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 twenty-five 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 neurodevelopmental underpinnings for mastering reading
• use this understanding to determine the specific neurodevelopmental 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, or understanding the intended message of a written passage. Both decoding and comprehension are facilitated by a combination of neurodevelopmental functions. To look more closely at the challenges of reading, click below:

• Reading Comprehension/The Attention Components
• Memory: Short-Term, Active, and Long-Term Memory
• Language: Word Decoding and Understanding of Syntax and Semantics
• Higher Order Cognition: Concept Formation Problem Solving Skills
• Word Decoding
• Comprehension
• Additional readings