Providing Interactive Booksfor Learning Disabled Teens & Young Adults

A new word has emerged when we talk about our brains – “neuroplasticity.” That means that our brains keep building new connections throughout our lives. BUT the only way for our brains to continue growing is for us to use them. If we give up on reading when we’re in middle school, for instance, the “reading part” of our brain stops developing.

What happens if we stop reading is very worrisome. When we stop using a part of our brain, the brain decides we don’t need that section anymore, so it “prunes back” those connections. That means that sooner or later, those parts of our brain will die off! So we either “use it or lose it!”

A scientist named Norman Doidge has written a lot on this subject. If you’d like to learn more, you can check out these books.

Doidge, Norman. (2007). The brain that changes itself: Stories of personal triumph from the frontiers of brain science. New York: Viking.

Doidge, Norman. (2015). The brain's way of healing: Remarkable discoveries and recoveries from the frontiers of neuroplasticity. New York: Viking.

Research also supports the features we’ve included in Readeezy, including the use of pictures, a digital format, text to speech and interactivity. You can find much of this information in one place in this article:

Cleary, M. (2016). Literacy Solutions for Teens and Young Adults with Learning Disabilities. New York Academy of Public Education Research Journal, 5, 42–45.