10 CHARACTERISTICS OF STRUGGLING READERS

Reading is a common struggle for students of all ages around the globe. It can be a struggle that the student has since a long time constantly or in some cases it can be that the reading progression is not as expected. The children who are struggling with reading are also seen to have trouble with skills like writing, spellings, and comprehension.

Struggling readers along with poor academic grades are also seen to suffer with stress and frustration due to inability to perform well academically. This also impacts their confidence and further success.

Be aware of the reading difficulties in children

Dyslexia is known to be one of the most common reading disabilities that is seen to affect students of all ages. Approximately 15-20% of people which include a majority of children struggle with some degree of dyslexia. This impacts ability to read, write, spell, and process the given information at the level which is expected in accordance to their age.

According to all educationists, reading is considered to be a fundamental life skill that must be mastered by all children in order to perform well in school and subsequently in the future. Students who are struggling with reading can quickly lag behind their peers in their classes. Inability to read can pose as a big hurdle in future success. This makes it very important to watch for red flags that might indicate that your child is struggling with reading so that an early intervention can help the child in due time.

A parent is usually the first person to recognize a reading problem in a child. A parent's observation is critical also because some of the earliest signs of a reading difficulty can be seen during early preschool and kindergarten years. One of the earliest and hallmark sign of reading difficulty can be struggle in manipulating sounds in words. Parents may note that child is struggling with rhyming words, word games, or may be recognizing words that start with the same sound.

10 Traits or Characteristics Common in Children Struggling with Reading

There are few traits that have been identified as red flags indicating struggling readers. Though these characteristics are not true for all struggling readers, but these are truly the most common ones.

A struggling reader may:

1. Not be primarily auditory

This depicts that telling these students what a word says, how to say that word and teaching them how to and where to write the word, and reading the word aloud many times might not result in learning as expected. This takes a lot of time and leaves both the child and teacher or parent equally discouraged with no apparent outcome.

2. Need hooks or tools for learning and remembering

Pictures are considered one of the best connections between words and meanings that can be used as tools. This is because a picture is captured instantly and does not need an explanation. A word set in an image and shows the meaning of the word is capturing to these children. For a visual learner images are the only and best tool.

3. Benefit from body motions that match the meaning of the words

The children who struggle with reading are often found to be tactile or kinesthetic learners. This means that when a gesture or body motion that matches the meaning of the word is given to them, they have a body-felt hook to memory and this makes it easier for them.

4. Have trouble handling a lot of details while learning

It is likely for troubled readers that when you give them lots of rules to follow for interpreting a word, it will cause more problems than helping them. It is more likely that telling them the whole word is better for them. Phonics skills can be taught once the child is able to recognize the word.

5. Not have their basic sounds down pat

The basic building blocks for words are sound or phonics. If a child’s foundation of sounds or phonics is not strong then the reading progression will be slow. The most common problem these students have is in understanding vowel sounds.

6. Mix up the sequence of letters in words

Struggling readers most frequently are unfamiliar with the pattern or sequence of words and letters in language. They view each word as an individual word with the lack of any attempt or skills of linking the words together or maintaining any relationship within them.

7. Habit of removing a sound or adding one that is not in the word

When children are seen to do this then it is mainly because they don’t have the understanding of the structure of words. Struggling readers are however noticed to remember words when they are grouped with other words that have an element in common.

8. Can successfully sound out a word but not able to recall having done so a line or two later

Children who struggle to read more often become so focused on the technical aspects of sounding out words that they don’t seem to understand the basic concept that reading is more than sounding out strings of letters. They mistakenly think they are reading when they can sound out a word, and then the next word, and so forth.

9. Try to sound out every word they come to

Children that have not purposefully envisioned whole words are more commonly not able to remember them even the next time they see them.

10. Confuse words that look very similar to each other

There are many words that look similar and so can be confusing to the readers already having a struggle with reading. It can be that the beginnings and endings of these words are same. Also these students can be confused with some words that are flipped to each other, for example saw and was, no and on.

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These warning signs can be helpful to parents who suspect that their child’s reading progression is not as expected. However, it must be remembered that just because a child is struggling does not necessarily mean there is a serious problem. Reading is a complex learning process and takes time and plenty of practice with right direction. Furthermore, it is important for parents to not to panic if any of these warning signs are seen in their child. Calm and reasoned reactions with the right solutions are the most effective for your child.