When your child is reading it may be common for them to read a passage multiple times.
Parents or teachers may assume a child is just being lazy or is not motivated.
The Root Cause of Reading Comprehension Difficulties
While this may be true in some cases, there are common underlying reasons kids must reread materials to comprehend. For example:
- If a child struggles with decoding/sounding out words or reading fluency, it means their brain must work hard to just get through the text and they are not in the flow of the story. When they are focused on reading one word at a time, it limits their ability to comprehend and absorb the material, even if they have strong reasoning and memory skills.
- Their working memory or long-term memory may not be enabling them to retain and process the information, so they need more exposure to be able to retain it. By the time they get to the end of a paragraph, they do not remember the details. For long-term memory, they may retain the information in the short-term, but when they are tested or need to recall the information a day or so later, they struggle to remember.
- Visual processing is your child’s ability to picture what they are reading which makes reading more enjoyable but also enables them to visually associate and retain. If visual processing is a weakness, this lack of visual association interferes with their ability to remember what they have read. This is especially true of stories and fiction.
- Lastly, they may be a strong reader, but if they struggle to sustain attention, it makes it hard for them to stay mentally engaged with the text and their mind wanders while reading. They may start thinking of other things while reading, thus disengaging their brain’s ability to absorb the information.
Kayla’s Reading Comprehension Difficulties
This was the case for Kayla. She came to LearningRx in 4th grade because she could not retain what she was reading. She also struggled with test taking. These difficulties resulted in a lot of anxiety. Her mom shared that she would read something and then forgot “two seconds later”. Her parents thought that maybe Kayla was not trying, but after their LearningRx assessment, it was clear that the root cause of her struggles related to low memory and processing speed skills.
Once the root cause was identified and strengthened through one-on-one LearningRx training, Kayla’s difficulties were in the past. In fact, now years later, she has been accepted to her first-choice college and will be onto her career soon.
Help for Reading Comprehension Struggles
If reading comprehension is an issue for your child, call LearningRx Savage to learn more. The first step is to schedule a cognitive skills assessment which will identify the root cause of your loved one’s reading comprehension difficulties.
Results are from past clients. You or your loved ones may or may not achieve the same outcomes.