Auditory Processing and Dyslexia: Getting to the Root Cause of Reading Struggles
For years, many people believed that dyslexia was a visual processing issue. People thought that dyslexic learners see letters backwards or out of order. However, now we understand more about this condition and know that the real basis of dyslexia & other reading disorders is actually a problem with auditory processing.
What Is Auditory Processing?
Auditory processing is your brain’s ability to hear information correctly and manipulate it efficiently. For the process of reading, auditory processing also encompasses your ability to assign sounds to written codes (or letters) in a word and correctly blend, segment, and recognize patterns in words to “hear” them in your brain correctly.
Reading Starts with Phonemic Awareness & Strong Auditory Processing
Dyslexics often mix up sounds not because they see them the same, but because they can’t hear the differences. This leads them to reading words seemingly backwards (like “god” and “dog”) or switching out letters (like “big” and “pig”)
The way your brain reads is that it:
- Takes in the visual cues (letters)
- Assigns a sound to each letter
- Manipulates/blends the sounds
- Forms the word
- And then ties that word into the meaning center of your brain.
Dyslexic learners have trouble with this sequence, but it all starts with auditory processing: what you hear and what your brain does with it.
How Do You Know if It’s APD or Dyslexia?
Auditory Processing Disorder (APD) and dyslexia often coexist because they tend to cause one another. Individuals with APD struggle to distinguish the differences between sounds, which makes it nearly impossible to correctly spell words or recognize them when they are written. Similarly, dyslexic learners struggle with the manipulation of sounds and words that make it harder for them to hear these differences.
Whichever alternative your child may be dealing with, the outcome is essentially the same: struggling with reading, spelling, speech, and even other life skills like following multi-step directions and memory.
Strengthening Auditory Processing Skills to Make Reading Easier
When it comes to helping individuals with dyslexia or APD learn to read effectively, strengthening auditory processing skills needs to be the first step. Just because it’s harder for these learners doesn’t mean it’s impossible.
Our state-of-the-art reading program has been delivered to thousands of individuals with dyslexia or other reading disorders. The results show a 5+ year improvement in auditory processing ability.
Training the dyslexic brain to read better isn’t about trying to get them to “see” things right. It’s about getting them to hear things correctly and be able to manipulate sounds in words efficiently.
Learn more about our approach to dyslexia and reading disorders here!
