Left-brain activity in struggling readers is often underdeveloped. This part of the brain helps readers make the connection between letters and sounds, or phonemes (called “phonological processing”).
The occipital lobe is the part of the brain that helps us understand what we see. While struggling readers may not have vision problems, differences in the occipital lobe can prevent them from understanding individual letters or words when they see them.
In a typical brain, Wernicke’s area acts as a giant warehouse for vocabulary and sounds. For struggling readers, this area shows less activity and may even be inactive. That means that for some kids, every word encountered is a new word, all the time.