A mom recently said to me, "My son is drowning in school. Do you think he has a learning disability?" What was particularly striking about this question was the fact that the child in question was only in the first half of kindergarten.

EXPECTATIONS BY THE NUMBERS

Probably about 60 – 70% of children pass through the pre-K to kindergarten stage without difficulty. As they enter first grade, they will know all of the upper and lower case letters automatically, and can write them when asked to do so. They may also show a good understanding of the sounds associate with the letters.

These children on the "smooth road" also show early reading skills, with a capacity to read a small number of high-frequency (sight) words. On the other side are the children on a rougher road (approximately 30%).

The children on a rougher road are not developing easily, will

need focused skill development in the fundamentals of letter identification and their associated sounds. Please bear in mind that just because a child is showing difficulty in this early stage of development, does not mean that the child is necessarily dyslexic.

What it does mean, though, is the child needs to be tracked and monitored very closely. There is no gain in waiting to start doing targeted instruction, to move a child from this level to the next level of development.

WHAT TO DO IN THE EARLIEST STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT?

The earliest stage to pay attention to, related to school, literally starts at birth and typically ends when the child leaves kindergarten.

What should you be thinking about as a parent of a child in this stage?

COMMON CONSIDERATIONS : PRIMARY INDICATORS OF READING DIFFICULTIES

There are frequently indicators (I like to think of them as "red flags"), that may ultimately mean nothing, but are often the early predictors that there may be issues, that the child will be facing fairly early on in his/her schooling. While there are probably far too many indicators to keep in mind, some of the primary ones to consider in the preschool range include the following:

DIFFICULTY WITH LABELLING

Labeling involves finding the words to name different things. This difficulty can be shown with a child seemingly groping to express his or herself and not having the use of basic vocabulary be easy.

DIFFICULTY WITH VARIOUS SOUND OR RHYMING GAMES

This can show up formally or informally. Informally you may notice the child being challenged when playing different word games. More formally, the child may have difficulty identifying rhymes on worksheets or in classroom activities.

EXHIBITING CHALLENGES WITH PLAY THAT IS NOT OPPOSITIONAL IN NATURE

When children have trouble playing games, it may not be that they are being difficult or oppositional, but that they are legitimately confused. A mom recently told me about her four-year old who was having meltdowns when playing Candyland, largely because the girl was confused and frustrated because she did not understand how to play the game. This was compounded by the family having fun, when she was having trouble playing the game.

DIFFICULTY UNDERSTANDING OR FOLLOWING DIRECTIONS

Following directions is often immediately attributable to issues with attention. This is often a too fast "go to" done by professionals. Following directions may be a highly significant indicator of language-based confusion, that will typically later emerge with early first grade level academic activities.

SHOWING AVERSION TO ANY EARLY READING ACTIVITIES

Similar to what was noted above, often we mistakenly assume certain things that may or may not be the case. Rather than assume that the child is being difficult or oppositional by avoiding early reading activities, it could well be the case that the child is intuitively avoiding the activities because they are simply too challenging.

SLOW IN RECOGNIZING LETTERS AND THEIR ASSOCIATED SOUNDS

Children who have difficulty learning letters and their associated sounds need to be watched very closely, as it is one of the more important predictors of later reading disability (dyslexia).