Recognize the risk factors of poor reading—at any age
Learning to read begins when a child first hears spoken words. The sounds of our language form early patterns children use to speak and eventually, to read. For children to learn to read successfully, they must start with a strong foundation of sound awareness and build on it by incorporating more difficult, abstract skills.
You can compare the process of learning to read to building a house. A well-built structure requires a strong foundation or the underlying weakness will cause problems over time. The same is true in “building” a better reader.
Without the right foundational skills, learning to read can be very difficult. For some children reading comes easily because underlying skills develop properly, but for the children with weak skills, reading difficulties become evident as early as grades 1-3 and can remain for life.
Foundational skills are critical for your child’s reading development. In most cases, parents know their child(ren) best. You can better detect if your child is at risk for reading problems by understanding the following stages of learning to read:
Ages 8 and Under
Children as young as 5 can be screened for reading problems with simple phonemic awareness tests. Consider a screening that probes for reading difficulties or schedule a complete cognitive skills evaluation if you see any of the following risk factors:
Pre-K or Kindergarten–
Difficulty:-
Recognizing rhymes
-
Remembering names of friends, peers, etc.
-
With normal language development
-
Recognizing some letter shapes
End of 1st Grade – Difficulty:-
Learning the alphabet and corresponding letter sounds
-
Applying “phonics” to reading and spelling
-
Spelling common sight words
-
Retelling stories in sequence and making predictions
-
Reading aloud with some fluency and comprehension
End of 2nd Grade – Difficulty:-
Recalling facts and details
-
Using phonics to sound out words including multi-syllable words
-
Correctly spelling previously studied and commonly seen words
Ages 9 and Up
Training is available to help older students overcome life-long reading difficulties. Does your older child need help?
Warnings Signs to Watch in Your Older Child:-
The mispronunciation of the names of people and places
-
Struggles retrieving a desired word to express oneself
-
A hesitation to say or read words aloud that might be mispronounced
-
A history of reading and spelling difficulties
-
A lack of fluency in reading
-
Embarrassment about or not wanting to read aloud
-
Spending inordinate amounts of time doing homework
-
A dislike of reading
-
Showing a preference for books that have fewer words per page
-
Persistent spelling difficulties or selecting easy-to-spell alternatives when writing
-
The substitution of made-up words during reading for words that are too difficult for the reader to pronounce
Symptoms like these area a certain indicator of present (or future) reading problems. Many of these problems can be traced to weak or underdeveloped cognitive skills such as auditory or visual processing. Others owe part of their existence to a fundamentally poor reading system that did not prepare the student to handle the sounds that language is built of. Proper training can quickly correct and strengthen weak underlying skills necessary for a lifetime of fluent, easy reading. If you see the warning signs of reading trouble in your child, get them the testing and training they need to overcome problems before they set in. Life both demands and rewards good reading skills. Give your child the skills they need.