Helping Children Overcome Reading Difficulties
(contd.)

Helping The Problem Reader

There is growing evidence that it might be more appropriate to refer to the amount of time a learner takes to complete a reading task rather than using qualitative labels, such as good, best, or poor reader (Smith, 1990). If we accept the premise that all individuals are capable of learning to read but some need to stretch their learning time, then we can search for adjustments. Slow readers could read shorter passages. In this way, they could finish a story and experience the success of sharing it with a parent or friend.

Let's examine some other conditions that will help improve comprehension for those learners sometimes labeled reading disabled. Besides reading more slowly, the person with reading difficulties can be asked to find specific kinds of information in a story, or can be paired with a more capable reader who will help in summarizing the essential points of the reading or in identifying the main ideas of a story.

One of the reasons that these learners read more slowly is that they seem less able to identify the organization of a passage of text (Wong and Wilson, 1984). Since efficient comprehension relies on the reader's ability to see the pattern or the direction that the writer is taking, parents and teachers can help these readers by spending more time on building background for the reading selection, both in the general sense of concept building and in the specific sense of creating a mental scheme for the text organization. Many times, drawing a simple diagram can help these readers greatly.

Direct intervention of parent or teacher or tutor in the comprehension process increases reading comprehension in slower readers (Bos, 1982). These readers often need help with vocabulary and need reminders to summarize as they proceed. They also need to ask themselves questions about what they are reading. The parent can prompt thinking or can provide an insight into the language that may otherwise elude the reader.

One effective strategy for slower readers is to generate visual images of what is being read (Carnine and Kinder, 1985). For the reader to generate images, he or she must first be able to recognize the word. Assuming the reader knows how to recognize words, he or she needs concepts to visualize the flow of action represented on the page. The same kind of concept building techniques that work for average readers also work for slower readers. The slower reader, however, gains more from concrete experiences and images than from abstract discussions. It is not enough for the parent to simply tell the slower reader to use visual images--the parent has to describe the images that occur in his or her own mind as he or she reads a particular passage, thus giving the child a concrete sense of what visual imagery means. Pictures, physical action, demonstrations, practice using words in interviews or in an exchange of views among peers are only a few of the ways that parents, tutors, or teachers can make the key vocabulary take root in the reader's mind.

Helpful Reading Materials

As is the case with most learners, slower readers learn most comfortably with materials that are written on their ability level (Clark et al., 1984). The reading level is of primary concern, but parents can help their reader select helpful materials in other ways. Choose stories or books with:

1. a reduced number of difficult words
2. direct, non-convoluted syntax
3. short passages that deliver clear messages
4. subheads that organize the flow of ideas
5. helpful illustrations

Older problem readers often find that the newspaper is a good choice for improving reading comprehension (Monda, et al., 1988). Slow readers can succeed with the same frequency as faster readers as long as the parent or tutor maintains a positive attitude and selects materials and approaches that accommodate the child's learning speeds.

Importance of a Positive Attitude

A positive attitude on the part of the child is also crucial to the treatment of difficulties in reading and learning. Tutors who have worked consistently with problem learners are very aware of the role of the self in energizing learning, and the potential damage to the sense of self-worth that comes from labeling. Teachers and parents should appreciate children's thinking as the foundation of their language abilities, and maintain some flexibility in their expectations regarding their children's development of decoding skills such as reading. For children to feel successful, they need to become aware of their unique learning strengths, so that they may apply them effectively while working to strengthen the lagging areas (Webb, 1992). The child needs to feel loved and appreciated as an individual, whatever his or her difficulties in school.

References

Bos, Candace S. (1982). "Getting Past Decoding: Assisted and Repeated Readings as Remedial Methods for Learning Disabled Students," Topics in Learning and Learning Disabilities, 1,51-57.

Bryant, Peter and Lynette Bradley (1985). Children's Reading Problems. London: Basil Blackwell.

Carnine, Douglas and Diane Kinder (1985). "Teaching Low Performing Students to Apply Generative and Schema Strategies to Narrative and Expository Materials," Remedial and Special Education, 6(1), 20-30. [EJ 316 930]

Clark, Frances L., et al. (1984). "Visual Imagery and Self-Questioning: Strategies to Improve Comprehension of Written Material," Journal of Learning Disabilities, 17(3), 145-49. [EJ 301 444]

Crowder, Robert G. and Richard K. Wagner (1992). The Psychology of Reading: An Introduction. Second Edition. New York: Oxford University Press, 1992. [ED 341 975]

Monda, Lisa E., et al. (1988). "Use the News: Newspapers and LD Students," Journal of Reading, 31(7), 678-79. [EJ 368 687]

Smith, Carl B. (1990). "Helping Slow Readers (ERIC/RCS)," Reading Teacher, 43(6), 416. [EJ 405 105]

Vellutino, Frank R. (1987). "Dyslexia," Scientific American, 256(3), 34-41. [EJ 354 650]

Webb, Gertrude M. (1992). "Needless Battles on Dyslexia," Education Week, February 19, 1992, 32.

Wong, Bernice Y. L. and Megan Wilson (1984). "Investigating Awareness of a Teaching Passage Organization in Learning Disabled Children," Journal of Learning Disabilities, 17(8), 77-82. [EJ 308 339]

This publication was prepared with funding from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education, under contract no.RI88062001. Contractors undertaking such projects under government sponsorship are encouraged to express freely their judgment in professional and technical matters. Points of view or opinions, however, do not necessarily represent the official view or opinions of the Office of Educational Research and Improvement.

ERIC Digests are in the public domain and may be freely reproduced and disseminated.

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