Does Your Child Need a Reading Tutor or Brain Trainer?
Reading struggles take a toll on kids (and their parents!) With more and more kids falling below grade level, fighting reading, and struggling to even decode words let alone comprehend them, it’s become common to seek outside support like a reading tutor.
Schools are overwhelmed with the learning loss of the last several years, and for many families, that means their kids are slipping through the cracks. Low reading proficiency doesn’t just go away—it needs to be addressed in order to grow the skills and confidence your child needs to have to succeed in school and beyond. Here are some things to consider when weighing your options between reading tutor or other interventions (like brain training).
Why Are Kids Struggling with Reading?
There are several reasons why children may be struggling with reading. One common issue is a lack of phonemic awareness, which refers to the ability to identify and manipulate individual sounds in words. Difficulties with phonemic awareness can make it challenging for children to decode words and understand their meaning.
Another factor is poor reading fluency, which involves the speed and accuracy with which a child reads. When a child reads slowly and hesitates frequently, it can hinder their comprehension and overall reading experience.
Additionally, some children may have difficulties with reading comprehension. They may struggle to understand and make sense of the text they are reading, which can impact their ability to extract information, infer meanings, and draw conclusions.
Other possible reasons for reading struggles include attention issues, language delays, learning disabilities, and a lack of exposure to reading materials and experiences.
The underlying thread of these concerns is the importance of finding the root cause of the reading struggle in order to build those skills effectively.
What Can a Reading Tutor Do?
A reading tutor is a professional who specializes in helping children improve their reading skills. Based on assessment results, a reading tutor will create a plan that addresses the specific needs of the child. They will focus on building essential reading skills, such as phonics, fluency, and vocabulary. Reading tutors engage children in activities that re-teach the concepts they have heard in school and give them extra opportunities for practice.
Watch now: Why Reading Programs Fail >>
What Does a Brain Trainer Do?
A brain trainer, on the other hand, focuses on improving cognitive skills that are foundational to learning, including phonemic awareness, attention, memory, processing speed, and problem-solving abilities. While a reading tutor addresses specific reading difficulties, a brain trainer takes a broader and deeper approach to enhance overall cognitive functioning.
Reading fluency and comprehension can’t happen without a solid foundation of phonemic awareness, phonological processing, and cognitive skills. Brain trainers focus on building up this area first and then move to the more complex processes, as demonstrated in this pyramid:
A brain trainer’s approach to reading help looks like this:
- Assess cognitive skills: LearningRx conducts assessments to evaluate the child’s cognitive strengths and weaknesses. These assessments help identify areas that need improvement and guide the training program.
- Design personalized brain training exercises: Based on the assessment results, the brain trainer will develop a customized training program. The exercises are designed to target and strengthen specific cognitive skills, such as working memory, attention, auditory processing, and cognitive flexibility.
- Provide structured cognitive training: The brain trainer will guide the child through a series of cognitive exercises and activities. These exercises are designed to challenge and stimulate the brain, gradually improving cognitive skills over time.
- Track progress and adjust training: Throughout the brain training program, the trainer monitors the child’s progress and makes adjustments as needed. They may modify the difficulty level of exercises or introduce new tasks to ensure continued growth and development.
- Transfer skills to academic tasks: The ultimate goal of brain training is to enhance overall cognitive functioning, which can have positive effects on various academic tasks, including reading. By improving attention, memory, and processing speed, brain training addresses reading struggles by making sure their brain has the tools it needs in order to learn (and read) effectively.
A Brain-Based Approach to Reading Help at LearningRx
LearningRx has a program that combines brain training with a focus on reading improvement. Our approach recognizes the connection between cognitive skills and reading proficiency. By targeting and strengthening the underlying cognitive processes involved in reading, such as phonemic awareness, working memory, and processing speed, LearningRx aims to provide a comprehensive solution for struggling readers.
Through our individualized programs, LearningRx focuses not only on the child’s reading skills but also their cognitive abilities. By addressing the root causes of reading difficulties through a brain-based approach, LearningRx offers a unique alternative for parents considering reading tutors or other interventions.
Some of the growth our students have experienced (according to research studies) includes an average gain of*:
- 4.1 skill years in reading skills
- Nearly 6 skill years in phonological awareness
- 5.5 years in phonetic coding
- 2.2 years in spelling skills
- 2.9 years in Word Attack
- And nearly 14 points in IQ scores.
… all in only 24 weeks of our ReadRx training!
Whether you’re just starting to look for options to help your struggling reader or you’re YEARS into this fight, we are here to help. Click here to learn more about our state-of-the-art reading training program.
Watch Now: The Science Behind LearningRx’s Reading Programs
*These are results of past clients. You or your child may or may not experience the same outcomes.
