Reading involves a complex set of skills, and mastering them is crucial for understanding and proficiency. Essential reading skills include:
- Phonemic awareness: the ability to process sounds in words
- Phonics: understanding the relationship between letters and sounds
- Vocabulary development
- Reading fluency
- Comprehension skills
A child needs to develop all these skills to become a proficient reader. If your child has a problem with any of these skills, your child will likely struggle to understand what he or she is reading.
Children's reading difficulties come in various forms, depending on which particular reading skills your child has difficulty with.
Reading difficulties may affect your child's academic progress in school, and in turn, lead to low self-esteem, school refusal and other behavioural problems.