The first day of school is just around the corner. A new year is a fresh start for everyone, including teachers. If your child is struggling to learn to read, however, these first few weeks and months are not the time to wait to “see how things go this year.” It takes some time for the teacher to get to know your student’s personality and to assess your child’s academic needs. It takes some time for the teacher to discern what issues can be attributed to the summer slump and what issues need intervention. Then, more time passes as testing is done and meetings are held to put an action plan in place. Sometimes schools like to wait until first quarter’s grades come out before initiating a process of intervention.
Parents, if last year’s teacher raised concerns about your child’s reading progress, please speak with the new teacher as soon as you can. While some teachers share with each other about incoming classes, don’t assume this is the case. Politely ask the teacher for a few minutes to sit down and talk about what reading was like for your child last year. Mention difficulty with spelling or any other things that you would like the teacher to know. Ask him/her to keep you informed about the results of assessments. You can even set a time in the near future to review your child’s progress.
Lastly, if your child is struggling to learn to read and/or spell, there is no need to wait for a formal diagnosis for help. Don’t let the weeks roll by before taking steps to help your child. Call us at the Nashville Dyslexia Center to schedule a free student screening for our private instruction for struggling readers. We’re ready to help!