word. We scan and assess phonetic components and bring that puzzle back together to create a word. As you might imagine, the pace enables students to read quickly and respond to classroom tasks as they mature and grow in their learning.
Neurologically speaking, dyslexia represents a disconnect between our brain’s right and left hemispheres. As a disorder, it manifests on a spectrum and not everyone with dyslexia experiences reading challenges in the same way. If someone is struggling, they may also have headaches or rub their eyes repeatedly when trying to focus. Emotionally, this may manifest as anxiety or frustration in the classroom, maybe even a refusal to participate. When dyslexia is present, it can be challenging to track a line of text, hold a place on a page or read aloud. All of these experiences slow reading fluency as the brain is overwhelmed with processing the task.
Visual tracking and the coordination of the eyes and surrounding muscles is part of early childhood development, underpinned by our primitive reflexes. The cross-lateral coordination of ATNR extends to our eyes and the integration of that reflex supports muscle development for visual tracking and processing. Our eye movement, in connection to our brain’s occipital lobe, helps us with that important decoding task of reading.
Awareness and accommodation for dyslexia has become standard in most educational settings, and it’s important to emphasize that this disorder has no bearing on an individual’s overall IQ. Genetics play a huge role in this brain-based disorder, which has to do with much more than reading fluency in the classroom. The way the brain processes language may also vary person to person. Cross-lateral exercises that support the ATNR reflex integration are a valuable compliment to therapeutic work on those impacted by dyslexia.
