Should We Wait For a Child With Learning Disabilities To Fall Behind, Or Should We Provide First Grade Reading Help?

By: Darin Browne Click author's name for more of his/her articles

First grade reading help is not readily available in lots of places around the world for a child with learning disabilities. In the minds of many, a child with learning disabilities is very often not even identifiable before grade two, when they begin to display behavior trouble or fall behind their peers in reading, writing and spelling.

Nevertheless, all practitioners agree that if we can identify the problems early enough, first grade reading help could make a huge difference in the future schooling of a child with learning disabilities. Why then do we wait to offer the first grade reading help that many of these kids so urgently need, choosing a â€œwait and seeâ€ way of thinking over a preventative strike against a condition which can be so damaging and so devastating in the life of the child.

The problem perhaps lies in the early recognition of a child with learning disabilities. Rather than a definitive test, we find that we have a series of general, and often highly contentious tests, and we need to push back a definitive diagnosis until we have absolute proof of a learning difficulty based on the truth that the child is underperforming when compared to their peers. If detected early enough, first grade reading help may kick start the development progression, and this could be strictly what the child with learning disabilities needs to move forward in their studies.

Teachers undoubtedly are in the front line of this recognition, and they may hold the key to providing first grade reading help that influences a complete generation. As an Optometrist who has worked with a lot of a child with learning disabilities, I believe that, principally in the early stages of development such as in the first grade, reading help can be offered in sensible and simple ways that a child of this age group can appreciate.

Yet supplying first grade reading help for children is not the genuine issue. There are things that can be prepared for children who are struggling. Detecting exactly which child requires the help is the main function facing teachers and educators, before they become merely another child with learning disabilities in subsequent grades, struggling to read, write and spell. It appears that for children in the first grade, reading help is not so much unavailable but irrelevant until the presenting problems become great enough to be noticeable and clearly evident to all.

Vision therapy could be a possible form of first grade reading help which is economical, efficient and can be applied to most children in the grade without fear of unpleasant effects. The principle is easy: a child with learning disabilities nearly at all times shows reduced visual skills, such as eye movements, focus, directional concepts, visual memory, coding, sequencing and the like.

This lack in visual skills can be drastically improved using simple, easy to know ideas that you can do in your own home, without trips to the Optometrist. All you need is access to the right program, and the discipline to employ it. For more information about these programs visit our website.

I firmly consider that the right vision therapy can have a big effect on how your child develops throughout school, and that first grade reading help in the form of vision therapy should be made available to every suspected child with learning disabilities, whether the problems are being manifested in the first grade or not. You have zero to lose, so much to potentially gain and the ideas are fun and helpful even if a child seems to be doing all right in class. Donâ€™t make the mistake of waiting too long before you give first grade reading help for your child.

Article Source: ABC Article Directory

About The Author: Darin Browne is a Behavioral Optometrist who lives in Queensland, Australia. He has recently developed an amazing Home Based Vision Therapy Course, which offers over 180 pages of teaching and exercises, empowering parents to train their own childrenâ€™s visual skills and see positive, sustainable improvement in their reading, writing and spelling. For a FREE Ecourse which includes some of these therapies, check out First Grade Reading Help