To understand reading comprehension problems, you must first bear the following in mind:
- Reading comprehension problems could be a sign that there is an underlying condition like dyslexia
- There are other issues that may be responsible for your child’s comprehension problem
- There are several solutions that can be explored between you and your little one’s school that can help
If your child is experiencing difficulty in reading comprehension, there is a lot more at stake than their school work.
This can turn out to be a big problem later in their adult life, especially if it is not checked early enough.
Some parents think that it could be that their child is not intelligent, but that is usually not the case.
Dyslexia is a common cause of reading comprehension problems in kids. However, there are other causes as well with similar symptoms as dyslexia.
Signs and Symptoms
Reading comprehension problems can be different from one child to another, and at various stages of their development.
These signs may appear to be different, but it all depends on what causes them.
Dyslexia
Dyslexia is the most cause of reading comprehension issues.
Dyslexia kids struggle with recognizing letters and associating them with their appropriate sounds.
Rhyming and sounding new words are so e issues that they usually struggle with.
They may also forget words that they have learned before.
Kids with dyslexia may need more time to become familiar with words than kids without the condition.
They may show signs of improvement by reading a new word properly one day but struggle with it on the next.
The inability to recognize words is not the only issue associated with dyslexia.
Reading comprehension also suffers.
Understanding a story will be difficult since they can’t easily read the words.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
This brain-based condition occurs in childhood and can make it difficult for a child to achieve the required level of focus for reading and other activities.
Kids with ADHD have to struggle with Hyperactivity, which is the main symptom of the condition.
Dyslexia is often mistaken for ADHD.
This could be as a result of fighting that is observed in kids who have reading issues.
The fidgeting is usually as a result of frustration.
Kids may throw tantrums in class when they can’t seem to know how to go about a task.
However, it is not rare to find kids who have both conditions.
Research shows that a third of kids with attention issues also have dyslexia.
Auditory Processing Disorder (APD)
Kids with APD struggle with processing information that they hear.
They have issues with understanding what people say or understand a story that is being read aloud.
ADP can also affect reading skills since reading is a process that connects letters with sounds.
But APD kids struggle with differentiating between letters like d and b, and they may also struggle with sounding new words.
Visual processing related issues
Kids with visual processing issues are unable to differentiate between shapes or letters.
Also, letters may appear in the wrong order.
Kids with this condition may experience blurry vision or see double. You might notice kids closing one eye or squinting – which is their way of compensating.