A Neurological Approach to Reading Difficulties (& Other Learning Struggles)
‘The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you’ll go’ - Dr Seuss.
This lockdown we have been enjoying scavenger hunts, walking, baking & bike rides, exercises including cosmic yoga or primitive reflex activities & generally making a mess out of arts & crafts, exploring the back yard & helping Dad make a few planter boxes. Oh, we also made a rat trap, fingers crossed it does the trick!
If it has rained, or we are ready for some down time I have allowed reading eggs. This generally lasts for about 15 minutes, which lets Miss 5 achieve 1-2 levels of ‘reading’ & limits screen time.
It got me thinking. Reading eggs is a great app that supports phonics, sight words & other literacy skills however if your child has trouble reading, what do YOU do? Assume that at some point they will catch up? Get them extra tutoring? Download a reading app? Or how about this – focus on activities that support optimal brain development?
Usually, the first approach is reading intervention. However, from a neurological or brain development perspective, the struggle a child may have with reading is often a symptom. Indicating that the issue at hand is the result of something else in the brain not quite working as it should.
When we treat a symptom, we are using a top-down approach. This is an approach that targets higher thinking processes & works for the management of symptoms & post-injury recovery, however this is ineffective when the symptom, in this case reading, is coming from a developmental or neurological issue.
To illustrate, I will use the example of dyslexia. Dyslexia and other reading troubles are DEVELOPMENTAL in nature. Meaning that the cause of the problem is somewhere earlier in the nerve development chain. Having trouble reading is a symptom that we can use as a clue to understanding what is happening in the brain. When we take a bottom-up approach to treatment we start by figuring out where in the brain there is dysfunction. We test the different developmental layers through the brain to see where the gap in development exists. With this approach we are able to identify the root cause of the issue.
Research studies highlight those children who have trouble reading also demonstrate inaccurate saccades. This is the ability of the eyes to move smoothly & quickly back and forth between objects. We use saccades when we read across a page. The research states that saccades are either over-shooting or under-shooting in children with dyslexia, making it more difficult to understand what you have read.
Let me explain this from a neurological perspective. Saccades need the frontal eye fields and pre-frontal cortex (the main reasoning, logical, thinking part of your brain) to be functioning & communicating properly. In order for the pre-frontal cortex and eye fields to function they need gaze stability. Gaze stability is built upon vestibular (sense of balance) function of the semicircular canals. (This enables the eyes to be stable within the head.) The semicircular canals develop after the otoliths are developed. Otoliths are involved in sensing gravity and movement and enable our head to be stable on our body. To have body stability we need good core & posture stability. All of which is built upon a properly functioning motor system. And how does our motor system develop? Via primitive reflexes, proper tone, and symmetry at the base of the brain.
Don’t worry if I just lost you, I realize the illustration suddenly got a little complex. The point is that the symptom of difficulty reading could be a gap in any one of those levels mentioned above.
Furthermore, when reading, the left side of the brain processes what the right eye sees; while the right side processes the left. The two side must coordinate the information quickly and effortlessly. There are activities that support these communication pathways to improve the visual system & higher-level cognitive functioning.
When we approach management for a SYMPTOM (trouble reading), we want to trace back the ROOT CAUSE. If you’ve followed me for a while, or seen me in my office, you will know that primitive reflexes lay the foundation for higher levels of brain development. Everything that the cognitive or thinking brain is built upon must be functioning properly otherwise we will see gaps in development.
Any treatment that does not identify the cause for a developmental or neurological issue will only be a temporary solution. Neuroplasticity tells us that the brain can change at any age, in a positive OR negative way, depending on what it is exposed to. This means that it is never too late to give your child the tools they need to optimize brain & nervous system development.
At AFC our assessment allows the Chiropractor to identify where in the brain the development is failing. Is it at the base of the brain where primitive reflexes develop? Is it in the vestibular system or is there a problem with core stability? Depending on what we find, home activities & recommendations will be individualized to help your child fill the gaps existing in their development.