NLP for Difficulties With Reading

How can NLP help people who have difficulties with reading? 

Why do people often read longer words well and – paradoxically – get stuck on reading short words?

Because when many people look at a page, they see words and letters dancing on the page.  When letters are dancing on the page, you won’t be able to spell nor read them.  Short words tend to be hard because they have fewer letters and the brain tends to “overlook” them. The brain looks at them fleetingly and thinks ‘I get that’, only to find that it didn’t get it.  In contrast, the brain tends to take more time “studying” longer words, as if to ensure that it read them correctly.

Also, in the English language there’re often short words which look very similar. Examples are on / no, of / off, where / were, was / saw, is / it, dad / bad / dab, bad / bed, etc.  Especially in the lower case the letters a, c, e, s, b, d, i, j, l, m, n, o, p, q, u, v are similar. And due to the brain’s “fleeting” intake of short words the similar letters can easily be “overlooked” and confused.

So ask the person who has this problem with reading whether s/he sees all – especially short – words still [not moving].  If the words are moving, the person needs to freeze the movement.  Once the letters and words are still, reading will rapidly improve, because the brain will start perceiving long and short words as blocks, or as pictures, in exactly the same way as it would perceive a picture of something.

Don’t underestimate bedtime stories… 

…if you are a parent and want your children to do well at school and in life!  Reading to your children will encourage them to get their imaginations going = visualize the content of what you’re reading.  This will help develop their visual memory useful at school for spelling, reading comprehension, learning lists, dealing with numbers, math, mental arithmetic, and in life.

Have fun with asking your children what they visualized!  Asking them about their experience lets you know their ways of thinking and encourages their creativity.  Few parents ask their children what the character from the story looked like or was wearing when their children imagined it!  And the parents who never ask find out that their child has trouble spelling, reading, remembering what s/he read, writing, or math.  If you don’t ask, you won’t know.  And if you don’t know, you won’t know your child.  There’s then no wonder that discovering these differences can be a shock!

Keep asking – about everything!  Where and when did what happen? How, why, and who with whom made it happen?  Who and what else was there? Colors, places, indoors or outdoors, things the characters had on or with them, etc.  And if you have a nanny or a family member who generally reads bedtime stories, show him/her this article. Ensure that she understands its point, and train him/her to ask your children too!

If you’d like to know more about how NLP can help someone who has difficulties with reading, let’s connect.