Image of a frustrated kid struggling to read.

Why is My Child Struggling to Read?

Variety of Factors

While there may be several factors involved in a child’s struggle to read, most of them can be attributed to differences in learning styles. Traditional reading instruction works for some children while proving to be ineffective for others, due to their individual learning strengths. Some common characteristics of reading challenges include:

They don’t learn by memorizing facts, such as letter names and sounds
They don’t understand that sounds string together to make words
They aren’t able to attach meaning to symbols (letters, groups of letters)
They don’t know their basic letter sounds
They try to sound everything out
They are not able to comprehend what they are sounding out
They sound out a word but forget it shortly thereafter
They guess at words
They aren’t able to comprehend the content of what they read
They don’t understand the structure of language
They don’t understand the inconsistencies in our language
They are not able to maintain a steady focus long enough to read a handful of words in sequence

Once a child has struggled with reading, belief in their ability to succeed is significantly diminished. Your child can successfully learn to read and confidently believe in their innate abilities!