Clues to spot reading problems early and what to do about it...

Clues to help parents spot reading problems early

The Basic Skills test in Year 3 is a long way to wait to get confirmation that there’s a problem. Here are some clues to look for:

- Do the home reading each night with your kids. If you don’t see a steady advancement in reader levels, talk to the teacher.
- Is your child reluctant to read for fun? Does she excitedly bring home books from the library and then stop after a few pages. Does he complain of his eyes or tummy hurting or being tired when it’s time to read?
- Is your child exhibiting behaviour problems? Kids can act up or withdraw to thwart attention from their reading problems (subconsciously of course!). Our older son had a lot of anger. Our younger son went through full assessments for ADHD but his behavior stemmed from audio processing and dyslexia.
- Look at family history. Is there a history of learning difficulties or dyslexia in the family? Don’t just look at yourselves as parents. Look at uncles, aunts, grandparents and cousins.
- Trust your gut! If you think there is a problem but everyone is saying things are fine, it’s worth investigating further for your own peace of mind.

What to do about if you think there is a problem

- The first port of call is to talk to the teacher and possibly the school counselor about your concerns and what help or assessments they can offer.
- My strongest advice is to get an independent literacy assessment done. They aren’t cheap, but if you get the right assessment done early, you will save so much time and money in the long run. And most importantly, if your child does have a learning difficulty, she can be helped before her behavior and self esteem suffer more. So where do you go? Not all tutoring companies provide assessments that can identify a learning difficulty. So go to companies that have specialist literacy resources and remediation like Kids First. Consider talking to SPELD – a nonprofit organisation that specialises in reading problems and learning difficulties. It’s across Australia. Here’s the link to NSW: http://www.speldnsw.org.au/
- Get your child’s eyes and hearing checked.

I’ve seen the impact of reading problems on behavior and self esteem first hand. I’ve known the frustrations of not knowing what to do for my sons. And I’ve talked to scores of other parents who’ve had the same experiences I’ve had.

Trust your gut! If you’re concerned about your child’s reading, have him assessed. There are amazing remedial resources available and they work.
Please feel free to contact me, share your stories and your ideas.

Treasure reading and the gift of dyslexia.