Children at Risk of Reading Problems--From Identification to Prevention

A fundamental skill for growth and improvement in modern society is the ability to read--a skill still denied to many millions of children across the globe. A number of factors share the responsibility for this dilemma. In developing countries, most potential readers live under conditions where instruction is non-optimal or even unavailable (UNESCO, 2014). However, even in the developed world, some children still face serious problems in learning to read. In this latter context, the most severe bottlenecks result from biological factors that lead to dyslexia. In addition, a large proportion of cases of inadequate literacy result from apathy towards reading. The most important correlate of complete reading skill--which also includes comprehension of the subject matter--is the reading activity itself. After first acquiring the ability to decode written material as a necessary prerequisite, a learner can only achieve full literacy by further prolific reading. In this article, the author emphasizes the early identification of children who will face such decoding problems and how such difficulties can be surmounted. [This article is based on the William Cruickshank Memorial Lecture presented in Vilnius, Lithuania, at the 38th Annual Meeting of the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities, July, 2014.]