For a variety of reasons, many children struggle with reading. Some simply need better instruction at school and more practice at home. Others may need additional help from a tutor or reading specialist in order to become a competent reader. Yet children who experience unusual difficulties learning to read may actually have a learning disability. In fact, the majority of people with learning disabilities struggle with reading.

If you are concerned about a child's reading abilities, it is better to act sooner rather than later. The longer you wait, the harder it will be for the child to catch up to classmates in terms of reading skills and content knowledge. But before requesting a comprehensive evaluation for learning disabilities, there are a number of intermediate steps that you can take. For starters, it is important that parents and teachers talk to determine what types of additional support are available and what types of practice the child should have. Every school and district should be ready and able to implement an effective plan for helping struggling readers.