Reading Disabilities in Children: Help Kids Overcome Reading Difficulties

Helping Your Child Conquer Reading Difficulties

Determining Disabilities

In order to give your child the proper help that he or she needs, it's usually best to determine what kind of reading disability your child has. Consult with your child's teachers and other reading professionals at school. It's possible that they'll refer you to professionals that can help outside of school, like child psychologists and tutors who specifically work with kids who have disabilities.

If your child's having difficulty reading, he or she may be dyslexic. Dyslexia is a general term that refers to a person's struggle with understanding words and letters. Dyslexia does not affect a child's intelligence in any way, and there are specific techniques you can use to help a dyslexic child read with ease.

Reading at Home

Regardless of the severity of your child's disability, reading to your child can be very helpful. The more time your child spends with books, the more he or she's likely to overcome aspects of the disability. This practice enhances comprehension and will also help your child maintain a positive attitude about books and reading in general.

Connecting Letters to Sounds

Kids with dyslexia and other disabilities often take longer to learn the sounds of the alphabet. They have difficulty blending sounds of letters into words, and as a result, they can experience difficulty reading. This type of reading disability usually can be attributed to lacking the letter-to-sound connection. These children oftentimes learn best visually, rather than phonologically.

If your child has this issue, picture flashcards can be useful. Use your child's visual memory to trigger phonetic and letter memory. Letters are ultimately a series of symbols, and flashcards can help attach these symbols to images your child can relate to.

Getting Help and Information

If your child's in need of reading help that you can't provide, refer to the U.S. Department of Education, the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry or the Learning Disabilities Association of America. These sites can provide you with specific information about your child's disability. They can also point you to resources, such as child psychologists, schools for kids with learning disabilities, Special Education Services and assistive technology.