Teaching a Child with ADHD to Read
Reading can be an endless world of discovery, but it can be challenging at times! All children experience learning barriers, but those faced by people with ADHD may be a little different. In this article, we’ll explore how to help a child with ADHD learn to read.
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most common learning disabilities, with 7% of children affected by the condition. ADHD affects executive functioning, which can impact attention, organization, planning, and beginning new tasks. Giving children the right strategies and support can be extremely valuable when they are starting to read, or when building on reading skills they already have.
What is the Effect of ADHD on Reading?
Reading is an incredible skill that can be a window to understanding others and the world around us. However, reading with ADHD can pose some challenges. With the right support, students with ADHD can show great improvement in the following areas:
| Paying Attention | Staying focused while reading a passage and resisting distractions. |
| Decoding | Remembering the letters and sounds of the alphabet or with decoding words. This makes it easier to understand and make sense of the text. |
| Comprehension | Understanding and remembering what they read. This makes it easier to follow along with a story and understand the main idea of a text. |
| Organization | Ability to organize thoughts and understand the structure of text. This can make it easier to understand the meaning of what they are reading. |
| Metacognition | Monitor their own understanding. This makes it easier to adjust as needed to improve their reading skills. |
Learning to Read with ADHD in a Homeschool Environment
Some parents have discovered success in homeschooling for students with ADHD. Homeschooling can provide the necessary adjustments that a traditional classroom may not. Having a controlled learning environment can also provide support and minimize distractions. Students can learn by using their natural strengths, which can be important for developing self-confidence.
Our goal is to make practicing reading skills as enjoyable as possible for you and your student. Here is a list of the different reading strategies we’ll cover, as well as some tips for reading time:
- Practicing self-regulation while reading
- Practicing shifting focus from skill to skill
- Building a foundation of sight words
- Customizing reading instruction
- Providing structure
1. Practicing Self-Regulation While Reading
Self-regulation can improve reading skills by helping students prioritize one task at a time. To practice self-regulation, students may benefit from…
Setting Goals
Students can set specific and measurable reading goals for themselves, which can help them stay on track and motivated.
Breaking Down Tasks
Students can break down their reading tasks into smaller chunks. This can make it easier to focus and to stay on task.
Active Reading
Students may write questions they have or use visual cues, such as highlighting or underlining important information. This can help them focus and remember what they’ve read.
Self-Monitoring
As you read aloud, model appropriate self-monitoring. For example, you might comment on a connection you made, like by saying “That reminds me of the beginning of the book” or “Now I understand why that made the character so surprised before.” Students can use your example to monitor their own behavior.
2. Practicing Shifting Focus
Learning to read a book requires many different skills. Kids with ADHD may need support as they practice one skill at a time. Practicing shifting focus between various aspects of reading, such as decoding words, understanding grammar, and making inferences, can help students by…
Improving attention and focus
Students can learn to sustain attention and focus on the task at hand. This can help them to stay on task and can improve their reading skills.
Improving comprehension and retention
Focusing on different aspects of reading can help them develop a deeper understanding of the story overall.
Developing metacognition
Students can learn to think about their own thinking and to monitor their own understanding. This is an important skill, as it helps students notice if they didn’t fully comprehend a text while they were reading, instead of reaching the end and feeling confused.
3. Building a Foundation of Sight Words
Sight words are very common words that kids can recognize without needing to decode them. Many of these common words also contain unusual spelling patterns that can make them difficult for beginning readers to sound out, like “could” and “said.” Building a foundation of sight words can benefit students with ADHD learning to read by improving…
Decoding skills
Learning sight words helps students recognize words rather than having to sound them out every time.
Vocabulary
By learning sight words, students are also expanding their vocabulary and increasing their understanding of the language.
Memory and comprehension
By committing sight words to memory, students with ADHD are practicing their ability to remember and recall information.
4. Customizing Reading Instruction
Customizing instruction can help students with ADHD learn to read by tailoring their learning to their needs and interests. This can include:
Multisensory instruction
Students with ADHD may benefit from instruction that incorporates multiple senses, such as visual, auditory, and kinesthetic activities. For example, listening to an audiobook while following along can help students stay focused by appealing to multiple senses at once.
Technology
Incorporating technology, such as interactive whiteboards, educational software, audiobooks, and reading apps, can help keep students engaged.
Movement
Incorporating movement, such as physical exercise or active learning activities, can help to increase engagement. For example, they may benefit from standing on a balance disc while reading.
Interest-based activities
Creating activities or lessons that align with the student’s interests can increase engagement and motivation to learn. Try reading books about their favorite animal or books that feature their favorite cartoon characters.
5. Providing Structure
Structure can help students with ADHD get the most out of their reading time. Some strategies for providing structure include…
- Setting clear expectations for the task at hand
- Minimizing distractions in the learning environment
- Establishing a routine so students know what to expect
- Providing visual cues, such as timers, to keep students motivated
How Miacademy Can Help Students With ADHD Learn to Read
At Miacademy, we strive to create an engaging learning environment for all students. We offer a high-quality, accredited curriculum across many subjects in multiple formats. Here are some features we offer that are particularly useful for helping students with ADHD improve their reading:
1. Flexibility
One of the most important things you can provide for your student is flexibility. This allows parents to choose on-level reading materials for their child while they learn. Our self-paced curriculum is able to meet students where they’re at and allows for breaks when needed.
At Miacademy, we design all our curricula with flexibility in mind. Students have access to all lessons across all grade levels and can complete lessons in any order they choose. They can also create their own schedule to optimize their learning experience. Miacademy is able to meet students where they are and help them grow from there.
2. Learning Materials
Our course offers high-quality extensions, instructional videos, practice activities, and assessment quizzes. Students have a variety of ways to interact with the curriculum and practice what they’ve learned! The majority of core subject lessons come with PDF notes for students to follow along with, which can be helpful for students with ADHD.
Our high-quality PDFs include engaging reading lessons, guided reading passages, and various reading games. Parents have full control to choose the best activities to support their child.
3. Accessibility and Learning Management Tools
Our lessons offer built-in text-to-speech capability, closed captions, educational games, automatic grading, and comprehensive report generation features. These features help students learn in the way that works best for them and help parents manage their homeschool records seamlessly.
4. Games, social opportunities, and more!
Miacademy isn’t just a learning platform but also a community. Our site includes a moderated social platform where students can share educational videos, create art, and interact with others safely.
Miacademy’s unparalleled customization and flexibility can be incredibly valuable when starting your homeschool journey. Sometimes, all your student needs to excel is a little extra support! For more information about how our online homeschool curriculum can support you and your child, contact our friendly customer service team!
FAQ
What reading style helps with ADHD?
A tool called Bionic Reading is popular for readers with ADD and ADHD. It has a Chrome extension and mobile app and changes the way that text appears to facilitate eye tracking. The tool bolds the most concise parts of the word, letting the brain fill in the rest. While this may not be ideal for those learning to read, it may be a valuable tool for building fluency.
Does ADHD make it hard to read?
ADHD can present challenges with reading. People with ADHD may experience differences in focus or retaining information they’ve already read, which can lead to unique interpretations of the content. With the right strategies and support, students with ADHD can thrive as readers!
How does ADHD affect learning to read?
ADHD can affect valuable reading skills such as decoding, comprehension, and organization of thoughts. ADHD also affects metacognition, which provides the ability for readers to self-reflect. These effects can lead to new or unique interpretations of the text.