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Early Signs of a Reading Difficulty
Parents are often the first to suspect their child has a reading problem. An expert alerts parents to some of the earliest indicators of a reading difficulty.
Everyday activities are a natural and effective way to begin teaching your young child about letters and words. Download and print these colorful "take-along" activities the next time you go to the grocery store or farmer's market. Turn your regular trip into a reading adventure!
Effective Reading Interventions for Kids With Learning Disabilities
Research-based information and advice for sizing up reading programs and finding the right one for your child with a learning disability.
Building Your Child’s Vocabulary
Get Ready to Read: Screening Tool
"Get Ready to Read" is a fast, free, research-based, and easy-to-use screening tool. It consists of 20 questions that parents and caregivers can ask a four-year-old to see if he or she is on track for learning how to read.
Help your child get the most out of a family or school trip to the museum. Spend some time at the library or online to learn more about subjects that interest your child. And don't forget to ask family members about their own interesting collections!
Reading to Two: A Double Challenge
While parents understand the importance of reading to children, it is often a struggle to read to two. How can parents negotiate the "book wars," when one child only wants to read chapter books and the other insists on reading picture books? What can parents do when one child wants to read about dinosaurs and the other wants to read about ballerinas?
How Does Your Child Hear and Talk?
Every child is unique and has an individual rate of development. This chart represents, on average, the age by which most children will accomplish skills in hearing, understanding, and talking.
Adventures in Reading: Family Literacy Bags
Reading Rockets has developed a set of family literacy bags to encourage hands-on fun and learning centered around paired fiction and nonfiction books.
Is It a Reading Disorder or Developmental Lag?
How do parents know if their child's reading delay is a real problem or simply a "developmental lag?" How long should parents wait before seeking help if their child is struggling with reading? Susan Hall answers these questions.
Having Your Child Tested for Learning Disabilities Outside of School
Children who struggle with reading often need extra help. This help usually comes from the school, but some parents choose to look outside of the school for professionals who can assess, diagnose, tutor, or provide other education services. The following article provides information on how to find the right person for your child.
Finding a Great Summer Program: A Checklist for Parents
Learning to speak two languages is like learning any other skill. To do it well, children need lots of practice, which parents can help provide. This American Speech-Language-Hearing Association brief gives information and tips for parents.
Preparing Your Child for Testing
Helping Young Children Develop Strong Writing Skills
Writing is an important part of our daily lives, but it is a difficult skill to learn and master. By getting a head start with some simple activities, though, you can help your child begin to develop her writing skills at an early age. By doing so you will be contributing to her future success as a student and as an adult while teaching her how to express herself. In this article, we provide some of the reasons that writing is so important in our lives, as well as a list of suggestions that will help your child become a stronger writer.
Understanding the Special Education Process
This overview walks parents through each step of the special education process. PACER Center, author of this article, describes what happens from the time a child is referred for evaluation through the development of an individualized education program (IEP).
Family Literacy Bags:
A School-to-Home Project
The home is the child’s first classroom and parents are the first teachers. Parents who read to their children everyday and talk about what they are reading together promote a joy of reading and literacy achievement. How can teachers encourage reading at home and support the role of parents as educators? One way is through the use of Family Literacy Bags — a theme-based collection of books and related interactive activities that kids bring home from school to share with their family.
Accessible Textbooks: A Guide for Parents of Children with Learning Disabilities
If your child cannot read their textbooks, they need digital copies of their books. Schools now can use National Instructional Material Accessibility Standard (NIMAS) to get e-text. Learn the details that will help you advocate for your child so they can use NIMAS. And learn where to find the publishers and producers that provide e-text.