Struggling to read - Why is it so hard?

You did all the right things.

You read to your child as a baby, used good language models at home and bought colourful, absorbing children’s stories that pack your bookshelves.

And yet, your primary school aged child is still struggling with literacy.

What went wrong, you ask yourself?

Many parents are surprised to learn that despite a supportive family background, learning to read and write is often not an automatic or struggle-free process for many kids. In fact, approximately 10% of children experience mild to moderate learning difficulties, while 5% experience severe challenges. About 80% of these kids have difficulty learning to read and spell.

Children’s literacy develops in different ways and at different rates, however, by the time they finish their first year at primary school, most teachers are hopeful that their students’ literacy is beginning to become functional.

By this, we mean that their basic knowledge of sounds (phonemic awareness) is in place and that they are starting to learn phonics along as well as skills in vocabulary, de-coding, verbal comprehension and listening.

What is a Specific Learning Difficulty?

A Specific Learning Difficulty is a short-term or persistent problem in one or more areas of literacy, numeracy and learning how to learn.

It’s important to remember that a Specific Learning Difficulty is usually not the result of a lack of motivation, poor teaching, attention difficulties or low intelligence.

In fact, kids with Specific Learning Difficulties are usually as capable as any other child in most areas of the curriculum, but simply struggle with specific skills like recognising letters or coping with numbers or reading.

These children often compensate for their challenges by developing strength in other areas. For example, while they might have difficulty putting words into written language, they can have lots of great ideas and be very good oral communicators.

For this reason, it can sometimes take time for parents and teachers to realise that a child is struggling, especially if their development has appeared quite normal in the early years.

Kids with Specific Learning Difficulties do best when their challenges are recognised early and when they are given appropriate support.

It almost goes without saying that if Specific Learning Difficulties are left undetected or overlooked, a child can become frustrated and feel like a failure at school. This can lead to significant self-esteem problems as a child progresses through the school system.

What can I do to help?

If your child is not doing as well as expected, or is doing well in some areas but finding other work very difficult:

• Make an appointment and speak to your child's teacher about your child’s support needs. It is also helpful if the school’s Learning Support Teacher is able to attend these meetings. Take examples of your child’s work with you and ask about strategies that you can use at home to support those being used in the classroom.
   
• Keep a check on your child's progress. If he or she is not making improvement, ask questions and request that the teacher try something different. Before new methods are introduced, ask for information about the goals of the new strategy and how your child’s progress will be measured.
  
  
• Ask for a Psychometric Assessment to be done at school. This comprehensive intelligence, processing and skills test will provide you and your child’s school with concrete information about how your child learns. Most public and independent schools have a part-time school counsellor who is qualified to conduct these kind of assessments. Be aware though, that you may need to wait until time can be made available to conduct these tests, as they are quite lengthy and school counsellors have many responsibilities.
  
  
• If testing is not possible at school, or if you consider the wait to be too long, think about having an assessment done by a child psychologist, educational psychologist or special education teacher.
  
  
• Contact a support organisation for specific learning difficulties (for example SPELD in NSW). They can offer information and resources that could assist your child.
  
  
• Help your child to focus on and practise the things that he or she can do well. Every child has a skill or an interest that should be encouraged – and this is especially relevant to maintain the confidence of kids who struggle at school

For more information about Specific Learning Difficulties contact:

• SPELD – Specific Learning Difficulties Association of NSW
• What’s the Difference – Slow learner or Learning Disabled? by Karen MacKay