Over a decade ago, I stumbled upon a book that changed the course of my family’s journey—and eventually, the lives of tens of thousands of families around the world. That book was Reading in the Brain by neuroscientist Stanislas Dehaene. In it, he explains what happens inside the brain when we read—and what doesn’t happen in the brains of people with dyslexia.

The chapter that stood out to me most as a mother of dyslexic children was the one on dyslexia, but the chapter before it offered a key insight that unlocked everything for me. Dehaene describes the “letterbox” area in the left hemisphere of the brain—the visual word form area—as the hub where reading takes place in a neurotypical brain. But for people with dyslexia, this area is either inactive or extremely slow during reading tasks, which explains their deep struggles with recognizing written language.

But then came the breakthrough: brain scans of dyslexic individuals who eventually learn to read showed something amazing. Instead of the left-side letterbox lighting up, a mirrored area on the right hemisphere becomes active—abundantly active, in fact. The dyslexic brain was not broken; it was finding a new way. The right brain, it turned out, was stepping in to compensate—and succeeding.

When I read that, I felt chills. It confirmed what I had suspected from watching my own children: the right brain holds the key.

So I decided to experiment. I began developing a therapy based on the idea of activating the right side of the dyslexic brain by engaging its natural strengths:

• Visual thinking
• Drawing and pattern recognition
• 3D spatial awareness
• Envisioning
• Creativity
• Intuition
• Holistic problem-solving
• Artistic expression

Instead of forcing phonics drills or repetitive worksheets, I started where the dyslexic brain thrives.

I started creating puzzle games for my nine-year-old daughter, Anna, who couldn’t even read the word “dad”.

I reintroduced literacy slowly—starting with art and logic games that included symbols and simple, visually distinct letters. Then I gradually added more challenging, commonly confused letters (like b/d, m/w p/q, n/u), and eventually moved on to short words, sentences, poetry, reading games, writing activities, and spelling puzzles—all integrated into fun, visual, and logic-based exercises.

This became the foundation of Dyslexia Games.

My theory was simple: If I could light up the right brain through activities it loves, and gently introduce reading within that context, then that hemisphere could actually learn to read. And Dehaene’s research supported this idea. MRI studies showed that when dyslexic people do succeed in reading, it’s not because their brains “fixed” the left side—but because the right hemisphere took over.

Even more fascinating is what Dehaene shares in The Science of Reading: post-mortem studies of dyslexic brains have found bundles of immature neurons in the reading centers of the left hemisphere, likely formed incorrectly in the womb. That’s not something we can fix—but thankfully, the right brain doesn’t have that problem. The amazing human brain reroutes, compensates, and overcomes.

And the results? Children who had once felt broken began reading joyfully—without confusion, frustration, or shame. In just about three months, many of these kids became passionate readers, because they were finally using the part of their brain designed to help them succeed.

We’ve now seen tens of thousands of children overcome reading struggles with this method.

If you’re a parent or teacher of a child with dyslexia, I urge you to read Dehaene’s Reading in the Brain. You’ll find the science that explains what you’ve likely seen with your own eyes. And if you’re ready to try a right-brain approach to literacy, DyslexiaGames.com is here to help you begin that healing journey.

Your child is not broken. Their brain is just wired differently. And that’s not a weakness—it’s a strength waiting to be unlocked.

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