Not sure which is the issue for you child? Start with these tips to see if you can make a difference. Sometimes it just takes a few tweaks to build a love of reading in kids!

1. Choose books on topics they love. Does your son love trucks? Does your daughter love owls? Ask the librarian to recommend books on those topics.
2. Strengthen their core cognitive skills. Research shows that most reading struggles are due to weak cognitive skills. In children and teens with dyslexia, those skills are often phonemic awareness and auditory processing. Consider having your child's cognitive skills assessed and then trained at a personal brain training center. If his/her brain skills are weak, a customized brain training program may be able to help.

   
   If reading comprehension is the issue, there are cognitive skills programs that can help. The right program will target the underlying skills needed for strong comprehension, including:

   • Visualization: Research shows this skill is necessary for comparing ideas, making analogies, connecting ideas, understanding abstractions, organizing meaning and retaining information.
   • Reading fluency: The right program can promote speed and accuracy, equipping children to devote less effort to decoding and more attention to comprehension.
   • Vocabulary: A good program will drill key high-frequency words and phrases for quick, accurate recognition.
   • Sequential processing: Strengthening this skill means targeting the critical ability to hold sequences of information in working memory while processing incoming new data.
   • Working memory: Programs that target working memory can improve retention as that information is being compared, analyzed, connected and organized.
   • Reasoning: The right program will target reasoning, critical for analyzing, connecting, understanding and applying new information.
   • Metacognitive strategies: By focusing on the ability to self-monitor success at understanding what's being read, then making internal adjustments to self-correct and improve reading performance, children can thrive.
3. Reward them for milestones. When a child reads his first book on his own or finishes an entire series, celebrate in grand fashion.
4. Make sure they're reading at the right level. Librarians are trained to help you find books to match your child's reading skill level, so let them help. If you choose a book that's too easy, your child may get bored; too hard and they may give up.
5. Take them to the library. In addition to offering a great selection of books, many libraries have storytime, reading-re lated fundraisers and "meet the author" events.