My child can't read
Finding Help | Reading Rockets
Children with reading difficulties benefit from the same thing all children benefit from — excellent reading instruction tailored to their needs. But sometimes kids who struggle need more.
Several people may be able to provide your child with extra help:
- Classroom teachers
Your child's teacher may be able to provide more intensive instruction
- School specialists
Specialists at your school — such as the reading specialist, speech/language pathologist, or special education teacher — may be able to provide extra assistance
- Tutors
The school, another organization, or private tutors may be able to provide your child practice with reading or more intensive help
- Professionals in private practice
Educational psychologists and other professionals in private practice may be able to provide an assessment, diagnosis, and/or a plan for helping your child
- Reading clinics
University and private reading clinics may be able to provide an assessment, diagnosis, and/or a plan for helping your child
Help from private tutors and others outside of the school may be very effective but also quite expensive. Some public school services, which are free, are only provided if a child is diagnosed with a learning disability, the most common of which is difficulty with language and reading.
If you suspect your child may have a learning disability (or ADHD), the best place to begin seeking help is your child's school. Public schools have professionals trained to make a diagnosis. They do not charge a fee for these services.
If you disagree with the school's diagnosis, you have the right to ask for further testing or to seek a diagnosis from a professional in private practice. Similarly, if the school does not think it necessary to assess your child, you may want to seek a diagnosis from a professional in private practice.
Remember, in order to qualify for special education services or accommodations, your child must have a diagnosis that clearly shows he or she has a learning disability that meets the criteria defined by law. In general, federal law says that a person is eligible for accommodations when a documented disability significantly interferes with a major life activity such as learning.
Most states use criteria related to the discrepancy between a child's ability and achievement. Federal laws also set clear guidelines on what special education accommodations must be provided.
The bottom line is that it's important to know upfront what services are available from the school and how a child's eligibility for those services is determined.
Tutoring
Sometimes kids just need an extra dose of reading help. Many schools provide tutoring support that includes one-on-one reading instruction. To make sure that your school has a high quality tutoring program, ask these questions:
- How are the tutors trained?
It's important that the tutors understand the goals and purposes of the lesson.
- What is the structure of the tutoring session?
Good tutoring programs use a lesson plan that is based in the best reading research.
- How frequently will my child receive tutoring?
Students should be tutored at least twice a week, for 45 to 60 minutes each time.
Some students will need more. - Are the students assessed regularly to determine progress?
A reading specialist should supervise the assessment program.
- What types of materials are used during the tutoring sessions?
Students should be carefully guided through books that are written at their reading level.
- Does the content of the tutoring session support my child's classroom instruction?
It should.
- Does the content address my child's specific needs?
If your child sounds out words well but struggles with vocabulary, the tutor should spend more time on word meanings than phonics.
Special education
Even with good classroom teaching and extra help, its possible that your child may continue to struggle with reading. Special education may be the answer — and it's required by law for students who are identified as having a learning disability.
The special education process includes these steps:
- Referral
You or your child's teacher suspects a problem and requests an evaluation by the school.
- Evaluation
With input from you and your child's teacher, a team of school professionals completes a full evaluation of your child. This same team — which may include a school psychologist, a speech-language pathologist, and a reading specialist — reviews the results to determine whether your child is eligible to receive special education services.
- Eligibility
If your child is eligible, you and the school team develop your child's Individualized Education Plan (IEP), as required by law. Annually, or more often, you and the school review the IEP and its impact on your child's progress.
If your child is ineligible, continue to push the school for help. If your child is not eligible but still struggles with reading, the school must figure out what will work for your child. You can also turn to private testing.
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See also
Target the Problem! | Reading Rockets
Welcome to Target the Problem!, information to help parents and classroom teachers understand the specific problems a child may be having with reading. You'll find practical suggestions on what you (and kids themselves) can do to help students overcome or deal with their reading difficulties.
Overview
For a quick overview, start the Target the Problem! activity
Areas of reading difficulty
Click below to learn about areas where kids often have reading difficulties:
What you'll find in each section
- An explanation of the problem and how it affects a child's reading
- Information on how children experience the difficulty as well as what it may look like from a parent's or teacher's point of view
- Suggestions on what parents, teachers, and kids themselves can do to help
- Links to more information
You can also download and print this handout version of "Target the Problem!" with all the information presented in chart form.
Things to be aware of
There are many reasons why reading can be hard. Target the Problem! describes the five components of reading and difficulties that kids experience within each area.
We hope this tool helps parents and teachers become aware of specific areas in which a child is having trouble and begin targeting ways to help. (In the Other Difficulties section, you'll also find information about other sources of reading problems, such as processing difficulties and attention issues.)
It's important to note that struggling readers will often have problems in multiple areas. For example, children who have problems with phonemic awareness almost always have problems in word decoding and phonics; children with fluency problems usually have comprehension weaknesses; and a weak vocabulary also impacts comprehension. Please read through all of the sections of Target the Problem! to understand these different factors.
The key thing is, don't hesitate when you suspect a child has a reading difficulty.
Trust your judgment and consider how a child does in comparison with other students. Although reading problems are best addressed when caught at a young age, it's never too late to help a child. One thing to consider early on is whether hearing or vision loss is contributing to your child's difficulties with reading. Be sure to talk with your pediatrician about having your child's hearing and vision tested. This is particularly important for children with fluid in their ears or children with allergies.
Parents play a huge role in making sure that their child's needs are being addressed by the school. Some kids end up being diagnosed with a learning disability. There is an even larger group of students, though, who never receives a diagnosis but who nonetheless needs targeted assistance to learn and read well. Because you care the most about your child, you need to understand your child's needs and advocate for him or her.
A thorough reading evaluation can help determine a child's reading difficulties.
A good evaluation should clarify, for example, whether a child's primary reading problem is poor fluency with comprehension problems secondary to it, or whether other problems that contribute to poor comprehension also exist. Please see the Assessment Process for information on how to get a thorough reading evaluation for your child.
We hope you'll use this information as a starting point. The best thing that can happen is for parents, teachers, and other professionals to begin talking and strategizing how they can help a child overcome or cope with his or her reading difficulties. It takes everyone working together to help a child strengthen the skills that are so crucial to learning to read.
Target the Problem! includes suggested things parents, teachers, and kids themselves can do. The idea is not to put more pressure on a child, but to offer him or her caring support and strategies that work. With a well-informed and engaged team of both parents and teachers behind him or her, your child will have the best opportunity to succeed at reading.
The fine print
Target the Problem! is not intended to replace the expertise of trained professionals such as educational diagnosticians, school psychologists, special educators, or general educators in either diagnosing or instructing children who may have reading disabilities.
Target the Problem! is also not intended to be exhaustive in scope. The topic of reading disabilities is complex and because of the uniqueness of children, families, classrooms, and home settings, there is no one strategy that will work for all children. Please use the information provided in conjunction with information you may glean from other resources and people.
Top Articles
Especially for Parents
Research Briefs
Featured Video: Target the Problem!
About this information
We created "Target the Problem!" to provide parents and classroom teachers with a tool to help them recognize and act upon a child's reading difficulties.
It aims to encourage parents and teachers to start the process of engaging people who can 1) help determine the nature or source of a child's reading problems, and 2) provide targeted instruction or intervention that will help a child overcome difficulties, build upon his or her strengths, and increase skill levels.
Our overall goal is to provide accurate, research-based information; offer suggestions that are practical and feasible; present information so it is easy to understand; bring more attention to reading disabilities; and provide a bridge to the many additional resources available from The Access Center, Reading Rockets, LD OnLine, and other organizations.
In developing this information, we decided to focus on the five components of reading. These components were articulated by the National Reading Panel in 2000, and are well supported by scientific evidence.
"Target the Problem!" is a collaborative project of Reading Rockets, The Access Center, and LD OnLine.
The Access Center and Reading Rockets are funded by the U.S. Department of Education's Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services.
The following individuals contributed to the development of this material: Dr. Kathryn Drummond, Dr. Claudia Edmondson, Dr. Joanne Meier, Dr. Kathleen Ross-Kidder, and Dr. Judy Shanley.
We are grateful to the following individuals for their careful review: Dr. Lynn Fuchs, Dr. Louisa Moats, Dr. Annemarie Palincsar, Dr. Terry Salinger, Dr. Louise Spear-Swerling, and Dr. Joanna Williams.
Please let us know how you are using this tool or if you have any comments or suggestions.
My child cannot read at age 10
My child cannot…
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#12
Ulyana
For such a flagrant disgrace, you urgently need to be deprived of parental rights! You are not taking care of your child! It is a crime! School is a school, but first of all, the parents should deal with the child! You should be publicly punished for this! nine0003
#13
Guest
We have the same situation, neither teachers, nor doctors, nor speech therapists help, and they don’t want to deal with me.
I’m just in despair, already I've tried everything, to no avail.
#14
Ulyana
For such a flagrant disgrace, you urgently need to be deprived of parental rights! You are not taking care of your child! It is a crime! School is a school, but first of all, the parents should deal with the child! You should be publicly punished for this! nine0003
#15
Ulyana
For such a flagrant disgrace, you urgently need to be deprived of parental rights! You are not taking care of your child! It is a crime! School is a school, but first of all, the parents should deal with the child! You should be publicly punished for this!
#16
Guest
What did you do for 10 years? Have you noticed the child? Is it a surprise to you that at 7 he has to go to school and at 7 be able to read? nine11 February 2022 I've tried everything, to no avail.
#18
Guest
My child is 8 years old and we also cannot read in syllables until now, we started talking only from the age of 6, we study with a speech therapist and see a neurologist Every six months we go through rehabilitation in a sanatorium. The older children finished school well, and learned to read from the age of 5 and 6, but the younger one has a different physiology, and even a difficult birth affected the child's condition. nine0003
#19
Guest
This is a backward mentally child
#20,0002 Ulyana
For such egregious ugliness of you urgently parental rights should be terminated! You are not taking care of your child! It is a crime! School is a school, but first of all, the parents should deal with the child! You should be publicly punished for this!
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Last - Go
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MMIXLO
The Son of 6 years old does not know how to read, and this year this year? Do you have to teach or do they teach in school?
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#4
All children are different.
What does self-taught mean? Poor child. Will she also prepare for the exam herself?
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Guest
You are probably a RSP whose goal in life is only to find a new man??! I don’t see a different explanation of why your child is like that ...
#18
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7 06 January 2018, 2018 , 00:19
#20
Principal
My niece once taught herself from packing.
They weren't specifically taught. Just at first the letters asked like: which one? Then she began to put them into words herself. All children are different. What does self-taught mean? Poor child. Will she also prepare for the exam herself?
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#24
Guest
You have to learn, definitely. At school, the child will be very hard. In the laggards it will be one-to-one. They correctly wrote that now the school wants to see already prepared first-graders.
#25
Me
Will not learn to read before school will not learn the program for 1st grade. All graduates of the preparatory group in decent kindergartens no longer just read, but pass the reading technique.
#26
Principal
Be sure to teach reading. And count. They don't teach ANYTHING in our schools. Children's knowledge depends on their parents.
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Guest
In modern Russian realities, all first graders come to school with the ability to read. It will be difficult for your child without this skill in the first grade.
There is still time until September. Get busy.
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