Identifying Common Reading Issues in Young Children

Every child learns at his or her own pace. When a child is having difficulty in a specific subject, such as reading, how is a parent to determine if there is an issue? There are several common reading issues in young children that can hinder their progress in comprehension and may even cause them to do poorly in other subjects. Here is a list of some of the issues children may have that will make reading difficult as well as ways to identify these issues to help your son or daughter become a better student.

Common Reading Issues

Not all issues are serious or require remedial reading help. Some common reading problems are easily diagnosed and treated, while others may require additional resources. Your child may have difficulty with the early reading skills due to:

• Poor Vision
• Hearing loss
• Improper directional tracking
• Poor comprehension skills
• Issues with Decoding
• ADD
• ADHD
• Dyslexia

Poor vision and hearing loss may be treated by a visit to your child’s physician or family optician. Depending on the severity of the hearing loss, your child may require hearing aids and speech therapy to help them adapt new learning skills for reading and other school subjects.

Improper directional tracking is when the child tries to read numbers and words from right to left instead of from left to right. Tracking issues also occur when a student will confuse the order of the letters in a word or see them in reverse, such as seeing a “d” instead of the letter “b” in the word “bed”. While this may be caused by poor vision, it can also be a symptom of a larger problem, such as ADD or Dyslexia.

Poor comprehension skills occur when a child has an issue with following directions, remembering a series of numbers or words, or not being able to understand what someone is saying to them. These issues can be caused by hearing loss, ADD and other auditory processing disorders.
When a child has issues with decoding, he or she may be unable to break a large word into syllables or smaller words. This can often be because they have problems with phonetics or fluency. A student who has problems breaking down large words will have a limited vocabulary and will have difficulty increasing reading comprehension in advanced grades. Decoding issues often stem from auditory processing disorders or Dyslexia.

Common Signs

How can you tell if your son or daughter is suffering from one of these common reading problems? One way to determine there may be a problem is if they have poorly developed communication or motor skills. If your child is old enough to enter preschool and has issues with communication skills this may indicate, they will have difficulty learning to read. A kindergarten age child with poor motor skills is another indicator that there may be a larger problem. Other common signs include:

• Inability to pay attention
• Lack of focus
• Easily distracted
• Ask others to repeat information frequently
• Is often seen squinting or has trouble seeing things at a distance

If you see these issues coupled with poor communication or motor skills, you may want to take steps to have your son or daughter seen by a professional.

Solutions

The first step you may want to take is to have your child seen by their physician. Your child’s doctor can help eliminate common problems such as hearing loss or poor vision. They will also be able to refer you to a specialist if further tests are required to diagnose the main cause of your child’s reading problems.

If your child is diagnosed with ADD, ADHD, Dyslexia or an auditory processing disorder a specialist may recommend remedial reading help. This support will assist your son or daughter to develop the skills necessary to understand the building blocks of reading, such as phonetics, vocabulary and decoding aids. There is also reading software available for parents and teachers so that you can take part in getting your child back on track to academic success.

Sound Reading Online is the perfect reading program to bring into your home. Sound Reading Online teaches your child the fundamentals of reading and improves any reading difficulties they may be facing through our brain friendly teaching methods. Watch your child solve mysteries through fun games and activities, all while developing sound reading skills.