When we say that dyslexia is “brain-based”, we mean that the processing features that are commonly seen in dyslexia–both the challenges and the strengths–arise from differences in the ways that dyslexic brains are built and function.
These differences have nothing to do with being smart or dumb, with trying or not trying, with being diligent or lazy. Instead, they arise from differences in how different brains are built to work, and which kinds of tasks they are specialized to do especially well. That’s why it’s so important to learn what dyslexic brains are for, because dyslexic brains aren’t just trying but failing to be normal. They’re different for a reason–because they’re built to work in a very different way.
