Interesting. AFAIK, your self-discovered process of memorizing "word images" is exactly what is recommended as a help for teaching dyslexics. Eg: I've heard it described as holding up a word at a time, and asking the learner to mentally "take a picture" by blinking their eyes, or looking off the page.
On the other side, AFAIK, most "normal" readers also read "word images" (once one is beyond the point of spelling out words as one reads) -- which is why most can read words that are partially misspelled (up to a point).
On the other side, AFAIK, most "normal" readers also read "word images" (once one is beyond the point of spelling out words as one reads) -- which is why most can read words that are partially misspelled (up to a point).