How will I know if my child has a reading problem?

The news usually comes in one or more of three ways.

1. School feedback. If your child's teacher alerts you to a problem, resist falling into the blame game. If the teacher asks, "Do you ever read to him at home?" don't come back with, "Aren't you teaching him to read at school? Whatever you're doing isn't working."
2. Your child's statements. The child may well make general or specific comments: "I don't want to read," "I can't do this," "I don't get what's happening in this story." More likely, your child will just express frustration. Strong resistance against practicing reading, including blanket statements like "Reading is dumb" is an obvious sign.
3. Behaviors you can observe—reluctance to be read to, getting stuck on most words in a sentence, slow or no reaction when you ask a simple question like, "What is the sound of that letter?" Another warning sign would be if the child's reading is very slow. Accuracy in early reading is much more important than speed, but if you can wash and dry the dishes before the sentence is completed, fluency is a problem. Or you may notice that the child gets the beginning of the word but guesses at the rest of it—reading "smoke" as "smile," for instance—which suggests she is trying to memorize whole words instead of breaking them down to sound them out.

Can't I just wait until the child gets to school, where they have teachers trained to teach reading?

You could, but it would be better if you did not. Practicing the components of reading in the home doesn't mean you force reading before your child is ready to, but you can help develop important skills without rushing the process, and the child who does practice those skills will do better when he does get to school and is ready to read in earnest. Studies show that having more of the component skills in place at age 5 predicts better school achievement at ages 7 and 15.

What do I do if I think my child has a reading problem?

A reading evaluation can be very important. A trained specialist can identify weakness in any of the component skills and will know how to work on it. Bear in mind that the child's negative reaction to reading alone will not necessarily show you where the problem is. Your best bet is to ask your child's teacher, school psychologist, or principal to bring in a reading specialist. Or if you prefer to seek out help on your own, you can do your own search for a reading specialist online or in the phone book. A little respectful tact in dealing with your child's teacher may well be necessary, but you're not questioning the teacher's competence or going over her head by consulting a specialist. Reading is a well-developed area of educational specialization, with masters and doctoral-level professionals who can offer very focused assistance that goes beyond what can happen in the classroom. Plan to work with the teacher, as will any reading specialist your child ends up seeing.

There are more serious problems—auditory disorders, dyslexia, pervasive developmental disorder—that can lead to reading impairment. One reason to go to a specialist is that there are different strategies associated with addressing each of the many causes of a reading problem.

What if my child can read, but just won't? What if my child just has an attitude problem?

You can be certain of motivational problems only if all of the component skills are well established. As a parent, you probably cannot determine this on your own. But if you've taken your child for a reading evaluation and the problem really is just motivational, then you might try the following: Establish more reading routines; engage in more talking about reading at the dinner table; have the child select a book to read together at the book store; switch to engaging magazines or something else other than a book that has words to read; read stories connected to movies, and see the movies with the child.

If my child is pulled out of class for an intensive reading program or I enroll her in an outside program for a few weeks, will that bring her up to speed?

A few weeks in an intensive reading program, all by itself, probably will not be enough. A program that is sustained and supported in the home is more likely to have staying power. Research suggests that much can be done to help the child and build the skills needed, and that steady progress takes precedence over a quick fix. Most of the time, the mundane, gamelike activities I've discussed above will go far to improve reading and complement school activities. If you can start early, all the better. If you have the option, select day care, preschool, and kindergarten that emphasize sounding out, rhyming, and other pre-reading skills.

But do not leave the teaching of reading to the school. Without becoming a whip-cracking achievement monster, you can accomplish a great deal as part of a regular routine of play and home life.

For more information, try these sources:

National Institute for Literacy

National Right to Read Foundation

U.S. Department of Education

Reading Rockets