Search
Do you suspect that your child has a reading problem? If so, you’re not alone.
Lots of parents come to us looking for answers to their children’s reading problems. My own son had struggles with reading when he was young, so not only do I have the help you need, I also understand firsthand what you’re going through.
Let’s get some answers for you!
As you read through this article, trust your instincts. If you think your child is struggling with reading, it is likely that he is. This list can help you be sure.
A child with a reading problem may display some of the issues listed below.
If you recognize your child in any of the signs listed above, don’t despair! Reading problems can stem from a number of different causes, and most of these can be overcome.
Kids with auditory processing disorder often have problems learning to read. Though a child with APD faces many academic challenges, you can help him learn to read. All About Reading uses an instructional approach that is exactly what a child with APD needs!
Dyslexia is a common reading and spelling disability. Approximately 10% of students are affected by dyslexia. Symptoms vary from person to person. If you suspect dyslexia, download our Symptoms of Dyslexia checklist.
Vision problems can cause reading issues. Work with your pediatric ophthalmologist to rule out vision problems such as far-sightedness or convergence insufficiency disorder.
Other causes of reading problems include autism and poor working memory. Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can also cause reading problems because it is difficult for the child to stay focused on the task at hand.
Yes, it is! Sometimes a child is labeled with a reading problem, but the real issue is that he hasn’t been taught in the way he can learn. We can’t expect a child to read if he has gaps in his reading instruction or limited experience. While some kids seem to naturally pick up reading with very little instruction, for many kids, reading success requires direct systematic instruction such as that found in All About Reading.
Other times, too much is expected from very young children. Some children just aren’t ready to read yet, and in those cases, it’s helpful to do pre-reading activities to prepare them, such as those found in our Pre-reading program.
Learning to read takes time—and in many cases, repetition and review—before a child begins to experience success. A child might need to see a word 30 times before he can automatically recognize it by sight. If your child hasn’t met a word that many times yet, don’t be alarmed if he needs to sound it out.
Learning to read can be hard work for kids. If your child has a low frustration tolerance, it can appear that he may have a reading problem even if he doesn’t.
If your child has a reading problem, the most important thing to remember is that you CAN help him. And we can help you! The resources below are all designed to provide parents with the tools they need to teach their children to read and spell, even children with special needs.
All About Reading is a fun and engaging program that starts with essential pre-reading skills and continues on to teach all five key components of reading. This Orton-Gillingham program contains everything your student needs to become a fluent reader for life!
The Power of the Orton-Gillingham Approach: Discover the foundational elements of this powerful approach and how it forms the backbone of the All About Reading and All About Spelling programs.
10 Tips for Reaching Your Struggling Learner: There are very specific teaching methods that you can use to help your struggling learner succeed. One of the most important things you will want to do is to use curricula and teaching strategies that can be tailored to his needs.
How to Solve Letter Reversal Problems: Does your child sometimes confuse certain letters, like b and d or n and u? Beginning readers and dyslexic children may struggle to differentiate between letters that have similar shapes, and issues with letter reversals can have a direct impact on reading, writing, and spelling.
Learning Ally is a non-profit organization committed to helping dyslexic, blind, and visually impaired students thrive. Audiobooks help kids experience the many benefits of consuming text, but without the struggle of reading.
Failure Is Not an Option: In this video, author Marie Rippel shares with you the very personal story of how she came to develop the All About Reading and All About Spelling programs.
All About Reading and Dyslexia: Trained Orton-Gillingham instructor and mom Marianne tells her story of teaching seven children with dyslexia.
How All About Spelling Saved My Dyslexic Son: Heather began homeschooling her dyslexic son after exhausting all other options. That’s when she discovered All About Spelling. This blog post shares how her son’s learning was transformed with AAS.
If you have questions about how to help your struggling reader, please feel free to call or email us.
Does your child show signs of a reading problem?
Victoria
says:Thank you for all the resources you provide to parents to help with reading issues. Most of my kids have been stellar readers, but my 4th has really struggled and shown almost all of those signs. She is super intelligent, but has lost so much confidence because of her struggles. I am so grateful for the multisensory approach that all about reading uses.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceVictoria,
I’m sorry to hear that your child is struggling. I’m happy to help if you have questions or concerns. Let me know.
Susan
says:Looking for a great resource that will help my struggling reader. I believe retention is the underlying problem, but hopeful this program will move him to become an excellent reader!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceSusan,
Let me know if you have questions about how All About Reading helps struggling readers, placement, or anything else. I’m happy to help!
Monica Patterson
says:I have a couple kids who rush through reading and therefore skip little words or replace “said” as mentioned in the post. They’re both good readers otherwise, or I think they are, anyway. Another child struggles with reading comprehension. All of them are improving, however. Only one of them is currently using all about spelling because his spelling is atrocious. The other two do fairly well spelling for their age/ability. My oldest has impeccable reading, comprehension, and spelling!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceMonica,
One thing you can do with each of your kids to help them improve their reading accuracy and comprehension is listen to them read aloud each day for about 10 minutes or so. As you listen, requite them to read accurately. If they skip a word or replace it with another word, wait until then finish the sentence. Then, if they don’t self-correct, stop them and ask them to reread that sentences again. “Oops, that’s not quite right. Let’s read that one again.” If what they read aloud doesn’t make sense, be sure to point that out as well, as that will help them to start thinking about what they are reading as they are reading it, which leads more readily to better self-correction.
Also, with comprehension issues, very often listening to a child read aloud will make it clear what the possible root cause of the comprehension issue is. For one of my sons it was guessing at every multisyllable word, and his guesses were so far off that he had no understanding of what he was reading at all. For another son, it was reading in a flat, monotone way with regard for punctuation. Reading without expression makes it near impossible to gain meaning from text even if every word is read correctly. With work on their particular issues, both boys went on to achieve above average comprehension.
Anyway, here are some blog posts that may be helpful for you:
Help! My Child Skips Small Words When Reading
How to Teach Reading Comprehension
Break the “Word Guessing” Habit
Reading with Expression: 5 Teaching Tips and a Free Printable
I’m always happy to help. Let me know if you have questions or need anything.
Julie
says:My daughter had some of the above issues. I used to work in Optometry and the Optometrist started a reading program while I worked there in my early 20’s. Even though it’s been 30 years later, I realized she may need help. She had a vision evaluation (this is different than an eye exam-it’s in addition). We signed up for Vision Therapy for her convergence insufficiency, went in once a week, and did the rest of therapy at home. It has been well worth the time. Her reading is soaring and she is enjoying being able to read to herself now!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceJulie,
I’m so glad to hear that your daughter got the help she needed to be successful with reading! Thank you for sharing her story with us.
Krystal Jobe
says:Thank you for this post. My second child displays several of these signs. It’s a comfort to know we are not alone in our reading journey. I am hopeful about this reading program and have heard such wonderful things!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceKrystal,
I’m glad that this post was comforting to you. Yes, I can assure you that you are not alone. Many of us here at All About Learning Press have experience homeschooling a child that struggled to learn to read. Two of my children had a terrible time of it, but both are very successful readers now!
If you have questions, or concerns, or just need more encouragement, please reach out. We’re happy to help!
David
says:Thank you for this insightful article. really helpful for things to watch for with my child.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceYou’re welcome, David. I’m glad this was insightful for you.
S
says:This is really helpful for things to watch for with my child.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceI’m glad this was helpful, but if you have questions or concerns, I’m happy to help further.
Holli
says:Thank you for this insightful article. My husband and I were just discussing this very topic about our seven year old. She checks many of the boxes in your list. I have looked into AAR but unfortunately it’s a little out of our price range. We are loving AAS though and the program has been a huge help.
Robin
says: Customer ServiceI am happy to hear that All About Spelling is helping your child, Holli.
Becca shared a great tip about the option of purchasing All About Reading used. In addition, we are giving away a $100 gift certificate this month that you could use toward purchasing All About Reading. We have a giveaway on our blog every month, so be sure to come back to enter again. Lastly, we might be able to help you get materials through a grant if you qualify. We’ve partnered with an organization called HSLDA Compassion in order to do this. HSLDA Compassion applicants should be homeschoolers who have homeschooled for at least 3 months. (You would also need to be a member, but they can help with membership fees too if that’s an issue.)
Becca
says:Hi Holli! AAR has been so helpful for my oldest, and it was definitely a hard decision to make regarding the cost, so I understand where you are coming from. There is a resale group on facebook for gently used curriculum if you can’t or don’t want to purchase new, at full cost. The program has been worth the investment for us (I bought 2 levels new and 2 used), and there’s a way that you can prep the activities and use them for multiple children, making each level a one-time cost! I’m sharing this with you to hopefully help you find a more cost-effective way to use the curriculum we’ve loved and benefitted from so much!
zoritoler imol
says:Very interesting information!Perfect just what I was looking for!
Robin
says: Customer ServiceI’m glad this was helpful for you, Zoritoler! Let me know if you have questions or need more information. I’m happy to help.
Diane Frimmel
says:I have a student who can read individual word cards .When giving word cards that he has read and put into a sentence..and he can’t read the sentence. They have been introduced .The results are not what I accept. He can’t complete a sentence, even if made the sentence out of quite familiar words. I personally think that he shouldn’t be around when his mother is speaking of her dyslexia . He uses this as a crutch or blames his poor quality of the teaching that he receives.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceDiane,
Interesting. My first concern from what you described is a possible vision problem. If a student can read the words in isolation, he should be able to read the same words in a sentence. But if he has a vision issues, such as a convergence insufficiency, he may be having trouble seeing each word when there are other words around it. We discuss issues like this in our Vision Problems blog post.
(Note, it is possible to have 20/20 vision and still have vision problems. Standard exams test each eye separately, but if the eyes are not working well together, reading words mixed in with other words will be extremely difficult.)
As for the student hearing his mother speak about dyslexia, I can address that specifically for your student, but I found with my own students knowing about their learning disability was very important. The students were very much aware that they were struggling and not working on the same level as their peers. It was disheartening and frustrating, but knowing it was not their fault helped them to not feel stupid. Knowing that their difficulties in learning stemmed from a difference in their brains helped them be motivated to work harder, because they understood that they could be successful in time.
I hope this helps some. Let me know if you have additional questions.
Sharon Nell
says:My 7 year old is struggling with reading
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m sorry to hear your 7-year-old is struggling, Sharon. I hope this blog post is helpful, but if you have questions or need anything, please let me know.
Nneka
says:My son is seven and he has difficulty in reading
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m sorry your child is struggling, Nneka. I hope you find the tips in this blog article helpful.
You may find these articles helpful as well:
Helping Kids Sound Out Words
How to Teach Phonograms
The “No Gaps” Approach to Reading and Spelling
Please let me know if you have questions about specific concerns or difficulties.
Monica Velasquez
says:My child is11 years old and is struggling to read, he read one day and the next he forgets some words.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m sorry your child is struggling, Monica. However, it is common for struggling learners to read a word one day and not know it the next day. In fact, such children will often read a word and then not know the same word just a few minutes later in another sentence.
Often older students like your child struggle because they are missing foundational concepts and skills necessary for success in reading. It is very important to ensure that a student’s foundation has no gaps. We offer A “No Gaps” Approach to Reading and Spelling to do this.
Elizabeth M Jenkins
says:I am wanting to sign my child up. She was recently diagnosed ADHD. Her specific area was inattentive. She also goes to eye therapy for convergence issues.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceDo you have any questions or need help with anything, Elizabeth?
We are a curriculum publisher, so there is nothing to sign a child up for with us. All About Reading and All About Spelling are multisensory programs that approach learning through sight, sound, and touch. They are easy to teach without special training or previous experience. The programs are mastery-based rather than grade-level-based, so you can choose the level that fits your student’s needs and customize the review and pace.
Mary
says:Pls my child is 6+ she’s in grad 2 going to 3 in September, pls she needs help in Reading and writing.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m sorry your child is struggling, Mary. I hope you find the tips in this blog article helpful.
You may find these articles helpful as well:
Helping Kids Sound Out Words
How to Teach Phonograms
Break the “Word Guessing” Habit
The “No Gaps” Approach to Reading and Spelling
Please let me know if you have questions about specific concerns or difficulties.
Michael
says:Very helpful
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m glad this was helpful for you, Michael. If you have any questions or concerns, please let us know. We are happy to help if we can!
Catherine mokoena
says:Hey my son is struggling to read, write and he is in grade 4 ,I don’t know how to help him or teach him ,he is 9 years.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceCatherine,
I am sorry to hear your son is struggling with reading. Check out this articles as they may be helpful:
10 Tips for Reaching Your Struggling Learner
The “No Gaps” Approach to Reading and Spelling
Reading Readiness: The Top 5 Skills
How to Teach Phonograms
Helping Kids Sound Out Words
If you have specific questions or concerns I could address, I am happy to help.
Precious
says:My child needs help for reading and writing
Cynthia
says:Please my child needs help
Chaitra
says:My student is not able to read and not able to keep memory any words he is 13 years boy how to help him
Merry
says: Customer ServiceHi Chaitra,
I’m sorry your student is struggling so much with reading! I hope some of the above articles can help and give you some insight into his struggles. If you want to talk more in depth or hear more about how AAR might be able to help, please feel free to email me at support@allaboutlearningpress.com.
Nadia Blair
says:My daughter struggles Reading
Nadia Blair
says:My daughter is 9 year
Shruggles Reading
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m sorry your daughter is struggling, Nadia. I hope this blog post is helpful. You may find our 10 Tips for Reaching Your Struggling Learner blog post and The “No Gaps” Approach to Reading and Spelling article helpful as well.
Please let me know if you have specific concerns or questions.
Crystal Mercado
says:My 7 year old son reads (small words) well some days and not others. How do I know if there’s an issue vs just not ready or just tired?
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceCrystal,
You may be able to tell by how often your son has trouble. If you work on reading at around the same time each day and do it consistently four or five days a week, then you would expect problems with reading to only show up when there is an obvious explanation (like he is sick) or maybe on the first day of the week. If you are working consistently at more or less the same time daily, I would expect how he does to be more or less the same or from day to day. (He will be improving but as you move forward in lessons it gets more difficult, so it will feel like he is doing more or less the same.)
I hope this helps some, but please let me know if you have questions or need more help. I’m happy to aid you as much as you need!
Fawzia
says:My son is 10 and still sounds words
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceFawzia,
I think you may find our How to Develop Reading Fluency article helpful to transition your son from sounding out words to reading smoothly.
The biggest need for developing smooth, fluent reading is to practice reading every day.
Thembakazi
says:Need help she can right but not read them but she speel them correct when righting them
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m sorry your child is having this difficulty, Thembakazi. I hope you find the suggestions in this blog post and in our 10 Tips for Reaching Your Struggling Learner blog post helpful.
Check out our Helping Kids Sound Out Words article. I think it may help.
JoAnn
says:Please send me information on how I can assist my grandchild with his reading
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceJoAnn,
Often a child struggles with reading because they are missing the foundational skills and knowledge necessary for reading success. Our “No Gaps” Approach to Reading and Spelling can address this.
Here are some blog posts that include activities to help students with reading:
How to Teach Phonograms
Helping Kids Sound Out Words
Break the “Word Guessing” Habit
Reading Readiness: The Top 5 Skills
You may also found our 10 Tips for Reaching Your Struggling Learner article helpful as well.
Thuli
says:Hi, I have my casiens Child he was doing grade 4 last year he pass to grade 5,but the is something missing he can’t read, and write my problem how come he alway pass, the is something wrong pls advice
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m sorry your child is having such difficulties, Thuli. Have you seen our 10 Tips for Reaching Your Struggling Learner blog post? It may be helpful.
Les
says:I have a learning disability I’m sixty eight years old and had to pretty much teach myself ! I have 4 grown children 3 out of the 4 were diagnosed with ADHD and one with a learning disability. thanks to my husband who paid for all their tutors they are doing well one has her own design company my son is a salesman doing great and my third daughter with a learning disability is a social worker at a school ! I have ten grandchildren! 2 so far with learning problems.one is going to be ok there parents have money! the social workers little girl is the one I worry about she is going to be 6 and doesn’t know her letters and her colors! I told my daughter two years ago that I think she has a problem but her teachers then and now say kids learn at there own pace. my Granddaughter came home crying that she is not smart! my kids took Orton Gillingham classes for years but that is reading what can we do now ? we have the letter factor go fish cards in the alphabet and colors cards is there anything else? I’m not sure she can afford Orton Gillingham classes it’s over $100 dollars a class where we and she lives .if there is any material out there that you could recommend we would be grateful thanks, Les
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceLes,
I’m so sorry your grandchild is struggling! I agree it is time to do something to help her as her self-esteem is being affected. Her mother can request assessments be done even despite the teachers’ feeling of “everyone learns at their own pace”.
All About Reading and All About Spelling are based on the Orton-Gillingham approach and are designed to be easy to teach at home with no prior training or experience.
Marie Rippel, author and creator of the programs, is a member of the International Dyslexia Association and has instructed graduate-level courses in Orton-Gillingham Literacy Training offered through Nicolet College in Rhinelander, Wisconsin. She has previously served on the Board of Directors of the Literacy Task Force in Wisconsin and tutored students for more than 20 years. Marie’s son is severely dyslexic, and being told by experts that he would never learn to read led directly to her creating All About Reading and All About Spelling. You can see a short video about her son’s story, Failure is Not an Option.
As for learning colors, first are you sure she is not color blind? While more rare with females, it can happen. There are online color blind tests available that are quick and easy to do at home.
Assuming she is not color blind, then the difficulty probably lies with trouble remembering which name belongs to which color. You can help her master colors by working with her in ways that help her memory rather than stress it. We have a free Help Your Child’s Memory ebook that I think you will find helpful.
First, respect her funnel (the funnel concept of memory is covered in the ebook) by working on just one color until it is mastered. Pick one color, say green, and work on it every day. Show green flashcards, make a collage of green things, have lunches or snacks of only green foods, go on “green walks” pointing out every green object, wear green shirts, and otherwise saturate her with green and the concept of green. Several times a day point to a green object and ask her what color it is.
After a couple of days of exploring green, ask her what green feels like. Whatever she replies, help her to make a green square of that texture/feeling. It doesn’t have to make sense to you; just to her. Maybe green is smooth like a leaf, or bumpy like a frog, or feels like grass, or whatever. Help her to make a tactile sheet that feels like green in her mind as well as being the green color. This, along with exploring green in conversation and with clothing, food, neighborhood walks, and such, is the making connections and SMI portions of the memory ebook.
Once you have spent at least a few days on green and she has mastered it (can easily say “green” when asked what color a green object is and can point to a green object when asked to point to something green), then introduce the next color. Choose a color that is quite different than green (orange or purple would be good), and work on it for a week, give or take, as you did green.
However, you must also continue to review the concept of green at least a few times a day even as she is learning the new color. This is the “making learning stick” point in the ebook. Keep the green collage and the green tactile sheet you together made displayed prominently even as you make a collage and tactile sheet for orange (or purple or whatever). Then, when you move on to the third color, you will review the first two colors daily as well.
Work through red, orange, yellow, green, blue, purple, black, white, brown, and gray (in whatever order interests your grandchild). Once those are mastered, you can start expanding into more complex colors like cream, teal, lavender, and so on. Honestly, learning colors never really ends! I was in my thirties before I learned that cyan is a very specific shade that is really neither blue nor green but somehow between. It can be very fun to learn a new color every week or month continuously, plus it’s a great vocabulary-building exercise! Learning where the name “olive” for a particular shade of green came from leads to learning about olive trees which could lead, if you are interested, into Mediterranean geography studies.
I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have additional questions or need more help or suggestions. I’m happy to help as much as you and her mother need!
Concerned Mother
says:I need help. Both of my children have had the same reading teacher in school , in first grade. I MYSELF had the same reading teacher when I was there in first grade. They have both struggled once they got to first grade and I seriously don’t think its them with the issue. If we go a week without studying much at home, they fail. But if we study every night , they pass. It seems to me like this teacher is just not teaching them in school. I feel like I am having to teach them at home. They don’t struggle in any other subject. they have other teachers for all their other subjects.
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceI’m sorry your children are struggling! I can maybe offer tips and suggestions for your teaching if you have specific concerns or questions. Let me know.
I do recommend you address your concerns with your children’s school.
Mary Bedel
says:I have noticed SO MUCH improvement with my daughter through this program. Over summer break, she lost a lot of her fluency skills, but didn’t forget how to decode, which has eliminated a huge portion of her frustration. Thank you for creating this program and making it beautiful, effective, and engaging. We’re very grateful!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceGreat to hear, Mary. Many children lose some skills over long breaks, but it’s wonderful your daughter retained her decoding skills!
Mary Bedel
says:In the future, I hope to not have such a typical summer break. Is that what will stop the setbacks? Is there a typical time period that you shouldn’t go over, say, no more than two weeks off at a time?
Thanks!
Robin E.
says: Customer ServiceGreat question, Mary.
It really depends on the child. A couple of my own kids needed about one day’s worth of reviewing for every week or two they were off school, but a couple of my other kids could go a month without forgetting a thing. And some forget more in some subjects than others (one of my kids needs a bit of reviewing every Monday for Algebra).
One way to enjoy a long summer break but still minimize any forgetting is to include activities during your break that use the skills. We discuss this in our How to Beat the Summer Slide blog post.
Another option that many do is to plan to do a bit of school two or three days a week throughout the break. Even just 30 minutes of school (split into reviewing reading, spelling, and math) can help a child to retain everything from the previous school year.
When I take a long break, I plan to spend a day reviewing for every week we took off. Reviewing when we restart allows for a gentle beginning that helps us get back into the swing of things anyway. Sometimes, for some children, they may need more or less review, but a day for every week off has been a good starting place for us.