The thought, “My child can’t read,” kept Julie awake at night. She didn’t know what to do. Her daughter, Charlotte, was beginning 2nd grade soon. Julie still couldn’t find books Charlotte could successfully read. In fact, Julie noticed that her daughter had been memorizing books and guessing at the words and that she’d fooled many of her teachers into thinking she was more advanced than she actually was.
To her great shock, Julie realized her daughter couldn’t even read basic words like jam, sap and rip. So many people, including her neighbor, a friend and a family member, had soothed Julie by saying, “Oh don’t worry, she’ll catch on.” But Charlotte hadn’t caught one. Now, Charlotte proclaimed, “I must be dumb” and “I hate school.” Julie stayed awake at night wondering about her daughter’s well-being.
Julie noticed that her child’s confidence began to erode gradually and then almost vanish altogether. Even though Charlotte had a vast vocabulary, because she couldn’t read, she assumed she was dumb and even that she’d never qualify for any job. “Mom, do firefighters need to read?” she asked her mom on the way to school one day. “Yes,” said Julie. “Well, I guess I can’t become that either,” said Charlotte. This made Julie concerned.
Julie had waited years for her daughter to catch on. Yet, Charlotte couldn’t even read beginning kindergarten level texts. Julie was sick of people telling her that her daughter would “catch on” just because their own child did or someone they knew did. Something was wrong. This situation was different. It dawned on Julie, that Charlotte, might never just “catch on.”
Julie knew she needed to document just how bad the situation had become. Every morning was a battle. Julie didn’t want to go to school. One morning, she decided to record her daughter. Charlotte woke up and as usual, proclaimed adamantly, “I don’t want to go to school. It hurts mom. I’m the only one who can’t read. I feel dumb. I’ll never learn to read.”
Julie later found out that her child was dyslexic. She needed decodable books and an explicit, systematic reading program. Julie was upset that her daughter hadn’t received help earlier.
Every parent of a struggling reader knows what Julie went through. It can be heartbreaking to watch your previously happy and confident child turn into a child who doubts his intelligence and capabilities.
Reading Elephant printable phonics books were created for dyslexic children.
Dyslexic kids need explicit, systematic phonics instruction.
A child may struggle with reading if he is not given research-based phonics instruction that includes gradual, progressive introduction of the most common phonics sounds.
Many kids with dyslexia and ADHD fall behind in reading. If they are not given proper instruction, they may fail to learn to read altogether.
Kids who struggle with reading need explicit, systematic phonics instruction that includes delayed review (constantly revisiting old material), interleaving (an important cognitive science technique that mixes old and new content), sound-by-sound reading activities, phonemic awareness and sound-by-sound spelling activities. This may seem like a lot to get right. It is. That’s why many schools teach reading wrong.
If your child is struggling with reading, you’re probably in the throes of looking for help.
Many parents take their kids to the doctor, but doctors aren’t trained in dyslexia.
I’ve worked with parents who’ve said they took their child to the doctor. Julie, for example said, “I took her to the doctor. It was like I wanted an mri on her brain to make sure everything was okay. I know she’s very intelligent. I just didn’t understand why she wasn’t learning to read.”
It may be tempting to take your child to the doctor if she’s struggling to learn to read. However, doctors aren’t trained in dyslexia intervention. I’ve heard doctors give incorrect advice and information. For example, I’ve heard, through a parent, that a doctor recommended a product that can actually exacerbate the problem.
Parents often turn to doctors due to the halo effect. We think one characteristic, like having an MD, can make someone qualified to speak of everything. However, doctors don’t regularly teach dyslexic children how to read. They’re likely to just tell you, as they should, to get your child evaluated for dyslexia.
Parents of struggling readers need to develop a keen eye.
As a parent, one of the best strategies to help your child is to hire a dyslexia reading interventionist who uses research-based instruction. You can also talk to the school to see how your child can get access to research-based instruction. However, you need to know, generally, what research-based instruction is. There are many effective programs, and there are also many ineffective ones.
How do you know what research-based instruction is?
I’ll go over briefly what research-based instruction is. You can peruse this site or Reading Rockets or The Reading League for more information on research-based instruction for dyslexic students.
Research-based instruction is:
Explicit– This means the teacher explicitly tells the child the phonics sound. For example, “ai says ai as in train” or “ee says ee as in tree.” The teacher does not expect the child to ascertain the sound on his own. There is no guesswork. Here’s a list of phonics sounds to introduce.
Systematic– The student learns one phonics sound at a time. Don’t bombard the student with a bunch of phonics sounds at once. Instead, teach one phonics sound. Then, when the student is strong in that phonics sound, introduce another.
Interleaving– Mix old phonics sounds with the new phonics sound. That way, the child does not become weak in old content. Furthermore, this forces the child to really analyze the new sound. For example, a silent e list that includes both silent e and short vowels (cat, cape, Matt, mate, shade, ship, sad, sake) is a much more effective list than all silent e words (hike, bike, gate, date).
Delayed Review– Continually revisit old content to make sure your student is strong in old content.
Phonemic Awareness- The child does sound activities without text. Phonemic awareness activities help the child learn to break sounds apart (ex. cat in parts is c-aaaa-t) and piece them back together (ex. ssss-aaaa-mmmm said quickly is Sam).
Sound-by-Sound Reading and Spelling– The child is encouraged to sound out words one sound at a time. The child is also encouraged to spell words sound-by-sound.
Decodable books– Decodable books help kids practice what they’ve learned. Decodable books slowly introduce the most common phonics sounds. That way, the child can read sound-by-sound. The child can also read successfully without guessing.
Reading Elephant offers 120+ printable decodable books in our shop.
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