When your child with ADHD struggles with reading
comprehension it is important to intervene quickly and effectively. Problems with understanding what is read can eventually
translate into problems with learning many other subjects.
Most children who struggle with reading comprehension due to
ADHD do so because they spend so much brain energy decoding what they read that
they do not have much left to understand what is being communicated. Children who have this issue have problems
sounding out unfamiliar words. Their
reading is slow and they make many pauses.
I have written about decoding difficulties in a
different article.
This article is about children who struggle with reading comprehension
despite apparently being able to decode words fluently and efficiently.
Make sure your child can decode words well. Some children with ADHD compensate for
decoding difficulties by memorizing a large number of words. These children get to a point where they
cannot memorize any more words. Then
they start to guess words based on context, instead of reading them.
If your child seems to decode words well, then usually the
problem lies in one or both of two areas:
working memory and suppressing irrelevant details.
Working memory describes
the ability to remember, process, and store information simultaneously. When it comes to reading, working memory
enables a person to do tasks such as understanding what a sentence is saying
and relating it to the rest of what has already been said. Difficulties may arise when a child is asked
to recount a story or summarize what they have read. A child may be unable to recall key events,
or to sequence important events.
Possible approaches are:
- brain training games to improve working memory or a broader range of executive functions. This approach is controversial. The research is difficult to interpret because of problems with appropriate blinding and a lack of evidence that increased working memory on psychological testing improves reading comprehension.
- explicit instruction in techniques of reading comprehension. This includes looking for key words, asking specific questions about the passage, identifying the main idea and suppporting ideas, usage of headings/subheadings, etc. If a child struggles on a sentence level with understanding what is being read, they may also benefit from a technique like "visualizing and verbalizing" (Lindamood Bell).
- note taking strategies. This might include things like using a graphic organizer or outline, or different colored highlighters to indicate main ideas and important facts. For patients with dysgraphia, use of a tape recorder may help with working memory issues.
- pauses. Learn to take time out after each paragraph or so to ask yourself what you just read and how it relates to what you have already read.
Suppression of
irrelevant details means the ability to focus on what is important in the
text, and to move on from one idea to the next without being stuck on what was
said before.
Possible approaches include:
- teach students how to categorize or sort into related groups, or sets. Starting first with words, then moving to sentences, students can learn what goes together, and what does not.
- block out the unneeded. Using an index card or sticky notes over parts of the page that are not being read at the time can help a reader focus on what they need to read at the time.
- mark up the page. Students may start with marking key (repeated) words, in order to determine what the passage is mostly about. Then they should mark phrases that talk about the main idea (supporting details). Then, they should make sure (and mark off with a check) that the phrases they marked are about the main idea.
- use a graphic organizer. Insert key words and ideas into a graphic organizer such as a concept map to give a visual idea of how the ideas fit together.
Reading comprehension is a complex task involving many other
skills and many brain processes. Some
trial and error may be involved, as well as hard work, in helping your child
learn to understand and process what they read.
Many children with comprehension difficulties continue to struggle with
reading comprehension for the rest of their lives, but certainly many
eventually learn to read well using some of the techniques listed above.
References:
http://education.jhu.edu/PD/newhorizons/Journals/Winter2011/Mahone
https://www.nmu.edu/education/sites/DrupalEducation/files/UserFiles/Hovie_Dawn_MP.pdf#
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