Shlomo is two years behind in reading and his parents are worried. His trouble began in kindergarten, when his teacher noticed that he could recognize letters but had trouble figuring out their sounds. Things got worse in 1st grade. Shlomo would recognize a word but not how to say it. He would see the “s” and “h,” but would forget that together they create the “sh” sound.
As time went on, the words got longer, and Shlomo had more trouble. When words were more than two syllables long, he would be lost. Sometimes he managed to hide it. He would understand some words, string them together, and figure out the rest by knowing what would make sense in the paragraph.
This didn’t always work. Shlomo started becoming frustrated and convinced that he was dumb. To make matters worse, his grades in other subjects began to fall.
Reading is one of the basic skills we need to function. Unfortunately, there are many children who are struggling. Reading brings us pleasure, knowledge and inspiration. No wonder those having difficulty are frustrated and unhappy.
We may think we learned to read in 1st grade, but reading is a process that takes years. Little by little, children pick up different skills. As they mature, they advance their abilities. In the beginning, most kids struggle with letters and sounds. As time goes on they perfect the technique and read for fun.
The process begins with the alphabet, and continues with associating sounds and symbols, taking words apart and rebuilding them, decoding, silent reading, and reading sentences and paragraphs. Children with difficulties can get stuck during this process. For example, Sarah has trouble learning the alphabet. She is not able to distinguish a “b” and a “d.” Abe can’t string sounds together in a word. He tries to sound out each letter but it just comes out sounding like nonsense. Moshe can read a page silently but if he’s asked to read it out loud he is embarrassed because his sentences sound disconnected and he reads slowly.
Then, there is reading comprehension. The ability to read correctly is one thing. The ability to understand what you read is something else. Jack might be able to read an article in seconds, but if you ask him what it’s about, he doesn’t know.
Because reading is a skill with different levels, each of these children will have to be helped differently. It’s impossible to begin remediation before a child’s reading abilities are carefully diagnosed by a specialist who can pinpoint the problem. A student cannot be helped unless the student, teachers and parents understand the root of the problem.
Remediation can be effective. There are many techniques to help children read, depending on the individual. Think of a remediation program as a pair of shoes: a reading method should be chosen to fit a student perfectly. It has to fit right to work.
Meanwhile, what’s a parent to do? The first step is to accept the problem. When Sarah’s problem started, her parents decided to wait and see what would happen. They thought the issue was immaturity and she would grow out of it. She didn’t. She started to fall further behind. A teacher called her parents and gently but firmly explained this problem has to be dealt with. Sarah’s parents eventually got her evaluated and began remediation.
The next step is for parents to encourage their children to develop a positive self-image. Children who have trouble reading may be thinking, “If everybody else can do it, it must mean there’s something wrong with me.” Parents have to work on boosting self-confidence. Praise and encouragement may seem silly, but they can work wonders.
Finally, parents should stay abreast of the situation. Teachers come and go, but parents can monitor progress over periods of time. Reading problems can change as a student grows older. What might have started out as a decoding problem may have developed into a comprehension problem.
Above all, keep perspective. Reading is essential, but there are other things in life. Keep your child busy with other interests. If you buy your child a book for his birthday, you’re only compounding the problem. He’s getting the message that reading will dominate his life, in school and at home. Buy him a bike instead. That way he’ll know there are many ways to explore, not just through books.
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Mrs. Rifka Schonfeld founded and directs the widely acclaimed educational program, SOS, servicing all grade levels in secular as well as Hebrew studies. She is a highly regarded educator, having served the community for close to 30 years. She has extensive expertise in the field of social skills training and focuses on working with the whole child.
