Reading Disability, Dyslexia, Learning Disability Prevention

A recent study, published in the Journal of Learning and Instruction, once again confirms reading to children is a positive way to support the development of reading for children who speak English. Reading to children is especially helpful in the area of acquiring language comprehension skills which has a direct correlation to later reading ability.

The study, conducted by George Georgiou a professor at the University of Alberta, focused on exploring what cognitive (brain processing) and non-cognitive variables could be used to forecast eventual reading ability. Georgiou's study found that parents play a critical role in supporting their child's potential reading ability. They do this by establishing a literacy rich home environment. A literacy rich home environment supports the acquisition of pre-reading skills such as letter recognition and knowledge and it also focuses on developing a broad vocabulary. These two important skill areas can be achieved through prioritizing literacy activities at home.

Georgiou says that because the English language is orthographically inconsistent it is more difficult for children to acquire pre-reading skills without direct teaching. Orthographically inconsistent means the English language is not consistent about how words are spelled. In the English language letters can have multiple sounds depending on where the letter is placed in a word and what letters are on either side of it in the word. Because of this complexity, the study found that English speaking children need parents and teachers to teach them to recognize letters, teach them the letter names, and teach them the sounds letters make.

One of the conclusions drawn in this study is that in languages with consistent orthographic rules, parents and teachers do not need to teach the same types of skills to children. The languages that were compared to English were Greek and Finnish. In these cultures it is expected that when children have been in school several months they will be reading -not so in English speaking cultures. Children who speak English, and who have not had exposure to literacy skills, are at significant risk for not being able to read efficiently.

Research has shown that English speaking children run the risk of falling behind at least two years in reading when compared to children who speak a language that is orthographically consistent. Thus there is a connection between reading disabilities and potentially learning disabilities and early literacy exposure. A reading disability, as defined by Wikipedia is a type of learning disability in which children fail to master the fundamentals of reading, such as letter recognition and sound blending. Such children should show adequate intelligence and educational opportunities meaning that the term reading disability does not refer to children who are dull, have had poor educational experiences, or have missed schooling.

There are many people who use the term reading disability synonymously with dyslexia and then there are others who say there is no such thing as dyslexia. New brain research, being conducted with the use of medical technology, will soon lay this debate to rest. In the meantime, dyslexia is defined by Wikipedia as

a learning disorder that manifests itself as a difficulty in reading, spelling, and in some cases math. It is separate and distinct from reading difficulties resulting from other causes, such as noon-neurological deficiency with visiom or hearing, or poor or inadequate reading instruction.

Although this may seem like a gloom and doom prognosis, there is good news - parents can make a significant difference in the prospect of their child being successful in learning to read. This good news is still good for parents who don't have as much time to give to their child as they would like. Ensuring your child has access to, and takes advantage of, educational television programs such as Sesame Street, Dora the Explorer, Electric Company, Word Girl etc., is a good practice.
Some important things parents can do to help their child be prepared to learn to read are: 1) read to your child on a daily basis, 2) play games with your child to help them to learn to recognize letters and know letter names and sounds and 3) give your child the message that reading is important - teach them by example. Let them see you read regularly.