If you are the parent of a struggling reader, you know how difficult it is for both of you. Many children with learning disabilities and dyslexia avoid reading and do not get the practice they need to improve their skills. As children with reading problems move into the middle school and high school years, they will have difficultly keeping up in many subjects because classes will become more reading intensive. Fortunately, there are ways to help your child cope and continue to learn despite reading difficulties:
1. Before the school year begins, conference with your child's teachers to find out what reading will be required during the year. Ask if electronic text readers, study guides, or books on tape are available. If not, contact your district's special education director to request that books on tape be provided. In many instances, these materials are available to public schools at little or no cost, but they do need to be requested well in advance. Recordings for the Blind and Dyslexic http://www.rfbd.org/ is a resource providing low-cost services.
2. If your child uses recorded books, it will be very helpful for parents to listen along as well. At the end of each chapter, stop to talk about what has happened. Have your child write a simple summary of main events in each chapter. If your child has a difficult time staying focused for a full chapter, have breaks more frequently, perhaps every fifteen minutes.
3. Remember that reading may be physically and psychologically exhausting for your child. Try to remain positive and encouraging, even if you suspect your child is not putting forth his best effort. Praise positive work, and treat mistakes as opportunities to improve rather than failures.
4. Watch more television. I'm not kidding. Watching television with closed captioning turned on is a good way to help your child develop a sense of the rhythms of language.
5. If you have time, have your child read passages into a tape recorder. Play the tape back, and help her follow along in the book. Help him identify opportunities for improvement. If necessary, stop the tape and demonstrate the correct words and phrases.
Reserve fifteen to thirty minutes each evening for family reading time. Each family member can read different material and then share out information about it. Alternately, everyone can take turns reading aloud from the same book. Make it a friendly competition by charting each person's reading minutes. At the end of the week, the person with the most minutes wins a special recognition, their favorite meal, or choice of family activity.
6. Help your child understand lengthy passages by paraphrasing the meaning and helping your child explain what happened using his own words.
Coping effectively with a child's reading problems requires a long-term commitment from parents. Learning disabilities will never go away entirely. Your child's skills will improve with practice, but he will need supports like those above. Teaching him these strategies will help him throughout his adult life.
