Reading & Other Learning Disabilities

In Part 1 of 2 we discussed the importance of phonemic awareness, phonics and reading specialists. In Part 2, we’ll focus on teaching strategies and recommendations for action. As in Part 1, the quotations come from the National Institute for Literacy’s publication, What Content-Area Teachers Should Know About Adolescent Literacy. You can download it from www.nifl.gov.

Teaching Strategies

“Research on phonics indicates that certain phonics instructional strategies improve the reading abilities of both younger and older readers” (p. 6).  Read more...

He’ll probably need to master phonics and other decoding skills, but first he’ll need an evaluation from a reading specialist. The evaluation should include diagnostic teaching and observations of him in several classes. Probably, he’ll need intensive instruction from the specialist. It’s unlikely that his content-area teachers, such as his history and science teachers, have the expertise, time, or opportunity to provide the core of his reading instruction.

To help you understand your child’s problems of sounding-out words, and to get him the services he needs, we’ve listed several quotations from the National Institute for Literacy’s guide, What Content-Area Teachers Should Know About Adolescent Literacy. We’ve also commented on several of these.  Read more...

If your child struggles to recognize words, should he memorize the “rules” of phonics? Generally, no. Here’s why.

Many of the “rules” of phonics are not rules, but overgeneralizations. The number of exceptions makes them highly fickle, highly unreliable. Often, they don’t work; they confuse children with reading disabilities. That’s why we put quotation marks around the word “rules” and why it’s often better to teach children with reading disabilities how to pronounce common spelling patterns.  Read more...

Many myths surround phonemic awareness and phonics. These myths hurt children, especially children at risk for or with reading disabilities. By understanding the better scholarship about phonemic awareness and phonics, you may be able to protect children from harm.

The quotations below summarize much of the better scholarship. If you’re involved in making decisions about phonemic awareness or phonics, we suggest that you study these quotations, review the sources, and, if appropriate, share these quotations with others.  Read more...

A critical component of beginning reading and word recognition is your child’s ability to isolate, identify, and manipulate or apply sounds that he hears within words. When kindergartners and first graders listen for, identify, and manipulate large or small units of sounds within words, like the sounds of syllables or individual letters, it’s called phonological awareness. When they do this with only the smallest meaningful sounds, sounds that distinguish between words, like the /b/ sound in bat and the /c/ sound in cat, it’s called phonemic awareness.  Read more...

Shortly after meeting me, parents often ask, “What program and services does my child need to overcome his reading disabilities?” They’re surprised when I say, “I don’t know enough about your child and his problems. Tell me more. Exactly what problems does he have?  With what components of reading does he struggle? What can’t he do?” My response often surprises and disappoints them. Here’s my explanation.

A Reading Evaluation Needs to Pinpoint the Problem: The Five Areas of Reading

To be effective, programs that aim to improve the reading of children with reading disabilities need to focus on the child’s specific difficulties. Identifying those difficulties requires an evaluation from a reading specialist.  Read more...