Every child must learn to read in order to succeed in school. But for children with reading disabilities, this fundamental skill becomes a real challenge. In order to develop fluency and comprehension, children must start by developing phonemic awareness, and once this is mastered, they can focus on the next logical step in the reading process: learning phonics. Phonics is the term used to describe letter-sound associations.
Symptoms of a Reading Disability
There are many warning signs that parents and teachers can look out for in children with reading disabilities. One well-known reading disability is called dyslexia. Other forms of reading disabilities include those in which students will have trouble with fluency and comprehension, or weak phonological skills (phonemic awareness).
Signs of Dyslexia
Students with dyslexia often have trouble with:
- Decoding nonsense words or words that are unknown
- Reading fluently
- Spelling
- Distinguishing the different sounds of similar words (like dog and dug)
- Naming numbers and letters quickly
- Comprehension
- Also, a classic symptom of dyslexia is that the affected student will often transpose letters (b and d, and q, g, and p, for example) and even whole words.
Issues With Fluency and Comprehension
Kids who have fluency difficulties, or problems with comprehension may actually have no trouble with the mechanics of reading (phonemic awareness and phonics), but will have trouble with the big picture of a story. This is because:
- Reading may take a lot of time and effort
- Reading expression is inappropriate (voice does not change if sentence is a question, for example)
- Words may be read one at a time, but sentences do not flow
- Cannot identify characters, themes, and general messages of a story
Signs of Phonological Weaknesses
Children with this issue will have difficulty with some or all of the following:
- Naming all the letters in the alphabet
- Distinguishing letter sounds
- Blending two or more letter sounds
- Matching sounds with written letters
- Identifying short words
- Sounding out unknown words
Strategies for Teaching Phonics
The following accommodations and tips may be helpful in the classroom to teach kids phonics and help them develop beginning reading skills:
- Teach the sound of individual letters first, but do not combine the letters that are easily confused with each other in the same lesson.
- Practice common sound combinations in class by saying the sounds aloud repetitively. Give many examples of how the sounds are used in words.
- Read entertaining and rhyming stories to children that use the new sounds over and over. Many books (such as those offered by Scholastic, Inc.) are available that focus on one or two various phonics sounds.
- Have kids come up with words they already know that use the sounds being taught.
- Divide longer words into syllables, prefixes, stems, and suffixes using a chart, and demonstrate how to read each part.
- Have students create a word bank containing sounds of letters and blends that they have mastered. Keep the word bank in a place that is visible on the child’s desk, and have the child add to it whenever a new sound is learned.
- Associate new words with pictures.
- Use multimedia, such as phonics computer software, to help students learn.
There are many ways to help children with reading disabilities in the regular classroom. Kids who lag behind in reading will struggle in all academic areas. Therefore, teachers need to apply some of these effective techniques, strategies, and tips. Teaching phonics to young children with special needs will help them attain a comfort level with basic sounds, and ultimately become fluent readers.
Further Reading:
Rhyming Springtime Books for Preschoolers
Sources:
Carter, Nari, Prater, Mary Anne, Dyches, Tina T., Making Accomodations and Adaptations for Students with Mild to Moderate Disabilities. OH: Pearson Education Inc., 2009.
Cooley, Miles L., Ph. D., Teaching Kids with Mental Helath & Learning Disorders in the Regular Classroom. MN: Free Spirit Publishing Inc., 2007.
Karen Plumley - Karen Plumley is a writer specializing in parenting and education. She works for Parenting NH and the Hippo, NH's most widely read ...
