Learning Disabilities & Reading Disabilities

Parents often ask me, “My child struggles with reading. What’s the best reading program for him?” Unfortunately, for two reasons, this question can’t be answered. First, programs do not teach reading–teachers do. As Richard Allington, past President of the International Reading Association, so rightly asserted: “In the end, enhanced reading proficiency rests largely on the capacity of classroom teachers to provide expert, exemplary reading instruction. . . . Teaching cannot be packaged. Exemplary teaching is not regurgitation of a common script but is responsive to children’s needs. In the end it will become clearer that there are no ‘proven programs,’ just schools in which we find more expert teachers–teachers who need no script to tell them what to do.”

This strongly suggests the second reason—teachers need to know the struggling reader’s needs: the level of materials he can read comfortably, the concepts and skills he needs to learn (curriculum), the methodology, strategies, and instructional considerations likely to accelerate his learning, and topics and strategies likely to motivate him. This requires a competent reading evaluation, by a reading specialist. Beyond this, it requires the ongoing monitoring of progress so teachers and parents can quickly make needed changes. Without ongoing monitoring, struggling readers may stay in ineffective programs and suffer the consequences.

HM