The 5 Steps

1. It is easier to help students before they get too far behind their peers.
2. Reading is fundamental to all learning that takes place in school.
3. Children with reading problems often hold themselves in low esteem, putting themselves at risk for behavioral and emotional problems.
4. There are evidence-based methods for remedying reading problems in the early grades.
5. Start early—the process for getting reading help for your child may take longer      than you expect.

Parents are sometimes confused about whether their child is reading at grade level and don’t know when they should act. The teacher advises them not to worry but parents see their child struggling. If you face this dilemma, you can try the following:

1. Monitor your child’s classroom work.
2. Read the National Academy of Sciences guidelines to learn the reading skills that children should have at the end of kindergarten through grade three as they are first learning to read.  
3. Use the informal screening tests found in the back of the book and self-administer them to your child. 

1. Ask your child to read pages from his books out loud.
2. Ask your child to read the papers and books he brings home from school. Can he read his classroom books and papers accurately, fluently, and with comprehension?
3. Get some grade-appropriate books from your library and see if your child is able to read them. Most librarians can be very helpful in guiding you to such books.
4. Meet with the classroom teacher to ask questions about your child’s reading progress.
5. Use the informal screening tests found in the back of the book and self-administer them to your child. 

If you see that your child is having trouble by the end of the first grade, it is time to act!

    A comprehensive individual diagnostic evaluation should include the following elements:

• A personal history that includes a developmental, medical, behavioral, academic, and family history.
• A measure of general intellectual functioning.
• Evaluation of cognitive processing (language, memory, auditory processing, visual processing, reasoning, processing speed, and executive functioning).
• Tests of specific oral language skills related to reading and writing success, including tests of phonological processing, verbal memory, and rapid naming.
• Educational tests to determine how your child does in the basic skill areas of reading, spelling, written language, and math.
• An evaluation of social/emotional functioning when appropriate.
• A classroom observation is completed by the evaluator or other professional.
• Recommendations are based on your child’s academic, cognitive, and psychological strengths and weaknesses.

Parents cannot dictate to schools how they must teach their children or what tests they must administer as part of an evaluation.  BUT parents can insist on progress.

Evaluating your child’s progress is critical. If you have questions about your child’s reading progress, you will need to have his or her progress monitored by an independent evaluator. Learn how to evaluate progress by comparing standard scores and percentile ranks of standardized tests.

Understanding test results is crucial if you are to have a voice in advocating for the services your child needs. You need to know enough about test scores so that you can understand your child’s evaluation reports.

1. Learn how to plot your child’s test scores on a bell curve to get a good      “picture” of his performance.
2. Learn the meaning of some basic statistical terms such as standard scores and percentile ranks. you can find a full explanation of these terms in Smart Kid, Can’t Read.

1. You want to know what part of the reading process your child struggles with and what type of remediation works best for his needs.
2. You need to be able to tell the difference between an effective reading program and an ineffective reading program.
3. You should know what works best for beginning readers and for those who struggle with reading.
4. Check out this informational brief from International Dyslexia Association.

• Phonological Awareness Instruction:  This means teaching children that the words they hear spoken can be broken into individual sounds. This skill is usually mastered by the end of  Kindergarten.
• Systematic and direct phonics instruction: There is a well-established sequence of phonics instruction that goes from easy to more difficult. This is called systematic phonics instruction. Phonics instruction is cumulative, so it is important that students have appropriately sequenced instruction that builds skills in a logical order, beginning with the simplest phonetic rules and progressing to the more complex phonetic principles.
• Fluency training: Fluency refers to the ability to read words and passages automatically and at a good rate of speed. Difficulty reading fluently is often related to trouble with decoding. Children need repeated exposures to words so those words become automatic.
• Instruction in vocabulary and reading comprehension: Most children who struggle to read, have difficulty with decoding. However, some children are able to decode well but have trouble understanding what they read, other children have difficulty in both areas. A good reading program will provide instruction in vocabulary and reading comprehension.
• Teaching to mastery: Beginning readers need to master one level of reading before going onto another, more difficult, level. The pace of instruction must be individualized for the struggling reader to give them the time they need to master the material.

1. Learn what the law says about your school's obligations to teach your child.
2. Learn what the law says about your rights and the rights of your child.
3. Learn how to write an effective Individual Education Plan that meets the needs of your child and helps you to monitor your child’s progress.
4. To read the law and receive a more detailed legal understanding of IDEA 2004,      visit www.wrightslaw.com.

1. Learn how to effectively manage team meetings.
2. Remember that schools seldom have enough appropriately trained teachers to help all the students who need help with reading.  You are actually competing for those services. Keep at it, your child deserves your help.
3. Develop your own working team to help you gain appropriate services for your child.  While the school is one of your resources, they are not your only resource.
4. Network with other parents who face similar issues – they can be a source of support as well as information.
5. Learn to organize your paperwork as well as your interactions with the school system.
6. Take care of yourself.  This can be a long journey.