Helpful Hints for Parents

If your child is having reading problems, here are some practical suggestions that might help. Browse the steps below or click to return to the Learning Skills [Home Page].

Step One: Make sure your child does not have an ear or eye problem. Don't rely on home diagnosis, consult a doctor. Be aware that hearing aids and glasses are not the only solutions. For instance, exercises can be quite effective for many vision weaknesses. Just following your finger in and out or right and left can help get your eyes working together as a team.

If your child is hyperactive or has a very short attention span, ask your doctor about ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). ADD can affect all forms of learning and create monumental behavior problems. In many cases, drug therapy is quite beneficial for both the child and the family.

Step Two: Talk to your child's teacher and ask what can be done to help with reading. Some teachers provide extra help after school. A PTA reading program might be in place at your school. Perhaps a home reading program can be suggested and you can become your child's reading tutor. If the classroom has supplemental reading materials like Learning Skills work cards, they can be copied and used as homework assignments.

Step Three: Give a written and dated request to the school office for an IEP (Individualized Education Program). In California, a request for an IEP must be processed promptly. What results is a battery of tests to determine if your child qualifies for special education in a resource specialist or other program.  Even if your child does not qualify, the information feedback is very helpful.

Step Four: Read to your child and read with your child.  It doesn't matter what you read so long as your child finds it interesting: comic books, fashion magazines, sports pages, TV guides. Go to the library and ask the librarian for suggestions; you'll be surprised how helpful people can be. Choose materials that are not overly difficult for your child. When you notice trouble with a word, show how YOU sound it out. Break big words down into little words and put them together. Give your child mental pictures of sounds they are having trouble decoding.  For instance, say "a as in apple" every time they stumble on an "a". This isn't rocket science; all it takes is practice.

If your child becomes resistant to reading at home, make sure the material is not too difficult. And, make sure it is interesting. If books are an emotional obstacle, play games. Monopoly and other board games give lots of reading practice, not to mention help with money and counting. And, if your child doesn't work well with you, try another family member.

Finally, we have placed the entire Reading Skills Phonics Program on the internet free of charge. You simply go to the website we call Reading Target and print as many phonics lessons and worksheets as you wish. We hope that this site will contribute in some small way to literacy in America. To visit this website, just click [Reading Target].