QUESTION: Why is it so hard for my child to sound out new words?

ANSWER:

As a parent, I’m sure you’re always looking for ways to help your child achieve success. So, when they have reading difficulties, you may find yourself feeling overwhelmed and frustrated by the seemingly endless challenges your son or daughter faces when attempting to sound out new words.

Perhaps they don’t seem to be making progress despite your best efforts in helping them along. And now, you’re at a loss trying to figure out why exactly it seems so hard for them to have success when trying to read unfamiliar material aloud.

It’s okay to be concerned. The earlier you address this issue the faster you child can become a confident reader.

You child may be challenged with one or any combination of four aspects of reading:

1. Phonemic Awareness: This is the ability to hear and move around sounds (phonemes) in words. It is a crucial skill for learning to read and spell. For example, the word ‘cat’ has three sounds: /c/, /a/, and /t/. If your child has trouble with phonemic awareness, it will be hard for them to separate, or play with the individual sounds. This makes it difficult for them to learn new words because they have trouble breaking down the word into its different sounds.
2. Decoding Difficulties: This is the process of recognizing the letters in a word, then matching those letters to their sounds and blending these sounds to form words. If your child has decoding difficulties, they may struggle to connect the letters in a word to the sounds those letters make, which makes it hard to figure out unfamiliar words and slow down their reading progress.
3. Dyslexia: This is a specific learning difference that affects the way the brain processes reading and spoken language. Children with dyslexia often have difficulty connecting letters to sounds, which makes reading a challenging task. They may also mix up similar-looking letters or even write some of them backwards.
4. Developmental Issues: Some children may experience developmental delays so they may not learn reading or language as quickly as others. These delays may be due to various factors and might impact their ability to sound out new words proficiently.

The best way to determine the cause of your child’s specific challenges is to get a comprehensive evaluation from an educational psychologist.

Every child is unique. Never compare your child with another… not even a sibling. With your loving support, encouragement, and guidance, they can overcome their challenges and become a confident and successful reader.

Please reach out to me here, for a complimentary, personalized Learning Clarity Breakthrough session to work out specific strategies to help your child.