However, this problem has proved easy to fix.

The Warning Signs

The children we help have often seemed to do well in the early stages of reading. The alphabet is not a big problem for them and the child has often learnt a few words quite easily.

As things move on, the child starts to guess more words, sometimes with no relation to the word on the page.

Then the books get more complicated and the child's reading seems to go into reverse.

Eventually it all gets too much and the child's confidence collapses. By now it can be very difficult to progress in any direction because there will be heavy resistance to reading at all.

Without the right help, the child can get stuck in this state permanently, wrecking their entire education, even though we find it can usually be fixed in a matter of weeks.

The Underlying Issue

Most children find text very baffling initially. And so they will use whatever seems the easiest way to decode it. A child with a strong visual memory will use that strength to memorise words by sight. That will seem the easiest option.

The child will probably be taught some phonics in class. But that does not mean that it really makes sense. And it is hard for a teacher to really know that, or fix it in the time available.

Most early reading systems start with books using a very limited vocabulary, which is repeated heavily through each book. This actually encourages the memorisation technique that the visual child has developed.

But it isn't really a reading technique at all, but a shortcut. And the child is travelling down a cul de sac to disaster.

The child needs guidance out of this situation and onto the right path.

The Simple Fix

The first thing is to give the child a method by which to remember all the different phonemes. For instance, in the Easyread Coaching System we do that by using bright and active visual images which are very easy for the child to remember. They become the hooks by which the child can remember all the different sounds. This is a classic memory enhancement technique first developed by the Ancient Greeks.

Next, you must find a way to draw the child away from the memorisation and guessing approach to reading. In Easyread we do this with games designed to do that.

And finally, you need to create a way for the child to read text, without getting stuck. Easyread does that by floating the image for each phoneme above the words in Easyread Text. That means the child can look for a clue whenever a word is unfamiliar.

Using these simple techniques you will see dramatic progress. Children who have become totally frustrated and depressed can learn to read in 2-6 months.