Signs of Reading Difficulty + When to Seek Help
Learning to read is a fundamental skill that lays the foundation for a lifetime of learning. However, for some individuals, the journey to becoming proficient readers can be challenging. Recognizing the signs of reading difficulty is crucial for parents, educators, and caregivers to provide timely intervention and support.
There can be a temptation to “wait it out” when it comes to reading struggles. You may be told that it just takes longer to click for some students. But the reality is that there is a large percentage of kids who will struggle to learn to read—even if they’re taught in the best ways, and intervening early is critical to help them succeed.
Signs of Reading Difficulty:
How do you know if your child is struggling with reading? Here are some of the biggest signs to watch for:
- Difficulty Decoding Words: Children may have trouble sounding out words or recognizing familiar sight words.
- Poor Phonemic Awareness: Phonemic awareness involves understanding and manipulating individual sounds in words. Difficulties in recognizing patterns in words, rhyming, or blending words are all signposts of reading difficulties.
- Limited Vocabulary: A restricted vocabulary can impact comprehension. If a child struggles to understand the meaning of words, it can impede their ability to comprehend written text.
- Slow Reading Rate: Fluency is key to becoming a confident reader, but children facing reading difficulties may read at a slower pace than their peers. This can be an indication of challenges in processing and recognizing words quickly.
- Choppy Reading: Fluent readers read smoothly with expression. A lack of fluency, characterized by choppy or monotone reading, can be a sign of reading difficulties.
- Difficulty with Comprehension: Reading is not just about decoding words but also understanding the meaning behind them. A child who struggles with comprehension may have difficulty answering questions about what they’ve read.
- Avoidance of Reading: Children with reading difficulties may actively avoid reading activities. This avoidance can stem from frustration, fear of failure, or a lack of confidence in their reading abilities.
When to Seek Help:
If you notice signs of reading difficulty in your child, it’s crucial to seek help as early as possible. Early intervention can prevent academic struggles from escalating. If a reading difficulty is allowed to continue without intervention, your child may continue to fall further behind, and the effects of the struggle may begin to seep into other areas, as well.
When kids transition from “learning to read” to “reading to learn” (usually around 3rd grade), reading struggles have suddenly caused additional roadblocks to accessing subjects like science, social studies, and even math. Laying a solid foundation for reading early on is critical to avoid these later struggles.
What to Do When You Notice a Reading Difficulty in Your Child:
Many kids with reading difficulties suffer from low self-esteem and easy frustration when it comes to trying to read. They know they struggle, and it makes them resistant to trying. Doing some low-pressure practice at home is a good way to help struggling readers gain confidence without laying on extra stress in a task they’re already overwhelmed with.
But beyond this, it’s critical to dig a little deeper and find out why your child specifically is having difficulties with reading. Reading struggles are not a one-size-fits-all problem, and the best method to address the issue is going to vary based on a variety of factors.
The best avenue forward when you suspect a reading difficulty is cognitive testing so you can get to the root cause of your child’s specific struggles. While you may notice the symptoms (trouble with rhyming, lack of fluency, forgetting words they’ve seen before, etc.), it’s important to dig deeper to figure out what’s going on under the surface.
A reading difficulty can be rooted in a wide variety of cognitive deficits, including problems with auditory processing, visual processing, attention, logic, or memory. Unless you know which hangup is causing your child’s unique struggles, it’ll be like shooting in the dark, trying to find the right intervention to help them succeed.
