Reading

Are there some early warning signs that my child may need reading support?

Some children show early signs of being at risk for language-based learning issues. If your five- to six-year-old child has difficulty in some of the following areas, a speech-language evaluation may be in order:

• speaking understandably, saying longer or more complex words (e.g., “aminal” for “animal”, “bumrella” for “umbrella”), and/or imitating words or phrases correctly (e.g., “The Eeny Weeny Spider” instead of “The Eency Weency Spider”)

• remembering directions, words, names, poems, and songs

• comprehending information, such as questions, directions, and stories

• speaking in sentences that are complete, efficient, and grammatically correct

• understanding rhymes, identifying and creating rhyming words, and comprehending sound-syllable correspondence (e.g., that the letter B makes the /buh/ sound)

Why is reading difficult for my school-aged child?

Some children seem to effortlessly learn to read through exposure to books, phonics games, and educational television programs. Other children, however, require more direct instruction to learn sound-symbol association and the rules for decoding words. 

Reading is a complex language process that requires a number of skills, including the following:

• strong attention

• good vision and visual processing

• strong phonemic awareness abilities (e.g., rhyming, sound-symbol association, blending sounds into words, segmenting words into sounds and syllables)

• good memory skills for recognizing words and letter patterns (e.g., knowing that the letter combination “ight” makes the “ite” sound)

• knowledge of vocabulary to aid comprehension of the text 

If a child struggles in one or more of these areas, reading fluency and comprehension may be compromised. 

What are Reading Fluency and Reading Comprehension? 

They say that in the early grade levels, a child learns to read, but as he progresses through school, he reads to learn. In order for a child to efficiently learn through reading (i.e., comprehension), he needs to become a fluent reader. 

Fluency refers to the ease, accuracy, and speed with which a child can read. As the reading process becomes automatic, the fluent reader does not need to stop and decode (i.e., sound out) words. He can rapidly recognize words and word patterns so that his attention can solely focus on learning. 

When a child cannot easily decode words, the reading process becomes labored, making it difficult for him to comprehend the text. Signs that a child is not yet a fluent reader (when reading age-level material) include the following:

• slow reading speed

• the need to sound out most words, even those commonly seen

• frequent hesitations and pauses

• numerous errors

• lack of proper intonation and pausing (e.g., the child may sound monotone and may skip through commas and periods without pausing)

What is Dyslexia?

People commonly think of dyslexia as a reversal of letters when reading, such as confusing the letters “b, d” and “p, q” or reading some words backwards, as in “saw” for “was”. While children with dyslexia may have some of these reversals, they are also present in some children without a dyslexia diagnosis. Actually, the term “dyslexia” refers to a problem with the language system, as evidenced by difficulty in the primary language areas of comprehension and verbal expression and in the secondary language areas of reading, spelling, and writing. These difficulties are not a reflection of a child’s intelligence. In fact, most children with dyslexia are very bright and hard-working students, who become frustrated and lose self-confidence due to their difficulties.

How do you test for reading problems?

Since reading problems are often the result of language difficulties, a thorough primary language assessment may be necessary. Such testing may investigate a child’s understanding of vocabulary, processing of language, ability to retrieve words, memory, and verbal abilities. Additional testing may focus on a child’s phonological awareness skills (e.g., rhyming, sound blending, sound segmentation, sound-symbol association, decoding skills, and spelling), reading fluency rate, and reading comprehension. After these tests are scored and analyzed by the speech-language pathologist, particular strengths and areas of weakness can be identified. Specific recommendations to help the child will be made.

What would therapy for reading problems involve?

If it is determined that speech-language therapy can help your child, goals will be set, and a specialized program will be created based on your child’s specific needs. Any primary language weaknesses will be addressed (please refer to the Receptive Language and Expressive Language areas). If needed, therapy for secondary language weakness may include activities designed to strengthen your child’s phonological awareness, decoding, spelling, fluency, and reading comprehension abilities. The speech-language pathologist may conclude that your child can be helped through instruction in the Orton-Gillingham program, in which two of our therapists are certified. Remediation and instruction are presented systematically and at the pace needed by your child. Parents are invited to observe the sessions and are encouraged to help the child with home programming.

What can I do to help?

It is important to expose your young child to literacy in its many forms. Following are a few ideas: 

• frequently reading stories while following the words with your finger as you read--This will help your child to understand that the printed words mean what you are reading. Your child will hopefully begin to develop sight word recognition, as well as a primary knowledge of the patterns of words. While reading, use a lot of inflection to help draw your child into the story. Pause to look at the pictures, talk about them, and ask your child a few questions along the way to check his comprehension.

• presenting your child with opportunities to view excellent educational programs (e.g., “Word World”) and DVD’s (e.g., Leap Frog’s “Letter Factory” and “Word Factory”)

• playing letter-sound games with your child (e.g., Leap Frog’s “Fridge Phonics”, magnetic letters); reading nursery rhymes and rhyming books, such as the Dr. Seuss series; making rhymes with the child’s name (e.g., Mary-berry-cherry-fairy…) and with other words (e.g., hat-cat-sat-bat…); and finding words beginning with a certain sound (e.g., “Let’s find some things in this room that begin with the ‘D’ sound /d/--door, dog, desk…”)

For the older child with reading difficulties, it is important to ask his teacher and/or therapist what areas need to be addressed and which particular techniques and strategies are suggested. General suggestions for helping the school-aged child include:

• trying to maintain your patience and encouragement when working with your child by remembering how difficult the reading process may be for him

• building your child’s confidence by pointing out what he is doing right (e.g., “That was really close. You just need to fix the end of the word. I know you can do it.”)

• allowing your child to pick out books of interest at the library, especially ones at a younger reading level to help build reading fluency

• giving your child an opportunity to read the same book, story, or paragraph a few different times, together with you, while taking turns with you, or by himself. This “repeat reading” will also help improve his reading fluency and self-confidence.