| If you have a child in your home who is struggling | | | | disability. Many parents fear having their child |
| with learning to read, you need to take steps to | | | | labeled with a disability, but the fact is that it is far |
| help him overcome his difficulties. Reading | | | | better for the child to get the help he needs than |
| difficulties that go unnoticed or are overlooked | | | | to continue to struggle. Most learning disabilities |
| end up creating big problems for children later in | | | | can be overcome with proper instruction. |
| their education. These children may be incredibly | | | | Step 2 - Step in to Help |
| bright, but because they cannot read well, they | | | | If your child has a physical problem that is |
| cannot succeed in school. As a parent, it is your | | | | disrupting his ability to read, or if you are providing |
| job to make sure that your struggling reader gets | | | | a poor role model at home, you need to take |
| the help he needs. You cannot rely on the school | | | | steps to correct this. However, if the problem is a |
| to make sure this happens. | | | | lack of early learning activities or a reading |
| Step 1 - Identify the Problem | | | | disability, you need to use specific tools to help |
| The first thing you need to do to help your child | | | | your child catch up with his classmates. |
| learn to read is to determine why she is | | | | Phonics is the key to successfully helping a |
| struggling. There are four main reasons that a | | | | struggling reader. Many struggling readers were |
| child could be struggling with reading. The first is | | | | not taught phonics skills in their early reading |
| because of poor role models in reading and lack | | | | education. They were, instead, taught to read |
| of early learning activities. As an involved parent, | | | | sight words. This requires them to memorize |
| you likely have been providing your child with | | | | every word they see, a task which many children |
| reading activities, so this may or may not be the | | | | cannot accomplish very easily. To these children |
| problem. If you feel that you have not been | | | | learning becomes an impossible task, and they |
| modeling good reading to your child, be sure to | | | | stop trying. |
| start doing so. You will be teaching reading skills | | | | Phonics, on the other hand, gives these struggling |
| simply by providing a good example. | | | | readers the tools necessary to decipher words, |
| Another reason that children struggle with learning | | | | even if they have not previously seen and |
| how to read is because they did not accurately | | | | memorized those words. Once they have |
| acquire reading skills in early grades. Perhaps there | | | | mastered basic sounds, children should also be |
| was no phonics in their early reading instruction, or | | | | taught reading and listening comprehension skills. |
| perhaps they simply did not catch on to some | | | | With these tools, they will be able to overcome |
| essential skill in Kindergarten. This is fairly easy to | | | | their reading difficulties. |
| fix with remedial instruction. | | | | The computer can be a helpful tool when working |
| Children may struggle with reading because of | | | | with a struggling reader. Chances are your child |
| visual or auditory problems. Children who cannot | | | | already spends plenty of time playing video |
| see or hear well will have a difficult time learning | | | | games on the computer or TV. Use that time to |
| to write and read. To determine if this is the | | | | reinforce the phonics skills you are teaching using |
| case, have your child's hearing and vision | | | | programs like Child Font. A phonics-based program |
| evaluated by your pediatrician. | | | | that provides a fun, interactive learning |
| Learning disabilities are the last reason a child may | | | | environment is the perfect way to supplement |
| be struggling with learning to read. If you have | | | | what your child is learning in school and provide |
| ruled out any other problems, it is time to have | | | | the needed support to your struggling reader! |
| your child evaluated for a potential reading | | | | |