By Judith E. Lipson, M.A., LPC

In Phonics: The Foundation of Reading the difficulties of learning to read are discussed. In mid-elementary the focus changes from learning to read to reading to learn. I have seen “good” readers experience difficulty when this occurs, and I’ve seen students struggle in middle and high school though their proficient oral reading makes them appear to be capable readers. Fluency and ease are always essential, but they are not the only requirement for your child to be a successful reader and learner.

Comprehending what one reads is imperative for your child to be successful in school. S/he must have the ability to understand the context of the words in individual sentences, and also understand multiple concepts when reading longer passages.

Concrete comprehension skills are easier to master. These are the abilities to answer questions when the information that is being asked is explicitly stated in the reading selection. These generally include vocabulary, main idea, fact or opinion, sequencing, following directions, and reading for details.

Abstract reasoning includes inference, analysis, evaluation, drawing conclusions, and cause and effect. They require the reader to use prior knowledge and processing to identify what is not explicitly stated.

Both types of comprehension require your child to have adequate processing and working memory skills. When these work effectively, your child has the ability to do all of the following: take in new information, identify and categorize it, merge it with previously learned information, and respond.

In 1956, noted educational psychologist Benjamin Bloom identified the taxonomy of intellectual thinking (“Bloom’s Taxonomy”). In the 1990s this list was updated to reflect the 21^st century. Listed from simplest to most challenging they are: Remembering, Understanding, Applying, Analyzing, Evaluating, and Creating.

These verbs help the reader to identify the type of comprehension skill being requested in a question or project:

• Remember – Recognize, list, describe, identify, find
• Understand – Interpret, summarize, paraphrase, classify, compare, explain
• Apply – Implement, carry out, use
• Analyze – Compare, organize, outline, find, structure, integrate
• Evaluate – Hypothesize, critique, experiment, judge, test
• Create – Design, construct, plan, produce, invent, make

The following is a partial list of techniques that can help your child when comprehension seems to be a challenge:

• Create visual models, pictures, etc
• Offer context clues for the concept or word (show your child the related words in the passage that will help him to understand the unknown word/concept)
• Tell a story, from your child’s experience, that applies the information from the reading passage
• Keep the facts/information isolated, specific and clear
• Provide repetition
• Find an auditory version of the book or have someone read it aloud; especially helpful for learners who prefer learning by listening, or who have poor reading fluency or phonics skills
• Arrange for assistance by a professional educational consultant or tutor

When choosing the best strategy for your child, select the approach that best complements your child’s learning strengths and that works best for the concept.

Comprehension struggles can be temporary and minor, or an indicator of a long-term learning problem. If the underlying cause is an expressive or receptive language disorder, a learning disability, or a cognitive challenge your child will benefit from specialized techniques. If you and your child’s educators suspect one of these conditions, an academic evaluation will be arranged to identify the root of the difficulty and the most appropriate strategies, expectations and teaching techniques. If you have a concern about your child’s reading comprehension, contact the teacher or counselor who can then inform you of your school’s process and procedures.

Judy Lipson is a Licensed Professional Counselor and educational strategist in West Bloomfield. She helps clients of all ages who have learning difficulties; work or school related anxiety; ADHD; Asperger’s Syndrome or Autism Spectrum Disorders; and those who wish to Remember and Become Who You Really Are. Contact Judy at 248.568.8665 and judylipson@spiralwisdom.net, and visit www. SpiralWisdom.net for more information.

Published in Metro You Magazine, March 2012

What if your child appears to have missed the seemingly magic ability to read?

By Judith E. Lipson, M.A., LPC

Reading seems like a naturally occurring event, but your child may struggle to sound out words, or read slowly and choppy. The ability to read requires the ability to create sounds from letters (phonics), to do so fluently, and to access meaning from those sounds (comprehension). In a two-part series, I will discuss many possible causes for reading difficulties.

In order to learn to read, a child must be able to distinguish one letter from another. Many young children experience reversals (especially the letters b, d, p). If this continues after the age of 7 or so, there may be a problem.

Have your child hold up his fingers to create the letters. Thumbs and index fingers form a circle, while the pinky, ring and middle fingers point upward. When your child’s palms face each other, the left hand forms a b, right hand forms the d. Another trick is to have the child trace the letters in sand, shaving cream, etc. Using the body, and not relying on the eyes, can help children learn letters.

Some children have light sensitivity issues, which can result in difficulty reading. The letters are seen with distortions and this is made worse by glare off of white paper.

Reducing bright lights and fluorescent lighting, wearing a cap, and using pastel paper can all help. Additionally, go to Irlen.com to learn more and to find a professional screener in your area.

If your child’s eye muscles don’t work together properly, it can cause difficulty with reading and copying. A child who leans on his hand to read (covering an eye), or lays on her forearm (looking from an angle, which removes one eye’s view) may be compensating for this problem. Ask a developmental / functional optometrist to check visual convergence as well as acuity (20/20 vision).

Your child’s ability to remember what has already been seen, also called visual memory, or re-visualization, is imperative for spelling, copying, and reading.

Play games like “Memory” where picture cards are revealed and then hidden again, in order to see if your child can remember where specific pictures are in order to create a match.

Your child needs to grasp all these skills in order to master phonics, the recognition that each letter, or group of letters (consonant and vowel blends), make a certain sound.

Phonological skills are the other major element of successful reading. Phonological skills are the ability to recognize the sounds that go with letters, without needing visual cues. For example:

Say bat. Now say it again without the /b/. (The proper response is at.)

That exercise demonstrates your child’s ability to manipulate sounds in his mind without looking at any letter or words. Phonological skills are not always directly assessed, or taught, by classroom teachers, particularly after second grade. They are frequently tested as part of an assessment for a learning disability.

To address phonological skills, there are several games that you can play with your child. Keep in mind that the responses do not need to be real words. The first level is to play rhyming games:

Do these rhyme? mat/bat (yes); cat/nat (yes); sad/mad (yes); pon/tag (no).

The next step is to ask your child to rhyme with a word you provide:

Man/Pan rhyme. What rhymes with fat?

After your child can reproduce these consistently, then clap words. Say a sentence to your child, and clap for each word in the sentence. Begin with 2 or 3 word sentences, each word having a single syllable:

Let’s clap together: “How-are-you?” “This-is-fun.” “I-like-to-swim-with-my-friends.”

Next teach your childto clap for compound words: cup-cake; rain-storm. Then apply the clapping method for more complicated syllables: hel-o; Ju-dy; di-no-saur; li-on.

Only after your child can recognize rhymes and clap for words and syllables should you begin manipulating words. First ask your child to remove the beginning consonant sound of a 3 letter word: Say bat. Now say it again without the /b/. (The proper response is at..) Next have your child master the final letter: say bat, say it again without the /t/, (ba).

There are additional, more difficult, requirements for adequate phonological proficiency as well.

You now have an idea of the variety of skills that are required for your child to master the mechanics of reading. Learn more about the challenges of reading in the article titled Reading Comprehension. If you have significant concerns, especially with an older child who has these difficulties, contact your child’s teacher or counselor, or consult with a professional.

Judy Lipson is a Licensed Professional Counselor and educational strategist in West Bloomfield. She helps clients of all ages who have learning difficulties; work or school related anxiety; ADHD; Asperger’s Syndrome or Autism Spectrum Disorders; and those who wish to Remember and Become Who You Really Are. Contact Judy at 248.568.8665 and judylipson@spiralwisdom.net, and visit www. SpiralWisdom.net for more information.

Published in Metro You Magazine, February 2012