If you wanted to design a study to test the hypotheses that dyslexics tend to think in pictures rather than words, one way to do that would be to test them on their ability to remember pictures that they have seen. You might guess that picture-thinkers would tend to store and retrieve remembered images more readily than non-dyslexics. If there is a system in the brain for retrieval,a picture-thinker would be more likely to associate images with visual qualities such as size, shape, or color, or an understanding of what the image depicts, rather than object names.
So I was delighted to see the recent publication of a study with the title Enhanced Recognition Memory … in Children with Developmental Dyslexia. Cool, I thought – researchers who are focused on studying a dyslexic gift.
I was even happier, when I read the study, to see that the results were exactly as I had anticipated. The researchers compared the performance of group of 11-year-old dyslexic children with a group non-dyslexic children on tests of how well they remembered line drawings 10 minutes and 24 hours after first being shown the pictures. As I would anticipate, the dyslexic children performed significantly better on those tests of visual memory.
The results are quite clear. Dyslexic children are marginally faster at distinguishing whether drawings depict real vs. imaginary objects, and much better at remembering whether they have seen a picture before.
But apparently that was not the result the researchers expected to see. They had hypothesized that both groups of children would perform about the same.
Why? Because they thought they were studying declarative memory (memory of factual knowledge and personally experienced events), not picture-thinking. I suppose they used pictures in their memory test simply because they could not expect children with known reading difficulties to remember words.
Here’s how they explained their goals:
The aim of the present study was to investigate a previously untested aspect of declarative memory in children with DD [developmental dyslexia], namely recognition memory after incidental encoding. Based on previous evidence indicating that declarative memory impairments in DD may be related to less efficient encoding strategies and/or problems with free recall, we predicted that the present paradigm would yield intact performance in the DD group.
In other words, they wanted to test memory in dyslexic children without needing to rely on the ability to remember or recall words. So they expected that once they eliminated word-memory from the experimental setting, dyslexics would perform about the same as other children.
So they were puzzled when it turned out that the dyslexic children were so much better at remembering the pictures. That led them to propose three different, rather convoluted, reasons for the disparity in ability:
Researcher suggestion #1: Maybe dyslexic children are better at making up new labels in their brains for things they see, to compensate for their “lexical retrieval deficits.” Then when they see the objects again, they have their new labels available to jar their memory.
Researcher suggestion #2: Maybe the dyslexic children were simply normal in their ability to remember pictures, but the non-dyslexic group was impaired because the process of learning to read required them to use up space in their brains to remember sight words, thus reducing the available memory available for remembering other stuff they saw.
Researcher suggestion #3: Maybe the declarative memory (conscious memory for facts and experiences) is improved in dyslexia as a way to compensate for deficits in procedural memory (subconscious memory based on repetition and practice) is impaired.
I think it’s a good thing when researchers try to explore multiple possible explanations for results.
But I am puzzled as to why the researchers don’t even mention the obvious: maybe dyslexics just store memories of images in their minds better than non-dyslexics.
When I store pictures on my computer hard drive, I can look for them in two ways: I can look through a list of their file names, or I can look through a folder with thumbnails of the images. I usually find it much, much easier to look at the pictures than to try to remember the file names.
I don’t get it. I understand that there are some people in this world who aren’t very good at mental imagery. But this dyslexia study has five named authors — is there not a single one who has figured out the visual memory calls upon different mental resources than the memory for things heard or for abstract ideas? That rather than looking at “declarative memory” as a bucket in which all items that can be consciously recalled are lumped together, that we as humans may use very different neural networks when asked to recall something that we have seen as opposed to, say, something that we touched or something that we smelled? That you can’t draw a conclusion about “declarative memory” without first accounting for the smaller subset memories that correlate to different sensory perceptions?
I am glad that these researchers conducted this study, and I am glad that they have published it in an open access journal. But I just wish they could have tried to see the picture that was right in front of their eyes.
Research Update: More recently, scientists using diffusion MRI to map the brain connections in children have shown that children with word recognition difficulties consistent with dyslexia have greater brain connectivity to the visual cortex and parahippocampal region, which is tied to memory and memory retrieval. The children with good reading skills had stronger connections with the linguistic regions of the brain including Visual Word Form Area. In other words, the brains of dyslexic kids are wired for better memory of pictures than words. Citation: Structural connectivity patterns associated with the putative visual word form area and children׳s reading ability. Qiuyun Fan, Adam W. Anderson, Nicole Davis, Laurie E. Cutting (2014) Brain Research, 1586: 118-129, doi: 10.1016/j.brainres.2014.08.050 (Full Text)
This article was originally published on 28 May 2013 and updated with new information about a subsequent study on 29 March 2019.
Abigail Marshall (retired) was the Webmaster & Internet Information Services Director for Davis Dyslexia Association International from 1995-2024. She is also the author of two books about dyslexia, The Everything Parents Guide to Children with Dyslexia and When Your Child Has ... Dyslexia.
6 thoughts on “Research: Dyslexics have better picture-memory (updated)”
Hi Abigail! Thank you so much for this interesting blog! I am a children’s book author and while searching for the perfect font to use for my book, I found out that there is a special font that is easier to read for children (or adults) that have dyslexia. The font is based on 9 rules based on the different way the brain of a dyslexic person reads letters. It’s so interesting! I thought it might be interesting for you to know about! Warmest wishes, Merel Bakker
Hi Merel,
Can you tell me that name of that font? I have a young daughter who is dyslexic and I’m trying to find ways to make reading a little easier. We know about increased spacing between words and larger font size, but I’ve been thinking that someone should invent a special font for dyslexics! Can you tell me more?
Thank you!
Cynthia
Hello Cynthia,
I am not merel and I dont know what the exact font she is talking about is. However I do know that comic san is an font that is really awesome for those with dyslexic! I have the gift of dyslexic and before anyone even told me that it was used with people who share my gift I had already discovered and fell in love with it. I dont know why but its really easy for me to read. Maybe its because it reminds me of the alphabet letters you would see at the top of your chalkboard in preschool 🙂
-Senerly?….sensearly?…..senceraly?……sincerely, Candace Cotton
(P.S I hope you or someone else reads this considering you posted in 2013)
Hi Cynthia
As an adult with Dyslexia I wanted to share an experience which may help shed some light on the study.
I found exams a terrible struggle at school and uni, and have been very relieved not to have to sit any more, in the 20 years since.
But recently I had to sit a professional qualifications exam, which involved open questions and the memorisation of long lists of words and phrases.
You can imagine the dread.
However, having recently learned a little about how dyslexic minds work, I decided to try a different learning technique: I converted all the words and phrases into pictures, and made up narratives and stories around the pictures.
Hey presto – 100% perfect memory recall in under 10 minutes. I was astonished by the results, and how effective the technique was. I’ve no idea why it works – but it does. I encourage anyone (adult or child) to give it a go.
Dear Abigail,
thank you for this interesting article! I will add it to my (albait small) collection of studies about things that people with dyslexia can do better. I think they are paramount for the understanding of cognition in general, too.
The interpretation of the study results, however, is not that straightforward. The concept of “verbal vs. visual thinking” is a lay concept that we cannot hold up in scientific terms. There is growing evidence against separate memory systems (since about 20-30 years) for a start. Maybe, the connectivity between senses (visual – auditory) or domains (verbal – nonverbal) varies for specific reasons, when adopting a connectionist or neuroscientific perspective. But this is expremely hard to tackle experimentally. Or the neural timing is different for slow auditory and faster visual processing during encoding/perception, depending on myelinization, cell migration, etc. But all this is very detailed, focussed, and much more complex than just using a distinction between “verbal and visual processing”. And it does not even come close to “verbal vs. visual thinking”. Neither does the design of this study. As a scientist, i am concerned about how results are transmitted publicly and am in favor of correct simplifications. I am convinced that visual memory strategies can be very efficient individually, they may not be used enough in light of the prevailing verbal learning stereotype. Also privately, I think that visual associations and memory is enhanced in people with dyslexia, but we don’t know why and how and whether that is the case for all people with dyslexia, yet.
All the best,
a scientist who was not part of the team of this study
I just would like to comment on this article. My Grandaughter, Daryn was diagnosed as “profoundly Dyslexic” early at the age of 6. (Thank goodness the elementary school was on its toes). She repeated kindergarten and was tested in first grade, as her reading level was abysmal and she could not grasp letters. We all knew she was very bright and by the age of two was organizing and lining up her toys according to spacial proximity, and by the similarities in her little animals. Nothing made her happier than finding a little plastic animal that was identical to another one, and she would stare intently at both of them, or all three of the identical animals trying to find any little difference. She was given special classes in reading, and computer programs (Lexia) to complete in grades 1-6 and made straight A’s all those years. She is now 13. She is in 7th grade and is a superior athlete, playing Basketball, volleyball, and softball. She also excels in track. She has a photographic memory, and has made 3D images in her earlier art classes, when other children drew flat images. At 13 two of her classes are advanced placement. Her photographic memory allows her to write beautiful, detailed essays in English (an AP class). That stun her teachers. Dyslexia is a gift. She gets tutoring in Math and understands more than her parents and myself. I believe that a photograph memory is something that obviously enhances her life every day and not just on certain tests and tasks.
This awesome mother supported her son as he went through his course with me. She booked him in wanting help with his self-regulation. The outcome was “a calm, reasonable boy – and happy.”
This is the final installment of a seven-video series from an interview style Q & A session. This video is focused on how parents can better understand and help their kids.
This is the sixth of a seven-video series taken from an interview style Q & A session. In this video we discuss some of the hardships that dyslexic children and adults face in life.
When my clients arrive with visual sensory disorientations it can be a result of life stress. Or simply that they are naturally strong visual learners in a world of words where confusion causes these symptoms.
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Hi Abigail! Thank you so much for this interesting blog! I am a children’s book author and while searching for the perfect font to use for my book, I found out that there is a special font that is easier to read for children (or adults) that have dyslexia. The font is based on 9 rules based on the different way the brain of a dyslexic person reads letters. It’s so interesting! I thought it might be interesting for you to know about! Warmest wishes, Merel Bakker
Hi Merel,
Can you tell me that name of that font? I have a young daughter who is dyslexic and I’m trying to find ways to make reading a little easier. We know about increased spacing between words and larger font size, but I’ve been thinking that someone should invent a special font for dyslexics! Can you tell me more?
Thank you!
Cynthia
Hello Cynthia,
I am not merel and I dont know what the exact font she is talking about is. However I do know that comic san is an font that is really awesome for those with dyslexic! I have the gift of dyslexic and before anyone even told me that it was used with people who share my gift I had already discovered and fell in love with it. I dont know why but its really easy for me to read. Maybe its because it reminds me of the alphabet letters you would see at the top of your chalkboard in preschool 🙂
-Senerly?….sensearly?…..senceraly?……sincerely, Candace Cotton
(P.S I hope you or someone else reads this considering you posted in 2013)
Hi Cynthia
As an adult with Dyslexia I wanted to share an experience which may help shed some light on the study.
I found exams a terrible struggle at school and uni, and have been very relieved not to have to sit any more, in the 20 years since.
But recently I had to sit a professional qualifications exam, which involved open questions and the memorisation of long lists of words and phrases.
You can imagine the dread.
However, having recently learned a little about how dyslexic minds work, I decided to try a different learning technique: I converted all the words and phrases into pictures, and made up narratives and stories around the pictures.
Hey presto – 100% perfect memory recall in under 10 minutes. I was astonished by the results, and how effective the technique was. I’ve no idea why it works – but it does. I encourage anyone (adult or child) to give it a go.
Dear Abigail,
thank you for this interesting article! I will add it to my (albait small) collection of studies about things that people with dyslexia can do better. I think they are paramount for the understanding of cognition in general, too.
The interpretation of the study results, however, is not that straightforward. The concept of “verbal vs. visual thinking” is a lay concept that we cannot hold up in scientific terms. There is growing evidence against separate memory systems (since about 20-30 years) for a start. Maybe, the connectivity between senses (visual – auditory) or domains (verbal – nonverbal) varies for specific reasons, when adopting a connectionist or neuroscientific perspective. But this is expremely hard to tackle experimentally. Or the neural timing is different for slow auditory and faster visual processing during encoding/perception, depending on myelinization, cell migration, etc. But all this is very detailed, focussed, and much more complex than just using a distinction between “verbal and visual processing”. And it does not even come close to “verbal vs. visual thinking”. Neither does the design of this study. As a scientist, i am concerned about how results are transmitted publicly and am in favor of correct simplifications. I am convinced that visual memory strategies can be very efficient individually, they may not be used enough in light of the prevailing verbal learning stereotype. Also privately, I think that visual associations and memory is enhanced in people with dyslexia, but we don’t know why and how and whether that is the case for all people with dyslexia, yet.
All the best,
a scientist who was not part of the team of this study
I just would like to comment on this article. My Grandaughter, Daryn was diagnosed as “profoundly Dyslexic” early at the age of 6. (Thank goodness the elementary school was on its toes). She repeated kindergarten and was tested in first grade, as her reading level was abysmal and she could not grasp letters. We all knew she was very bright and by the age of two was organizing and lining up her toys according to spacial proximity, and by the similarities in her little animals. Nothing made her happier than finding a little plastic animal that was identical to another one, and she would stare intently at both of them, or all three of the identical animals trying to find any little difference. She was given special classes in reading, and computer programs (Lexia) to complete in grades 1-6 and made straight A’s all those years. She is now 13. She is in 7th grade and is a superior athlete, playing Basketball, volleyball, and softball. She also excels in track. She has a photographic memory, and has made 3D images in her earlier art classes, when other children drew flat images. At 13 two of her classes are advanced placement. Her photographic memory allows her to write beautiful, detailed essays in English (an AP class). That stun her teachers. Dyslexia is a gift. She gets tutoring in Math and understands more than her parents and myself. I believe that a photograph memory is something that obviously enhances her life every day and not just on certain tests and tasks.