Why is reading so hard? That depends. For example, my husband who has ADHD can’t sit still long enough to enjoy reading. Some people have gaps in their learning. Someone with dyslexia might have problems connecting letters and the sounds they make. But even if none of these are what is making reading so hard just take a look at the mental gymnastics the brain has to do to understand the written word. First of all, our brains are not structured for reading. Writing, and thus reading, are a fairly new inventions in human history. So, our brains have had to adapt. To help the brain adapt and make connections, learners have to be explicitly taught how to form letter-sound connections, how to build words, and how to make meaning from those words, and in the end building a system that allows them to make sense of what they are reading. Maybe all you need is someone to help your brain make those connections.
