|
Contact
Steven R. Fricke
| |
Mastering the Challenges of Reading
Reading is one of the most complex tasks we undertake. In order to read, we must
translate visual symbols into words, and words into meaning.
For many students, reading skills are developed successfully and with relative
ease. However, at least ten million children in the United States are affected
by reading problems. For as many as four in ten children, learning to read is a
difficult task; and one in five have significant reading difficulties. Clearly,
the need for understanding and improved management is great.
Unfortunately, children with poor reading abilities do not just outgrow their
limitations. Reading difficulties represent a persistent dilemma. Fortunately,
learning to read is a process which we can make more successful if we:
 |
understand the foundations needed for
mastering reading |
|
use this understanding to determine the
specific areas that contribute to an individual’s reading difficulties
|
|
use strategies and methods to enhance the likelihood that students
will learn to read despite the challenges of reading |
Reading can
be broadly divided into two academic skills: (1) word decoding, or accurate and
rapid reading of words, and (2) comprehension, understanding the intended
message of a written passage. Both decoding and comprehension are facilitated by
a combination of neurodevelopmental functions.
A closer look at the challenges of reading will be discussed in the following
pages:
|
