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Four Ways to Approach Your Child’s Reading Problems

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Your child’s reading problems are real life problems since reading is required in all school subjects.  The percentage can vary depending on the specific definition of “reading problems,” but approximately 20% of children have reading problems. This includes conditions like dyslexia and other reading difficulties. There are four ways to approach your child’s reading problems.

First Approach

The least favorable approach is a wait and see approach. Some parents are told statements such as, “Give it more time and she’ll catch on soon.” or “Boys are just slower to read than girls.”  Well intentioned advice can actually cause your child considerable setback.  Kindergarten through second grade is when children concentrate on learning to read but from third grade onward children must read to learn.  Hence, mandatory third grade retention if your child does not pass the high stakes reading testing.

Second Approach

A second approach is for you to work with your child at home. While you might not be a professional teacher, you can teach your child to read by purchasing reading materials.  One parent book is Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons.  You might require your child to use reading websites such as ABC Mouse, Starfall, Raz-Kids, or Nessy. These supports help many children learn to read.

Third Approach

Many parents hire a tutor as a third approach to reading struggles. I recommend one-to-one reading tutoring as the best way to make reading gains.  There are plenty of teachers tutoring after school at libraries, homes, and businesses.  Most schoolteachers tutor use an eclectic approach to teaching reading.

Fourth Approach

Call for school neurological testing when your parental instinct is telling you your child’s struggles are more than developmental and might be dyslexia. In this approach we test for dyslexia and other learning disabilities.  Our testing pinpoints exactly what is causing the struggle so you can provide targeted support rather than try and see support. If it is dyslexia, Florida gives parents money to help with tutoring costs.

Call (561) 625 4125 if you would like to discuss your child’s reading problems or concerns for dyslexia, ADHD, autism, or anxiety.

Identifying Early Reading Struggles

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Identifying Early Reading Struggles

Ask any elementary school teacher and they will confirm that many kids struggle with reading.  School staff do their best to help with limited resources but many take a wait and see approach.  Waiting does not benefit your child.  As an astute parent or family member, follow your instinct to determine the root cause of your child’s reading struggle.

Students who struggle with reading in the early grades will eventually struggle with all academic areas. This occurs because the curriculum in upper grades relies more and more on independent reading skills. In fact, research studies have shown that it is important to assess and remediate a child’s reading skills at an early age. Researcher Joseph Torgesen and colleagues documented that more than 80% of students who were poor readers at the end of first grade still performed below average at the beginning of third grade.  Don’t let your child become a reading failure statistic. Specialized reading help is available when you have the right knowledge.

Keys to Helping

The keys to helping your child include following your hunch, seeking an expert to test your child to determine which reading program is best for your child’s needs, and using the program with an experienced professional.  The correct reading program can help save time, stress, and create life changing gains within your child.  We encourage you not to accept a one size fits all reading approach offered by many schools.

Since Dr. Forgan is also a Susan Barton certified dyslexia tester, we use unique tests that others don’t have.  Within a few weeks we give you answers and tell you the best reading program we believe will help your child.

Call to discuss your child as we test students ages 5.5 through college for dyslexia, learning disabilities, ADHD, depression, anxiety, and other processing disorders.  Call (561) 625 4125

Three Ways to Give the Gift of Reading

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Give the gift of reading to your child this holiday season.  Many elementary age children struggle with reading and COVID-19 and virtual learning have widned the gap.  In addition, if you were your child’s teacher during the lock down, you saw first-hand how hard reading was for your child.  Since reading is foundational for academic success, your child’s reading needs to be on or above grade level.  Here are three ways you can help improve your elementary age child’s reading.

Gift Number 1

First, use the computer based reading program Nessy at Nessy.com. This reading program is for children in kindergarten through fifth grade and it is based on Orton Gillingham reading principles.  Nessy helps children with dyslexia as well as children with weak phonics.  It has built in assessments, adjusts to your child’s reading level, and provides games and characters as rewards.  I recommend using the Nessy program 4 days per week.  It’s not free but is reasonably priced at $12/ month or less if you purchase annually.

Gift Number 2

Next, you can teach your child using a specialized reading approach.  The Barton Reading and Spelling System was designed for parents and educators to use one-to-one with children.  To use the program you should first take and pass the tutor screening.  Then purchase levels from BartonReading.com.  Each level comes with training on DVD so you can watch the training and then use the program with your child.

Gift Number 3

Third, make reading fun.  Struggling readers find reading laborious and mentally draining so they don’t want to pleasure read.  Regardless of their age, read aloud to your child.  This builds vocabulary and keeps the love of reading alive.  As an alternative use Audible or Bookshare.com and listen to an audio book together.  Young kids enjoy graphic novels like the “Dog Man” series.  Use the book “Create Your Own Graphic Novel: A Guide for Kids” by David Chiu to work with your child and create your own graphic novel.  This provides a fun way to read, write, and draw.  Who knows, your child could become a bestselling author.

We offer dyslexia and ADHD/ADD testing so call 625-4125.

When Jacob Can’t Read

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There is a major problem when ‘Jacob’ can’t read and is in the first grade or higher. If your son, daughter, or grandchild is 6 or older and can’t read get it checked out. This advice assumes your child has at least average intelligence, attends school, and receives adequate instruction. At this young age the timing is critical so don’t let anyone tell you to wait and see or just give ‘em more time. I can evaluate your child to determine the best reading program to teach him or her.

My son was fortunate that I knew the warning signs to look for because in kindergarten he struggled to learn to read. He attended preschool, had a good kindergarten reading teacher, and we worked together at home, but he just could not seem to unlock the reading code. The traditional way of learning to read did not work for him. I paid a certified Orton-Gillingham based multisensory reading tutor to begin teaching him twice a week using this specialized method. It did wonders and he learned to read and now as a middle school student reads like a pro. My family and I are forever grateful to Mrs. Johnson for her skill in helping teach him to read. The testing and tutoring were great investments for his future success.

These are some warning signs to look for in young children: speech problems, slow reading, knowing a word in one sentence but not the other, difficulty sounding out words, and poor everyday spelling. Warning signs in older students include: does not enjoy reading, difficulty remembering what was read, difficulty telling important from unimportant details, spells poorly, and when speaking, may have difficulty finding the correct word. These warning signs often get worse with age. I can evaluate children for reading problems as young as age five and a half.

A Father’s Affirmation

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Father’s day was this month and I am blessed to have had a father that took an interest in my life and was a role model for my parenting as a father. Many dads’ didn’t have a good dad for a role model so they are unclear of their role and take it too superficially. Even though I had a great dad I am constantly reminding myself to affirm and complement my children. Children need their father’s encouragement and positive reinforcement. It does not matter what age your child is, he or she needs to hear dad say statements like, “I’m proud of you. You are such a good person. I love you.” If dads don’t affirm their child then child will find other way to get that affirmation. Is that want you want your child to do? If you are a dad, consider reading one of these two books.

One of my favorite books for dads is called “The Difference A Father Makes” by Ed McGlasson. His small book is a quick, but meaningful, read to help fathers understand the importance of their power in preparing a children for life. He shares personal examples of how he influenced his sons and daughters to become leaders in life. This includes an awesome chapter called Rites of Passage that has information to give fathers the power to change his relationship with his son or daughter forever.

The second book is “Strong Fathers, Strong Daughters: 10 Secrets Every Father Should Know” by Meg Meeker. This book contains ideas that can dramatically improve a father’s relationship with his daughter. I believe books can be valuable tools in helping parents build stronger relationships with their children. These two books are a great starting point for any dad who wants to connect with his kids.