Difficulty Reading

Reading problems are common.

• Over 10 million children in the U.S. have problems reading.
• 2 out of 5 children have trouble learning to read.
• 1 out of 5 children have problems with reading that interferes with learning.

How does a child learn to read? Reading is a complex task. In order to read, we must translate visual symbols into words, and words into meaning. Reading can be divided into two skills: decoding and reading comprehension.

• Decoding is the ability to read single words. Children must first learn that letters represent individual speech sounds. Individual speech sounds are called phonemes. The ability to recognize and combine these speech sounds is the basis of reading. Children need to learn that words are created when these sounds are put together. With practice, this can become fast and forms the basis for reading comprehension.
• Reading comprehension is understanding what one reads. The end goal in reading is to understand - to gain insight and knowledge from the act of reading.

To be able to read well, children need to be able to decode and comprehend. To do all this requires attention, memory, language, and brain power.