As a special education teacher who teaches struggling readers with different disabilities, I'm often crafting

mental lists of things I wish parents knew about their struggling readers and students with learning
disabilities, not out of frustration or defense, but out of an earnest desire to see increased confidence and
results from my students. Most important, I am eager for the parents of my students to understand that
their children can and will learn to read, that their children have strengths, not just weaknesses. I want
parents to know how preparing their children to learn to deal with their disability can inspire confidence
and enable them to look forward to a proud future where they understand their disability as well as their
strengths, self-advocating for their unique learning style. This is my manifesto for the struggling reader.

1. Notice Your Child's Success

“My baby can't read!” a mother shouts in front of her child and her teachers. Your child has strengths.
Maybe he can draw beautifully or has an amazing vocabulary. Maybe she has great listening skills.

Often, I feel like my students' parents are so consumed by their kids' deficits in reading that they forget
the things their children can do well. (Teachers are guilty of this, too.) If your child is artistic, use that
talent at home as a way for your child to show understanding of a story you read aloud; draw a picture of
the problem in the story, or draw the main character. Just because your child can't physically decode the
words and/or write a response to a reading comprehension question doesn't mean you can't push for
higher oral comprehension, or neglect one of your child's strengths. Letting your children use their
strengths will boost their confidence, and it has the benefit of letting them see that you know they are
excelling at something.

2. Celebrate Every Success

“Mom, can we get ice cream?” “NO! Not with those grades on that report card,” says a disappointed
parent.

Celebrate every success with a good job or a high five. Every single one. Don't rely on report card grades
to be the judge of your student's progress. Celebrate his or her reading a singular word correctly. Meet
your child on his/her reading level and celebrate the successes at that level. If your child is a beginning or
practically a non-reader, celebrate decoding the word “at” or using a picture to solve an unknown word. If
your child is beginning to read more fluently, celebrate when they self-correct an error. In my daily small
group reading class, I find myself giving praise constantly—and it's because I want them to know that I
notice their progress and the things they do well. If what we're reading is challenging, a smile and a “good
job” can turn the whole lesson around. When I hear parents of my kids fussing at them about grades, I
immediately find myself telling the parent about a small—but wonderful—success his/her child had
reading or writing that school day. Harassing the students over report card grades isn't going to boost their
confidence. Struggling readers need to know what they're doing right, not just their mistakes.
3. Be Honest with Yourself: Set Realistic Goals

“I want my baby to get on-level.”

Saying you want your baby to read on-grade level will not happen overnight. I'm sorry to say it so bluntly,
but you need to be honest with yourself and your student about your child's progress.

Set goals. An easy way to make the very, very long road (did I mention it's long?) to becoming an on-
level reader is to set some very short-term concrete goals. As a teacher who uses a reading-assessment
system and leveled books, my goals for students are often their successfully moving up a single reading
level. At home, you might set a goal even to just practice reading every day. For example, you might
suggest that your child read a certain number of leveled, independent books in a month (leveled books are
books that your child can read independently or with only a little help), or you might set a goal of reading
an interesting chapter book with your child. Make a countdown and cross out each book or chapter,
respectively, until you reach your goal. Remember: you're setting a goal that is achievable for you and
your student that will positively affect his/her reading. (Reading those independent, leveled books at
home or hearing that chapter book is a lot of great reading and listening practice that I wish more of my
students did at home.) What the goal really does is allow them to see that they're capable of reaching a
goal, that they can be successful. You're giving them a chance to develop another strength.

4. Don't Let Poor Spelling Stop Your Child

“He fails every spelling test. He can't spell anything!”

I hear this from nearly every parent of my students with learning disabilities. If your child has a learning
disability, there is a real possibility that he may really struggle with spelling and remembering even very
basic word patterns. Here's the secret: that's okay. Teach your child to cope. Even if your children can't
spell, they still have ideas that they need to express. Don't let poor spelling make your child mute. Use a
dictionary, spell check, or text-prediction software. Have your child start their very own personal word
dictionary as a tool to use while they write. Talk to your student's teacher. See what technology or other
strategies there might be to help your child become more successful. There's a lot out there—but you
won't find much if you're too busy pointing out that your kid can't spell.

5. Share Your Own Difficulties with Your Kids

“My child doesn't want to read at home.”

Here's why your child does not want to read at home: when something is difficult and doesn't come easy,
you generally just flat out don't want to do it! What makes struggling readers even more anxious about
reading is the pressure they're getting both at school and at home to learn to read. (This is yet another
reason why setting goals and celebrating every small success are so important.) Tell your child the things
you're not great at. Admitting that you also have things you struggle with can provide support and help
your struggling reader understand that people have different strengths and weaknesses. An anecdote I
often share with my frustrated readers is how I have always had terrible hand-to-eye coordination. And as
an adult, I even maintain a joke with the people I interact with regularly: “do not throw anything to me or
expect me to throw something to you.” That's right; I am terrible at nearly every sport. However, I'll
always give it a shot, and I try. When I'm on family vacation and it's time for some beach volleyball,
you'll find me flailing beside the net or nose-diving into the sand. (This is the moral, the part where you're
supposed to understand why I'm rambling about my lack of athleticism. Kids should try things they're not
great at, and they should know you have weaknesses, too. )

6. Read Aloud to Your Child--It's Fun and Helpful

“My kid doesn't understand what he reads!”

Your struggling reader can do more—if you help. Struggling readers should be read to every single day.
Hearing someone else read not only helps your students hear the language they speak, it also has the
amazing possibility of sparking creativity and interest and a chance to work on comprehension without
the battle of decoding the text. A struggling reader may only read short, short books with little interest or
depth, or because, if reading is a challenge, they may not fully understand the content of the text. When
you read aloud (or have a program such as an iPad app that reads books aloud—call it old-fashioned, but
a real human reading to children is better), they have the opportunity to focus on the meaning of the
words. They develop background knowledge, culture, and it allows them to use their imagination.

7. Kids Feel Supported When They See Parents and Teachers Working Together to Help Them

“Honey, Mom and Dad are talking to the teacher right now. Go play with that puzzle over there.”

I cringe at any parent-teacher meeting where I hear those words. Your child's education is not a private
matter that excludes your child. It's the child's education! He or she needs to know what's going on, and it
hurts your child's confidence when you tell him to go somewhere else while you and the teacher tell each
other secrets. Do your kids a favor and tell them where they stand academically, what their talents are,
what they need help with, and the plan for helping them learn. Remember: you, the parents, will have a
plan and a goal in mind! Also remember that your child’s teacher will have a plan as well. Kids feel
supported when they see parents and teachers working together to help them, but not when they are
shuffled off into a corner to do the proverbial puzzle.

8. Small Steps Can Bring Big Improvements

“What can I do at night with my daughter (or son)”

This list could go on and on, but there is one more important thing to remember. It doesn't need to be
complicated. If your child is just beginning to read or is a very slow reader, go over the alphabet and letter
sounds. Break apart short CVC (consonant-vowel-consonant) words (sit, hat, log, and so on), and blend
these sounds together (/j/ /o/ /b/; job). If your child is a little more independent, sit with her, help her with
hard words as she reads, maybe read aloud a chapter of a fun book to her every night before bed. Talk
about what happened in the story, the characters, and the setting; what’s the problem in the story? Read a
nonfiction book and talk about what you all learned from the text.

If your struggling child is older, let her be the teacher and read her books to siblings. Or, in our tech-
obsessed culture, teach your child to grab a camera or recorder and record videos or audio notes of herself
reading and then follow along with them, checking errors in reading.

9. It's Okay to Read Slowly

“My kid reads so slowly.”

This is all right. Struggling readers and students with learning disabilities may read slowly. They might
read faster as they grow in their reading ability or, like nearly all dyslexics, they may be a slow reader for
life. If your child is reading below a mid-second grade level, don't worry about fluency or speed. Focus on
accuracy, or reading the words correctly. And if your child is diagnosed with dyslexia, don't pressure him
to read faster. Instead, give him strategies to help him remember what he read, such as writing a sentence
or two or drawing a picture of what happened on each page (or in each chapter). Your kid is going to live
with a learning disability as an adult. Teach him how to deal with it now, so he'll be better able to
navigate the world later.

10. Teach Them How to Help Themselves

“Will my child grow out of this?”

If your child has been diagnosed with a learning disability, no. But that doesn't mean your child won't
learn how to read or be a complete failure. If you teach your child how to cope and deal with his/her
disability now, you're doing your child an incredible favor. Teach your children to advocate for
themselves. Teach them how to ask for help. Teach them how to understand their strengths and
weaknesses. Teach them about resources they can go to for help and how to ensure they receive the
accommodations they need for success. If you teach your children to do this at school, they're going to go
into the world feeling confident and set up for success; they'll know how they fit in and what they need to
do to keep up. And that's worth more than being able to read 180 words per minute.
How to Help a Student Who Struggles With Reading
Overcome Their Reading Difficulties and Achieve Reading Success

If your child struggles with reading, in almost all cases you can help your student become a proficient
reader. Individuals struggle with reading because they lack specific skills. To help a student overcome
their reading difficulty you need to directly help him develop all skills necessary for proficient reading.
This article empowers parents, teachers and other caring individuals with information and resources to
help a struggling reader achieve reading success.

Steps for Successful Reading Remediation:

How to help your child or student overcome reading difficulties

Step 1: Learn More!

Before you start working with your child or student, empower yourself with information. Discover and
explore the science of proficient reading and reading difficulties. Start with the articles:
Ø How Reading Works

Ø Students who Face Difficulties Learning to Read: Information on Reading Problems and Dyslexia

Ø Skills Necessary for Proficient Reading

Ø Overview & Visual Representation of Process of Proficient Reading

Ø Reading about Reading: A Partial List of Recommended Books to Expand Your Knowledge on
Reading

Step 2: Understand the Intent of Effective Remediation

If reading is difficult for your child, your objective is to directly help him develop proficient reader skills.
Successful remediation requires direct, intensive intervention with an effective program. Effective
remediation is not teaching down to a lower level, helping him learn ways to ‘manage’ his reading
difficulties, or continuing practice of impaired reading. Effective remediation directly builds necessary
skills so the student acquires the necessary skills and can advance. To read proficiently the student needs
to convert print to sound and develop phonologic processing pathways. After fundamental phonemic
processing is established the student needs to build advanced skill. Effective reading remediation
programs directly develop all skills necessary for proficient reading. A real life example of how effective
targeted instruction can help a child succeed can be found in the article What Can Baseball Batting, a
Terrific Dad, and a Bucket Teach Us About Reading?

Step 3: Recognize Direct Intervention is Essential

Struggling readers are lacking essential skills and need direct effective intervention. In almost all cases,
students do not ‘outgrow’ reading problems. Research data reveals struggling students rarely ‘catch up’
on their own. Look at the information under ‘The Scope of Reading Difficulties in America’ in the
University of Oregon’s Big Ideas in Beginning Reading website
http://reading.uoregon.edu/scope/trial_scope_index.php and their chart. As students get older, difficulty
reading handicaps them further in all subject areas. They get behind not only in reading but in other areas
because they are limited by their inability to easily and proficiently access written language. Intervene
immediately to develop correct proficient reader skills. You need to get your child or student on track to
proficient reading as quickly as possible. While it is best to remediate early, the neural research proves
effective remediation can noticeably improve reading skills and develop proficient reader neural
processing pathways in older students and adults. Struggling readers need direct intervention. Direct
effective intervention in a one-on-one situation by a parent, teacher or other caring adult is the ideal
situation.

Step 4: Evaluate the Student and Identify Deficiencies in Necessary Skills

Carefully evaluate how your child or student is reading and check for specific skills. An evaluation is not
a ‘test’ but rather an informal tool to help you determine the exact reading skills you need help your
student develop. Students struggle with reading because they lack specific necessary skills. You need
identify the existing deficiencies. This is comparable to a coach watching a player perform a task so they
can determine the specific weaknesses and then coaching to strengthen those areas. Individual evaluation
results help you identify missing skills and target instruction to effectively help your student build the
necessary skills for proficient reading. For further information on evaluating individuals to determine
possible gaps in reading skills and how to use evaluation results to focus instruction see the articles:
Ø The Importance of Evaluations in Reading Remediation: How to Conduct Reading Evaluations

Ø Common Reading Problems: How to identify common reading problems and target instruction to
help struggling readers develop necessary skills

Ø Actual Reading Errors Made by Struggling Readers: What These Errors May Indicate, How to
Evaluate Errors, Identify Deficiencies and Target Instruction to Build Necessary Skills

Step 5: Set an Effective Remediation Plan

Use the results of the evaluation to help set a specific remediation plan. Effectiveness is key to successful
remediation. Most students who struggle with reading are missing essential fundamental skills. It is
important to go back and establish the correct skills. Remember an effective remediation plan is not
‘teaching down’ to a lower level but rather directly teaching and developing essential skills to build up
and raise the student to the proficient level. To be effective, remediation must directly help the student
establish and build necessary skills.

To achieve and maximize effectiveness the remediation program should meet the following criteria:
· Use effective instruction: The remediation must directly establish the skills necessary for proficient
reading. The neuroscience reveals the facts on the process of proficient reading. To read proficiently the
student must convert print to sound using phonologic processing pathways. Proficient reading requires the
acquisition of specific skills. See the article How Reading Works and Skills Necessary for Proficient
Reading. To be effective, remediation must help the student build necessary skills (phonemic awareness,
knowledge of the complete code, tracking, blending, attention to detail) and establish proficient reader
phonologic processing pathways. Continuing to read the ‘incorrect’ way, additional practice of incorrect
strategies, or repeating a program that failed the student the first time around will NOT help the student
overcome their difficulties. You must redirect the student and build necessary skills with effective
instruction. The brain imaging shows effective direct systematic phonics programs improve reading skills
and develop proficient reader neural pathways in struggling readers. After foundational phonologic
processing is established, effective remediation also directly teaches the advanced skills.

The neural imaging studies show us that dyslexic readers are literally are on the ‘wrong track’ with their
reading and using incorrect processors. Effective intervention needs to be carefully focused to extinguish
use of incorrect processors and intentionally develop proficient phonologic processing pathways. Both the
validated results based research and the neural imaging research prove the effectiveness of direct
systematic phonics programs in teaching students to read. Be sure the instructional program you select
meets the criteria for an effective, direct, systematic phonics based approach. Intervention with
‘balanced’ or ‘integrated’ approaches fails many students because it allows the student to continue
reading the ‘wrong way’ instead of insuring the student develops the ‘correct’ phonologic processors.
Effective instruction directly helps the student acquire all necessary skills. The student’s success in
achieving reading proficiency depends on effectiveness of the instruction. For additional information see
the article Elements of an Effective Reading Remediation Program.

· Target instruction: The remediation program needs to be targeted to develop the specific skills the
student is lacking. The reading evaluation helps you identify skill deficiencies and target your instruction.
See the discussion and articles listed under the preceding evaluation step for information on targeting
instruction to help struggling readers develop necessary skills.

· Directly teach all skills: Always explicitly teach the student exactly what they need to know. Don’t
leave it for chance for a student to acquire necessary skills. Effective remediation requires direct explicit
instruction. Embedded, implicit, analytical or incidental approaches are ineffective for many students.
Direct instruction is particularly critical in remediation, because the student has obviously missed the skill
in previous instruction. Directly teach all essential skills. This includes direct instruction in foundational
skills as well as in the advanced skills.

· Teach complete skills and knowledge: Effective remediation requires instruction in complete skills
and knowledge. Reading requires acquisition of many skills. Help the student by teaching the complete
set of skills and knowledge. Start with the foundational skills but do not stop there. Teach all of the
essential subskills. Teach the complete phonetic code. Teach each of the advanced skills.

· Present information systematically: Reading is a complex learned skills requiring mastery of many
different subskills. To help students learn and master the difficult and complex task of proficient reading,
teach information in a deliberate, carefully planned manner. Systematic presentation of material helps
students manage and master the complexities of reading. Systematic presentation is especially critical in
remediation. A step-by-step approach allows the student time to practice and master individual skills
before additional information and complexities are added. Start simple, build the foundation and then
progressively add skills and knowledge as the student learns. Directly teach each of the essential subskills
in phonemic awareness, blending, tracking, attention to detail and knowledge of the complete phonemic
code and directly establish correct phonologic processing. After foundational phonologic processing is
established systematically develop the advanced skills. Carefully controlled systematic presentation
increases effectiveness because it helps the student learn.

· Use an intensive remediation schedule: An intensive schedule is important for remediation success. An
intensive program is necessary to overcome incorrect habits and establish correct proficient reader skills.
If you proceed too slowly it is difficult to help the student build necessary skills. This is true for many
activities. It is hard to learn how to play a trumpet if you practice only once a week, or to get into shape if
you only work out for 20 minutes every other week. Effective remediation requires an intensive and
consistent schedule. For reading remediation, a 45-60 minute sessions 5 times/week is ideal. An intensive
schedule is not only effective in developing skills but it allows the student to make rapid progress. This
rapid progress provides additional benefits as the student sees improvement and gains confidence. Older
students need to quickly complete the remediation ‘learning how to read’ stage and advance to
proficiency so they can get back on track with their classmates and move ahead with the ‘reading to
learn’.

· Individual tutoring is ideal! Individual instruction is the most efficient and effective remediation
situation because it offers the best opportunity for direct instruction, careful monitoring and instant
feedback. You can monitor exactly what the student is doing, focus instruction, provide immediate
correction and feedback, adapt to meet unique needs, and insure the student acquires necessary skills. Plus
working with a student in a one-on-one situation is an enjoyable experience. Individualized, one-on-one
instruction by a parent, teacher or other caring adult is the ideal situation for remediation. If you are not
able to teach your child, find or hire someone such as a grandmother, uncle, older cousin, friend or
neighbor who can work with and tutor your child. Most caring literate adults (and some older teenagers)
can successfully teach a child to read with well designed effective direct systematic phonics instructional
materials.

Step 6: Explain the Reading Remediation Plan to the Student

Before starting an effective reading remediation program with a struggling reader it is important to
explain the program to the student. You need the student to understand the effective remediation directly
teaches and develops essential skills to raise the student to the proficient level. Make sure the student
understands reading remediation is NOT teaching down at lower level but rather building necessary skills
to help bring the student up to proficiency.

The student’s effort and attitude will effect how quickly they learn. Motivated students progress faster
than students with a poor attitude. Help the student develop positive attitude toward remediation. Some
older students frustrated with their failure develop a negative attitude towards reading. Remember, this
‘dislike’ of reading is human nature. We tend to ‘dislike’ and avoid activities we find difficult or fail at
frequently. Help the student understand 1) reading is a complex learned skill, 2) reading problems are
common, 3) reading problems have nothing to do with intelligence or ability, 4) difficulties reading are
caused by weakness in phonologic processing and other fundamental skills, 5) Effective instruction
improves reading skills, and 6) because they are older and have significant background knowledge and
higher level skills they can advance rapidly and 7) with some direct work you are confident they will
develop proficient reader skills. Share information and help the student approach the remediation with a
positive attitude. See the article Explaining an Effective Reading Remediation Program to the Student.

Step 7: Take Action! Teach the Student with Effective Targeted Direct Instruction

Sit down with your child or student and teach them with an effective program. Select and use a highly
effective program that directly helps the student acquire necessary skills and develop proficient
phonologic processing. If your student is not processing print phonetically you need to use a strong direct
systematic phonics program that intentionally develops necessary phonologic processing pathways. To be
effective in remediation situations the program needs not only to directly develop correct skills but also
must extinguish improper techniques. For additional information on selecting an effective reading
remediation program see the article Elements of an Effective Reading Remediation Program.

As discussed previously, an effective instructional program is essential. However, an effective program is

worthless if the material is not taught to the child. Even if they have access to effective material,
struggling readers are unlikely to learn correct skills on their own. The teaching itself is critical. Someone
must sit down with the student and spend time directly teaching the necessary skills. Reading success
requires two equally critical elements: (1) an effective direct systematic reading remediation program and
(2) The actual direct teaching actions and time with a parent, teacher or other caring individual. The
equation for reading success is:

Effective Remediation Program + Teaching = Reading Success

Conclusion: The author’s personal message for parents who have a child struggling with reading: You
can help your child learn to read proficiently! Although the research data provides information on how to
help children overcome reading problems, it is my own experience successfully tutoring student who
were struggling that has made me so passionate about the importance and proven success of effective
direct systematic phonics. Time after time I have seen a dramatic turnaround in reading skills! All it
takes is direct instruction with effective materials and some one-on-one tutoring time. I firmly believe
any loving parent, teacher or caring adult willing to sit down with their child can have similar success.
With an effective direct systematic phonics program and some one-on-one tutoring time, you CAN help
your child learn to read proficiently. Helping your child learn to read proficiently is one of the most
valuable gifts you can give your child.

Back on the Right Track Reading Lessons is specifically designed to advance reading skills of struggling
readers. This highly effective direct systematic phonics program provides easy-to-use tools so parents,
teachers and other caring adults can help struggling readers acquire necessary skills and achieve success
reading. For additional information and a preview of this highly effective reading remediation program
see www.righttrackreading.com.

We can achieve reading success, one student at a time!