HOW PARENTS AND EDUCATORS CAN HELP CHILDREN WITH READING DIFFICULTIES
It is entirely appropriate to discuss with poor readers that they have a serious weakness in reading
that needs to be worked on. However, it should be emphasized that, with sustained effort and the
right kind of help, they can learn to read well. Children should not be told that they have "a disorder
in processing," "a central nervous system dysfunction," "crossed wires in the brain," or the like.
Explicit instruction in word decoding (i.e., "phonics") is essential for most poor readers to master the
alphabetic code. This type of instruction should be a core component of children's reading programs,
at least until they can decode most unfamiliar words accurately and without reliance on context. For
some youngsters with serious reading difficulties, acquiring decoding skills may require highly
intensive and systematic instruction over a considerable period of time (e.g., Torgesen & Hecht,
1996; Torgesen, Wagner, & Rashotte, 1994).
Some evidence suggests that explicit instruction in word decoding benefits not only "at-risk"
readers, but children who are not "at risk" as well (Fielding-Barnsley, 1997). Including a strong
decoding component in early elementary reading programs might prevent or ameliorate many cases
of reading failure, while at the same time benefiting all children. Unfortunately, however, an
emphasis on teaching decoding skills is not currently in vogue in many schools.
Phonics instruction is not a cure-all for reading problems, nor should it be the only important
component of a child's reading program. Reading researchers have found that poor readers in
remedial and special-education settings sometimes receive a focus on isolated skills to the exclusion
of everything else (Allington & McGill-Franzen, 1989). In addition to phonics instruction, children
with reading difficulties need good comprehension instruction and wide experience with reading in
context, both independently and under the guidance of a teacher.
The instructional emphasis needed in remediation may vary somewhat with poor readers' stage of
development in reading (see, e.g., Spear-Swerling & Sternberg, 1996). For instance, children who are
at a very early stage of learning to read usually need an emphasis on breaking the alphabetic code.
At a later stage, children usually need an emphasis on building fluency---that is, decoding words
not only accurately, but also easily and quickly.
Encourage poor readers' abilities and interests, whether in sports, music, science, or some other
domain---and use these interests to foster independent reading. For example, Fink (1995) studied a
group of adults who had been diagnosed as dyslexic in childhood, but who had ultimately become
professionally successful as adults. Among several factors common to these successful individuals
was that, as children, they all had an avid interest in some topic which they learned about through
reading. The practice of independent reading in turn may have helped to develop these individuals'
fluency of word decoding. Thus, encouraging poor readers' interests, in addition to building
motivation and confidence, may also contribute to reading ability itself.
