They can't possibly work to the degree they like to you to believe they do. I'm sure doing some mental gymnastics will help a little bit, but your brain and nerve structure are set in stone.
When you look at an apple you don't think "a-p-p-l-e" do you? so why do you read things like that? You first have to train yourself to see words as complete objects. Once you do that, you're speed with increase over time as you develop your skills.