Reading & Other Learning Disabilities

The earlier you identify your child’s reading problems, the earlier you get him the right kinds of services, the greater his likelihood of success. The lesson: Don’t wait.

It is critical to identify reading problems early so that appropriate intervention can begin. The facts speak for themselves: It takes four times as long to improve the skills of a struggling reader in the fourth grade as it does between mid-kindergarten and first grade. In other words, it takes two hours of intervention per day in the fourth grade to have the same impact as 30 minutes per day in first grade…. About 80 percent of students with learning disabilities have reading problems. (Spinelli, 2006, p. 220)

No one can tell you with certainty what reading program will work for your child. That’s why it’s critical that he get a reading evaluation that pinpoints his reading strengths and weaknesses and experiments with different reading methods and strategies to see what will likely succeed. Also, that’s why his teachers must carefully and frequently monitor his progress and modify instruction to reflect his difficulties and successes.

Trying to predict which interventions will work well for individual students has not been a fruitful endeavor. Therefore, we must test curricular [and programmatic] modifications empirically” (Witt et al., 1997).

Any attempt to describe how a child can learn important reading abilities that does not include diagnostic teaching is simply armchair thinking and of limited validity. (Kibby, 2009, p. 253)

If your child has reading disabilities (or other learning disabilities), he may suffer great emotional distress about his disabilities. This can scathe him for life. Thus, it’s critical to help him minimize or eliminate his distress and develop a positive outlook on learning and life. Teachers can help by making sure that he can, with moderate effort, succeed on all assignments. You might help by getting him counseling.

Underachievers in reading tend to have many emotional and social problems, and these are compounded as the child goes through school. Studies have shown that severe underachievement in reading appears to follow the individual all through life. (Rubin, 1997, p. 86).

Students who have serious reading difficulties often dis­play a fight or flight reaction to escape the stress caused by having to engage in a behavior that they find virtually impossible. Students who adopt a fight reaction are soon noticed because they engage in confrontational or disruptive behavior, or they may simply refuse to read. They may criticize the reading material, complaining that it’s a stupid book. They may say that reading is boring or deny having a reading problem. The student may refuse to begin an assignment, yell, or even have a tantrum…. The purpose behind the behavior is to avoid reading at all costs. For the aggressive problem reader, being chastised, kept after school, or sent to the principal‘s office is preferable to reading. (Gunning, 1998, p. 37)

Negative attitudes can be unlearned; that is, students who believe that they cannot learn to read successfully can begin to believe in themselves as readers. An environment where students come to expect success and where they value reading can help them overcome feelings of learned helplessness. (Rasinski & Padak, 2000, p. 38)

Children with reading disabilities tend to have small listening and speaking vocabularies; they don’t know the meaning of many of the words they hear and often lack the words they need to clearly explain their thoughts. Yet they need large vocabularies to understand what they hear, to express themselves successfully, and to comprehend what they read. Thus, without stressing your child, you should help him increase his vocabulary.

Speak to your child using your own words. Refrain from using simple language or talking to him like a baby. It’s okay that he doesn’t understand what every word means. Encourage him to let you know when he doesn’t understand, and explain the new word to him…. Read stories to the child, and encourage him to read. Even children’s books can help to increase [a] child’s vocabulary. Read stories that are slightly above your child’s level, exposing him to new words…. Ask your child for ideas [about] what a word might mean based on its context. Talk them through it to help figure it out.  (www.ehow.com)

References

Ehow.com: http://www.ehow.com/how_2191407_increase-childs-vocabulary.html

Gunning, T. G. (1998). Assessing and correcting reading and writing difficulties. Boston: Allyn & Bacon, p. 37

Kibby, M. W. (2009). Why is the school psychologist involved in the evaluation of struggling readers? Journal of Educational and Psychological Consultation, 19, 248-258, p. 253.

Rasinski, T., & Padak, N. (2000). Effective reading strategies: Teaching children who find reading difficult (2^nd ed). Columbus, OH: Merrill, p. 38

Rubin, D. (1997). Diagnosis and correction in reading instruction (3^rd ed.). Boston: Allyn & Bacon, p. 86

Spinelli, C. G. (2006). Classroom Assessment for Students in Special and General Education (2^nd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Merrill Prentice Hall, p. 220.

Witt, J. C., Elliott, S. N., Daly, E. D., III, Gresham, F. M., & Kramer, J. J. (1997). Assessment of At-Risk and Special Needs Children (2^nd ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill, p. 51.

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