Dr. Reid Lyon discusses how children develop reading skills and what parents can do to help.
Dr. Reid Lyon is a research psychologist and
serves as Chief of the Child Development and Behavior Branch at the National
Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) within the National
Institutes of Health (NIH). He also serves as the Director of Research Programs
in Reading Development and Disorders, Learning Disabilities, Language
Development and Disorders, and Cognitive Neuroscience. Dr. Lyon delivered this
lecture on February 20, 1999 in San Francisco.
How many children experience difficulties learning to read?
Approximately 20 to 30 percent of school-age
children have difficulties learning to read. About 15 million youngsters do not
have access to the wonders of books and other kinds of texts for learning and
enjoyment. Almost as many girls as boys experience difficulties learning to
read. Boys seem to be identified as reading disabled more readily because they
tend to be more active and boisterous than their female agemates. While these
estimates are alarming, they are on the conservative side.
Are there social and emotional consequences of not learning
to read?
Indeed there are. If you observe children with
reading difficulties, many negative effects become apparent. During the early
grades, their difficulties are quite embarrassing to them. This humiliation
leads to a predictable decrease in motivation and self-esteem. Children are
easily frustrated and ashamed of their difficulties once they notice that many
of their classmates read so effortlessly. As the youngsters mature, many of
them drop out of school, and of those who manage to graduate from high school,
less than two percent attend a four-year college.
What kinds of skills are required to learn to read?
Skilled reading requires the integration
of several skills and abilities. You cannot learn to read an
alphabetic language like English unless you understand that the words that you
hear contain smaller sounds called "phonemes." Phonemes cannot
actually be "heard" by the ear because when we speak, the sounds in
each syllable and word are folded into one sound to permit rapid communication.
Thus, when speaking the word /cat/, the ear hears one sound, not three as in /c/
/a/ /t/. Many readers must be taught "phoneme awareness" if it does
not come easily to them.
Understanding that spoken words are composed of
phonemes is critical because in beginning reading, new words are decoded by
linking the phonemes to the letter symbols. Once children learn how to
apply sounds to letter symbols, they must practice the process to ensure that
their reading becomes rapid and fluent. Reading requires phoneme
awareness, phonics, reading fluency, and comprehension skills. Each of these skills
is necessary and none are sufficient in their own right. They must be
integrated and applied in text through consistent and frequent practice.
Learning to read is not a natural process - it requires systematic and
well-informed instruction.
What are some common signs of reading problems?
Most reading problems can be observed when the
child attempts to read out loud. You will notice a labored approach to decoding
or "sounding out" unknown or unfamiliar words. Reading is typically
hesitant and characterized by frequent starts and stops. If asked about the
meaning of what was just read, the individual frequently has little to say. Not
because he or she isn't smart enough: in fact, many people with reading
problems are very bright. Poor comprehension occurs because they take too long
to read the words, leaving little energy for remembering and understanding what
was read.
Why do some children have difficulties learning to read?
Individuals who are most at-risk for
reading difficulties are those who enter school with limited exposure to oral
language interactions and little prior understanding of concepts related to the
sounds of our language, letter knowledge, print awareness, and general verbal
skills. Children raised in poverty, with limited proficiency in
English, speech and hearing impairments, or from homes where little reading
takes place are especially at-risk for reading failure. However, there are a
substantial number of children who have had substantial exposure to language,
literacy interactions, and opportunities to learn to read who have significant
difficulties acquiring reading skills. Whether the causes are environmental or
genetic in nature, the reading problems occur due to deficits in phoneme
awareness, phonics development, reading fluency, reading comprehension, or
combinations of these.
Can reading problems be prevented?
Most children can learn to read ifdifficulties are detected in kindergarten and first grade and the
appropriate early interventions are applied. Prevention and early intervention
programs that teach phoneme awareness and phonics skills and develop reading
contexts where children have an opportunity to practice skills are more
beneficial than approaches that are less structured and direct. Help needs to
be provided before nine years of age; after that time, children respond more
poorly to reading instruction.
What can parents do to ensure that their children develop a
strong foundation for reading?
The most important thing that parents can do is
talk and read to their children. During the toddler and preschoolyears it is critical to provide children with many different
language and reading experiences that are playful and fun, to include nursery
rhymes and rhyming games to expose youngsters to the sounds of our language,
lap-time reading, and bed-time reading. It is critical that young children
observe their parents reading and learn why reading is so important in our
lives. A major thing to remember is to make all of the language and literacy
interactions in the home positive and enjoyable experiences.
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