What mystifies many parents is where and
why the reading process breaks down.
Although, problems may occur in any area,
decoding, comprehension, or retention,
the root of most reading problems, in the
view of many experts, is decoding. 

Decoding is the ability to apply your knowledge of
letter-sound relationships, including knowledge of
letter patterns, to correctly pronounce written
words. Understanding these relationships gives
children the ability to recognize familiar words
quickly and to figure out words they haven't
seen before. (ReadingRockets.org). 

Learning disabled children who have problems
ENCODING have difficulty putting their ideas
into messages they can deliver and that can be
understood by other people. This may mean that
a child has a good idea floating around in his/her
head, but he/she can't put the ideas into a
written story that makes a lot of sense.
(Familyeducation.com).

Reading Facts:

a.   Roughly 85% of children diagnosed with learning
     difficulties have a primary problem with reading
     and related language skills.

b.  Reading difficulties are neurodevelopmental in nature.

c.  Neurodevelopmental problems don't go away, but
    they do not mean that a student (or an adult) cannot
    earn or progress in school and life.

d.  Most children with reading difficulties can be taught
    reading strategies for success in school.
 
e.  When children's reading problems are identified early,
    they are more likely to learn strategies that will raise
    their reading to grade level.

Decoding Difficulties

Decoding is the process by which a word is broken
into individual phonemes and recognized based on
those phonemes. For instance, proficient decoders
separate the sounds "buh," "aah," and "guh" in
the word "bag." Someone who has difficulty
decoding, and thus difficulty reading easily,
may not hear and differentiate these phonemes.
"Buh," "aah," and "guh" might be meaningless to
them in relation to the word "bag" on the page.
Experts have no one explanation for this
phenomenon. In some cases, it may reflect
that some people simply require more time to
separate sounds -- time that isn't there.

Signs of decoding difficulties

*  trouble sounding out words and recognizing words out
   of context 
*  confusion between letters and the sounds they represent 
*  slow oral reading rate (reading word-by-word) 
*  reading without expression 
*  ignoring punctuation while reading

Try it yourself.

Comprehension Difficulties

Comprehension relies on mastery of decoding;
children who struggle to decode find it
difficult to understand and remember
what has been read.  Because their efforts
to grasp individual words are so exhausting,
they have no resources left for understanding.

Signs of Comprehension Difficulties

*   confusion about the meaning of words and sentences 
*   inability to connect ideas in a passage 
*   omission of, or glossing over detail 
*   difficulty distinguishing significant information from
    minor details 
*   lack of concentration during reading 
 

Retention Difficulties

Retention requires both decoding and comprehending
what is written. This task relies on high level
cognitive skills, including memory and the ability to
group and retrieve related ideas. As students progress
through grade levels, they are expected to retain
more and more of what they read. From third grade
on, reading to learn is central to classroom work.
By high school it is an essential task.

Information from the www.pbs.org website.
Misunderstood Minds! Visit this link for more information! http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/misunderstoodminds/readingdiffs.html

What signs are associated with a
reading disorder?

*   poor recognition of the written word
*   very slow oral reading
*   many mistakes in oral reading
*   very poor comprehension of what has been read 
 
 
Students who suffer from this kind of learning
disorder frequently have:

*   low self-esteem
*   social problems
*   increased dropout rate at school

Reading disorders may also be associated with:
 
* conduct disorder
* attention deficit disorder
* depression
* other learning disorders

A reading disorder is usually brought to
the attention of the child’s parents in
kindergarten or first grade when reading
instruction becomes a very important part
of the classroom teaching.

How is a reading disorder diagnosed?

The person with normal intelligence demonstrates
poor reading skills and no other neurological, visual,
or hearing problems. Some children with very high
intelligence may not have a reading disorder
discovered until later in elementary school.
Because standardized group testing is not accurate
enough to diagnose this disorder, it is very
important that the individual be given special
psychoeducational tests to determine if a learning
disorder is present. Special attention must be given
to the child’s ethnic and cultural background by
the student’s examiner.

How is a reading disorder treated?

A learning disability in mathematics is characterized by an unexpected learning problem after a classroom teacher or other trained professional (e.g., a tutor) has provided a child with appropriate learning experiences over a period of time. Appropriate learning experiences refer to practices that are supported by sound research and that are implemented in the way in which they were designed to be used. The time period refers to the duration of time that is needed to help the child learn the skills and concepts, which are challenging for the child to learn. Typically, the child with a math disability has difficulty making sufficient school progress in mathematics similar to that of her peer group despite the implementation of effective teaching practices over time.

Studies have shown that some students with a math disability also have a reading disability or Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder (AD/HD). Other studies have identified a group of children who have only a math disability.

Several Sources of a Math Disability:

When a child is identified as having a math disability, his difficulty may stem from problems in one or more of the following areas: memory, cognitive development, visual-spatial ability, and speech and language delays.

Memory

Memory problems may affect a child’s math performance in several ways. Here are two examples: