Reading Intervention: 5 Signs to Look for Before Age 5

Wondering if your child is on the right track? Ask yourself these 5 questions that may help determine if you should reach out to our clinic.

1. Does my child show interest in books?

Children generally show interest in “reading” books at a young age (around age 2). This interest could look like: a toddler picking up a book and bringing it to you, a child pointing to the words on the book knowing they represent something, or a child making up their own story that goes along with the pictures. If your child does not show an interest in books/text or tends to avoid them, that could indicate that they could use some extra help to gain confidence with their pre-literacy skills.

2. Does my child understand rhymes?

Often times, children enjoy rhyming and even try to make a game of it. If you’re singing in the car and the song goes “Jump, jump to the beat. Stomp, stomp, stomp your…”, your child may naturally complete the sentence with “FEET!” Rhyming is part of phonemic awareness which is one aspect to being a future reader.

3. Is my child able to clap to segment syllables?

Children with strong pre-literacy skills can clap the segments of words. For example, if the target word is “banana”, we know that we clap 3 times “ba”, “na”, “na”, once for each syllable.

4. Does my child enjoy songs/nursey rhymes?

Children are often first exposed to language via baby songs and singing. These help the child pick up the natural rhythm of language.

5. Can my child imagine a symbol/letter/picture in their head?

This is where it gets a little tricky. How do you know if your child can picture letters/words/concepts in their head? That is where we come in. Our therapists are trained in reading intervention to address the items above as well as other aspects to learning how to read. It’s all about…

GETTING OFF TO A GOOD START

Click here to view our blog post about WHEN is the right time to start reading intervention (it’s earlier than you may think)!