Reading with understanding is not a simple process. It requires many different skills.
Some of these skills include:
- Phonemic awareness (ability to process sounds in words)
- Phonics (knowledge of letter-sound relationship)
- Vocabulary
- Reading fluency
- Comprehension
A child needs to learn all these skills to become a proficient reader. If your child has a problem with any of these skills, your child will likely struggle to understand what he or she is reading.
Children’s reading difficulties come in various forms. It depends on which skill your child has difficulty with.
Reading difficulties may affect your child’s academic progress in school, and in turn, lead to low self-esteem, school refusal and other behaviourial problems.