Reading Doesn’t Have to Be Hard Reading impacts every area of life, including academic subjects, career avenues, and beyond. Then why are almost 54% of U.S. adults 16-74 below a sixth-grade reading level? There may be many factors behind why reading literacy is low amongst Americans, but these statistics help us understand how behind in reading many citizens are. At LearningRx, we want to change that. Many interventions aim to help build reading skills. Students and families can try tutoring, afterschool programs, or learning strategies to live with reading struggles. While these are all acceptable options, what if something more was going on under the hood? What if a reading struggle was just a sign of something more going on? That is a question we at LearningRx have sought answers to for decades, and it has led leaders and researchers to uncover the hidden truths behind cognitive skills. Like every person has different talents and skills that come naturally to them, each person has a set of cognitive skills unique to them. But sometimes, one particular skill can start to take over and grow stronger and stronger while some of the other abilities get pushed aside. Eventually, the mind hits hiccups. For example, someone with a strong processing speed may be able to think quickly. But if their memory skills are not as strong, they will use their processing speed skills to find other ways to remember things. A person with these skill sets may need to write everything down or record lectures in class. While they have figured out different strategies for getting the information, this causes them to take double the amount of time to learn information. Does this sound like someone you know? This same scenario reflects in people with lower auditory processing skills. And these skills are responsible for decoding words and reading information. You may know someone who loves to watch movies but never wants to read a book. This person may have excellent visualization skills and understands visual concepts well. But when they read a book, they struggle to understand how the words could string together a story. Fortunately, there is hope. At LearningRx, we work on building those skills that may have gotten left behind and teach them how to work together. It’s our goal to help every person, student, senior citizen, and so on, discover the power of their mind when all their skills are firing together. We can’t wait to show you what your brain can do! If you are interested, fill out a contact us form, or contact your local LearningRx center.