Imagine your child sits down to read a page from their school book. They read every word correctly. Their pronunciation is perfect. But when you ask them what the passage was about, they look at you blankly. They have no idea.
If this sounds familiar, you are not alone. Many parents describe exactly this situation — a child who can read the words on the page but cannot understand or remember what they have read. It is one of the most frustrating and misunderstood reading difficulties a child can face.
The good news is that there is a specific, proven program designed to address this exact problem. It is called Visualizing and Verbalizing — and at The Learnability, it is one of the most powerful tools we use to help children unlock true reading comprehension.
What Is the Visualizing and Verbalizing Program?
Visualizing and Verbalizing — often referred to as V&V — is a structured literacy and language comprehension program developed by Nanci Bell at Lindamood-Bell Learning Processes. It is based on the understanding that strong reading comprehension depends on the ability to create vivid mental images of what you read or hear.
When a fluent reader reads a passage, their brain automatically creates a kind of mental movie — images, scenes, characters, and events that bring the text to life. This process happens so naturally for strong readers that they rarely think about it. But for children who struggle with comprehension, this mental imagery is weak or absent entirely.
Without the ability to visualise what they are reading, children process text as a string of disconnected words rather than a meaningful whole. They may recall isolated facts but miss the bigger picture. They may struggle to make inferences, follow a story, or answer comprehension questions — not because they are not intelligent, but because a specific cognitive skill has not been developed.
The Visualizing and Verbalizing program directly teaches and develops this skill. To see how it fits within our broader range of support, visit our Visualizing and Verbalizing service page.
What Causes Poor Reading Comprehension?
Reading comprehension difficulties can have several underlying causes. Understanding the root cause is essential before choosing the right intervention — which is why we always carry out a thorough assessment at The Learnability before recommending a program.
Weak Concept Imagery
Concept imagery is the ability to create a whole mental picture from language — to visualise a scene, situation, or idea based on words alone. Children with weak concept imagery can process individual words and facts but cannot integrate them into a meaningful whole. This is the primary target of the Visualizing and Verbalizing program.
Decoding Difficulties
Sometimes comprehension suffers because a child is spending so much mental energy decoding words that they have nothing left for understanding meaning. In these cases, improving decoding through programs like our Orton-Gillingham tutoring or Wilson Reading System may also be necessary alongside V&V.
Language Processing Difficulties
Some children have broader difficulties processing and understanding spoken or written language. The Visualizing and Verbalizing program addresses this too — it works with both oral language comprehension and written text comprehension, making it effective for children with a range of language-based learning difficulties.
Signs Your Child May Need Visualizing and Verbalizing
- Reads accurately but cannot explain what they have read
- Struggles to answer comprehension questions even on simple texts
- Cannot retell a story or sequence events after reading
- Has difficulty following multi-step instructions
- Struggles to make inferences or read between the lines
- Finds it hard to remember what they have read shortly after finishing
- Cannot visualise or describe scenes from books
- Has difficulty understanding humour, sarcasm, or implied meaning
If several of these signs are present, we encourage you to contact The Learnability for a consultation. Our specialists can help identify whether weak concept imagery is at the root of your child's comprehension difficulties.
How Does the Visualizing and Verbalizing Program Work?
The Visualizing and Verbalizing program works by systematically developing a student's ability to create mental images from language. It progresses through a structured sequence of steps, beginning with simple single words and gradually building toward complex written passages.
Step 1 — Picture to Picture
The program begins with concrete images. Students look at a picture, describe what they see in detail, and practise the language of description — colours, shapes, sizes, movement, mood. This builds the vocabulary and mental framework for visualisation before moving to words alone.
Step 2 — Word Imaging
Students visualise individual words and describe the mental pictures those words create. A word like "ocean" might generate an image of waves, colours, movement, and sound. Students learn to notice and describe the sensory details of their mental images, making them richer and more vivid.
Step 3 — Sentence Imaging
Students move from individual words to sentences, practising creating a mental image for each sentence and describing it in detail. The tutor asks structured questions — What do you see? What colour? What size? What is happening? — to help students develop increasingly detailed and accurate mental images.
Step 4 — Sentence by Sentence to Whole Paragraph
Students begin reading connected text and practising visualisation in real time. They read a sentence, form a mental image, describe it, then add the next sentence to the image — building a continuously updating mental movie as they read. Over time this process becomes more automatic and less effortful.
Step 5 — Reading Connected Text
Students apply their developing visualisation skill to longer passages, chapters, and texts. Comprehension, recall, and the ability to answer questions all improve as concept imagery strengthens. Students begin to genuinely understand and engage with what they read rather than simply decoding words on a page.
Throughout the program, the multisensory, language-rich approach ensures students are actively engaged in every session. This is consistent with the approach taken across all of our programs at The Learnability, including our Seeing Stars program and Lindamood-Bell based programs.
Who Is the Visualizing and Verbalizing Program For?
The Visualizing and Verbalizing program is suitable for children, teenagers, and adults who have comprehension difficulties affecting their reading, listening, or learning. It is most commonly used with:
- Children who read accurately but have poor comprehension
- Students with dyslexia who also struggle to understand what they read
- Children with language processing difficulties
- Students with autism spectrum disorder who have difficulty with inferencing and language comprehension
- Children with ADHD who struggle to sustain attention and follow meaning while reading
- Students with auditory processing difficulties affecting comprehension
- Any student whose reading comprehension is significantly below their decoding ability
If your child has already received phonics-based support and their decoding has improved but comprehension remains weak, Visualizing and Verbalizing is very likely to be the right next step. Our specialist tutors can help you identify the right combination of programs for your child's specific profile.
How The Learnability Delivers Visualizing and Verbalizing Online
At The Learnability, we deliver the Visualizing and Verbalizing program through personalised one-on-one online sessions. Our tutors are experienced in bringing the full richness of the V&V program to life in a virtual environment, using interactive tools that keep students engaged and make visualisation activities vivid and effective.
We tailor every session to the individual child — their current level, their pace of progress, and their specific areas of difficulty. Parents consistently tell us that their children enjoy the sessions and that they notice real changes in how their child engages with books and schoolwork over time.
We also offer a Lindamood-Bell Assessment which can identify whether weak concept imagery is the root cause of your child's comprehension difficulties, and confirm whether Visualizing and Verbalizing is the right program to start with.
Not sure where to start? Visit our contact page and one of our specialists will be happy to guide you through the options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Visualizing and Verbalizing only for children with dyslexia?
No. While V&V is often used with children who have dyslexia, it is effective for any student with weak reading or listening comprehension — regardless of whether they have a formal diagnosis. It is also widely used with children who have autism, ADHD, language processing difficulties, and auditory processing difficulties.
What age is the Visualizing and Verbalizing program suitable for?
The program can be used with children from around age 5 or 6 upward, as well as with older students and adults. It adapts to the student's current language level and cognitive ability, making it appropriate across a wide age range.
How is Visualizing and Verbalizing different from the Seeing Stars program?
Both programs develop imagery, but they target different skills. The Seeing Stars program develops symbol imagery — the ability to visualise letters and words for reading accuracy and spelling. Visualizing and Verbalizing develops concept imagery — the ability to visualise meaning and ideas for reading and listening comprehension. Many children benefit from both programs, either sequentially or simultaneously.
Can Visualizing and Verbalizing be delivered online?
Yes. At The Learnability, we deliver the full Visualizing and Verbalizing program online through one-on-one sessions. Our tutors use interactive digital tools to make the imagery activities engaging and effective in a virtual environment.
My child reads well but doesn't understand what they read. Is this the right program?
Yes — this is exactly the profile that Visualizing and Verbalizing is designed for. A child who decodes accurately but has poor comprehension almost certainly has weak concept imagery. Contact us today and we can carry out an assessment to confirm this and get your child started on the right program.
Give Your Child the Gift of True Reading Comprehension
Reading is about so much more than saying the right words. True reading means understanding, imagining, connecting, and engaging with ideas. Every child deserves to experience that — and with the right support, they can.
At The Learnability, our specialist tutors are experienced in delivering the Visualizing and Verbalizing program online and are ready to help your child develop the comprehension skills they need to thrive — in school and beyond.
Book your free trial session today and take the first step toward unlocking your child's true reading potential.
You can also contact us directly or call us at (310) 218-9466 — we are always happy to help you find the right path forward for your child.