My child has just recently been diagnosed with ADHD. Is it harder (or do you know if it is) to teach them to read than is to teach a child that does not have this disorder? He wants to read so badly, and he has learned in a little less than a week how to sign and say several things in Spanish which is not the language spoken in our home. He learns quickly as long as he does not get bored or frustrated. I am scared that learning to read is going to be one of the hardest things that we are going to do. I will do anything that it takes to help him with this if you can maybe just offer a little help. He does great with the letters and sounds when I keep his one-on-one attention, but if you try and just ask him out of the blue, he has trouble. He has known his alphabet and recognized his letters since he was 2.

I have many children in my school who have been diagnosed with ADD and ADHD. Some of their parents seek medical attention, and the results are remarkable. Some of them do not. It is an ongoing discussion and is a very personal parental choice. Keeping in very close contact with your pediatrician will be very important for you as he/she will be able to keep you abreast of the latest medical ideas and information. Also the Internet and parental support groups will be VERY beneficial. Staying informed and educated is the best tool you can have.

That said, I can tell you that we have tremendous success with all of our children using a Phonics program. It is extremely easy to understand and is very parent friendly. The biggest problem you will have is keeping his attention on the learning at hand, and then helping him to retain that information. That is probably the biggest argument for medication with ADHD children. It helps even out their learning abilities and attention spans. Again, a very personal choice–do your homework, and you’ll know what will be best for your child and your family.

Phonics is the way to go for a solid language foundation and understanding that leads to reading success. Start with simple flashcards–homemade ones work just as well as purchased ones. Print some from your computer. Teach that each letter not only has a name, but a sound. Music is a great help here. Identify the letters in his name, in your name, in the billboard as you drive by. Example: “Hey Johnny, there’s a big J in that sign. J is in our name. What does J say?” Identify different letters around the house. “Hey Johnny, the cereal box has a big O on it. What does O say?” Once knowing the letters and sounds is second nature to your child, then you need to start blending those letters and sounds into words. Your child doesn’t need to know the entire alphabet before he starts blending the letters that he knows into words. A good set of letters to learn first is m, a, p, s, t, b, h, and n. You can form many words with these letters. Let him apply what he learns right away. “We’re learning the letter ‘m’ today and you can use it in many words.”

Blending is a big key to reading success, and many phonics programs leave out this step, but it’s very important. Blend the letters together (flashcards help here again (ones without pictures)). Place a letter down in front of your child, “m.” Then a vowel, “a,” then a closing consonant, “t.” Have him sound out these letters based upon what he knows each letter says. Then push the letters closer together as you sound out each letter, faster and faster. Pretty soon you’ll be reading “mat.”

“Did you hear the word I just read? Mat.” Have him do the same exercise. Replace the beginning and ending consonants to form different words. Before long, he’s reading the words you place in front of him. Caution here–keep it short and sweet. Just a few minutes every day. If he doesn’t get blending right away, that’s OK. Back up and reaffirm that he truly does know what these letters say. Invent all kinds of blending “card” games with these flashcards. You lay down a word and have him sound it out, then he lays down a word and you sound it out. Back and forth, game after game. He thinks he’s playing with mom, which he is, but also learning valuable reading skills.

Once blending is mastered, introduce simple phonetic books. There are many companies that have these available. A good local bookstore should be able to introduce you to phonetic readers. Look for grade markings K-1. Make sure the words and story plots are simple and that they are phonetic-based. Go slow and repeat things as often as you need to ensure retention. Good luck and enjoy the process of working with your child.