How to Increase Reading Skills for Students With Learning Disabilities
A learning disability can be frustrating for both students and teachers. Students, frustrated that they aren't catching on, can stop trying to learn or can act out in class. Teachers who want their students to do well often feel like they are not doing enough when children with learning disabilities continue to read poorly after every lesson. However, teachers may find that changing their traditional learning methods a bit can help students with learning disabilities to increase their reading skills.
Instructions
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Make sure the reading difficulty is not related to a physical problem. Although some students may appear to have learning disabilities, they may actually have vision problems that are inhibiting reading skills. Have students evaluated by a doctor, and if a physical problem is found, work with the doctor and family to accommodate the physical issue in the classroom.
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2
Determine which step of the reading process the student is in. According to the Learning Disabilities Association of America, children are usually taught to read through a progression of activities intended to develop skills necessary for reading, including developing phonetic awareness, understanding the alphabet and learning to decode or "sound out" words. Give students tests designed to determine which reading and pre-reading skills they have and which they lack.
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3
Create individualized plans designed to help students develop the reading skills they lack. For instance, students who are having trouble with phonetic awareness might need to play special phonics games, while students who struggle with reading comprehension may need to complete worksheets on finding the main idea or try different note-taking strategies. The Learning Disabilities Association of America lists different approaches to take on its website (see Resources).
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Reassess students to determine whether their reading skills have improved. Give the same assessment you did in Step 2. Use the results of the assessment to determine whether students are reading well enough to move on to developing the next reading skill building block or if they need a new strategy for developing the skill they were working on.
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Tips & Warnings
Don't forget the importance of learning styles in teaching reading. If your students aren't picking up a certain reading skill, they may need activities that are designed with their reading styles in mind.
Though most teachers offer reading instruction in a chronological organization of skill sets, the Learning Disabilities Association of America notes that not all children with learning disabilities will require skills in this order.
References
Resources
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