• My husband is wanting to learn phonics to read more fluently as he has been practicing and reading better.
• I am going to teach a 23 year old young man to read.
• My 30-year-old son is developmentally disabled.
• I am acquainted with a young man who is in his early 40s. He is a very successful businessman. One problem, he cannot read.
• My 15 year old is in 9th grade and reads on a 6th grade level also my dad who is 53 reads on a 5th to 6th grade level.
• Reading and spelling were always hard for me too and I still don't like reading very much. Should she be assessed or can we both be assessed?

Hello,
Thanks for your email. Here are my thoughts:

I have worked with a lot of adults, and I do not usually vary the material that I use. I use the same material for all the students that I work with, 5 years old or 55 years old. Phonics are the same no matter how old you are. Some companies do customize their products to be more dignified and less child-oriented. However, usually I find them to be extremely expensive. I have heard Lexia Learning has a program for adults and a company called "Grammarkey" sells a video called "Ready for Adult Phonics." I found the key to successfully working with an adult on their reading is determination and commitment. Adults with poor reading ability have made

it a point to construct their daily lives in a way that avoids reading. This makes reading practice difficult. A child with reading problems must read every day in school, that way reading practice is built-in to their daily lives, they can't avoid it. DAILY reading practice is what will make the biggest difference for your husband. Let me know if you have any more questions,
Happy Reading,

Amy Pedigo

apedigo@letsgolearn.com

2) Hello Amy, I would like to see if you could help direct me. I am going to teach a 23 year old young man to read. I will need tools to help teach him the basics and I don't know where to start. I found "Hooked on Phonics" on the internet, but the cost was $300.00! Do you have any suggestions about other tools I may use to help? Thank you.

Hello, Thanks for your email. Tell me a little bit more about your situation...
1) Have you ever taught reading before? Do you have experience as a teacher?
2) Is this 23-year-old man your son or relative?
3) What are the circumstances surrounding this man's reading issues? Is English his second language? Does he have other learning issues besides reading? Specific diagnosis? What is his education level?
Can he read at all? If so, how much? If not, does he know his letters and sounds?
4) How much time per week do you plan to spend teaching him how to read? Will anyone else be working on his reading skills? Where will you be working with him? Library? School? Kitchen Table? Will you be working with him one-on-one or in a group?
5) Is this man enrolled in any kind of school or does he work or neither?
6) Has anyone ever tried to teach this man to read before?
If you can answer these questions, I can give you some more succinct advice.
Have a great day!

Amy Pedigo
apedigo@letsgolearn.com

2a) Hi Again Amy, I am not a teacher, although, I raised 2 daughters and helped them along the way. The young man is my son-in-law as of April 2001, and he did graduate from high school, how I don't know.

He is very embarrassed and does not want anyone to know that he can't read. He would like to learn to read and get a better job. English is his first and only language. I'm sorry, but I really don't know if there are other learning issues. I do know that his parents did not take time with he or any of the other siblings while growing up. He seems to communicate normally, although, he is not very social. We took him out to eat once and I could tell, he could not read the fish house menu.
I will be the only person working with him, and we will be working at my home.
I cannot imagine not being able to read. It is an enormous handicap to not be able to read. I would like to help him open the door to the wonderful world of reading. Thank you for your help.

Hello, Thanks for your response to my email. I apologize that it has taken me so long to get back to you. Here are my suggestions:

1) I suggest you have your son-in-law tested to determine his strengths and weaknesses in reading. An assessment will give the information on where to direct your instructio

n. Reading specialists in your area would be able to do that. Or if you want to have him do a reading test on line, you can go to www.letsgolearn.com Reading is a complex subject, more that most people realize. A reader experiencing difficulty may have weaknesses and or strengths in a variety of areas. It is important to find out where you son-in-laws issues are.

2) It's hard for me to know the exact nature of his weaknesses however, from you descriptions it sounds as if he has a hard time sounding out words as well as spelling. I suggest you look for something that talks about "Symbol Imagery."

3) I HIGHLY recommend that you take a workshop for reading teachers. Teaching yourself how to be a reading teacher will be the best way for you to help him.

In a nutshell, get him tested to determine the exact weakness, find a program that treats that weakness, and get yourself trained in that program. Teaching an adult to re

ad is a big commitment for the student and the teacher. Working on his reading at least 4 days a week is recommended, 5 is better. I hope this helps.

Amy Pedigo
apedigo@letsgolearn.com

3) Dear Amy, My 30-year-old son is developmentally disabled. He is high functioning; but in his school years in special classes the teachers focused on social skills and not reading. What resources do I need to teach him to read?? How much can he do on his own as homework?

He has expressive aphasia which causes him to have difficulty speaking, although he sure verbalizes a lot as best he can. Local libraries which have reading programs are full and cannot accept him. He uses the Internet to check out movie sites, which he enjoys. He does not recognize many words; but manages to see key words and see trailers of movie titles that he recognizes. Thanks for any help or recommendations that you can provide.

Hello. Thanks for your email. It is impossible for me to know exactly how to teach your son to read, but here are my thoughts:

1) "What resources do I need to teach him to read ??" I have been teaching rea

ding and reading instruction for my entire career so I can say that this is not an easy task. If you are really serious and have at least two hours a day to commit to his reading instruction, you can go to a workshop designed for teachers who teach reading.

2) "How much can he do on his own as homework?" I don't want to say that this isn't possible but I never had good luck with it. I found getting adults to work on their reading independently to be even more difficult than children. Children are required to read in school every day so they have "reading practice" built into their daily lives. I now work for a company called Let's Go Learn, Inc. We have developed an online reading assessment and are in the process of developing online reading instruction. This is the kind of thing that your son could do on his own to supplement your instruction. There are lots of other reading software companies out there, you should find one that suits your son's level. Just remember that they should not replace reading instruction.

I have worked with lots of adults during my career. I know how difficult it can

be, but very rewarding. Your son's reading ability can get better. Learning to teach him yourself is probably the best option since he will probably need instruction over a long period of time. One man I worked with, about the age and profile of your son, worked with me every day for 12 weeks. During that time his mother sat in on most of my lessons. After the 12 weeks, she took over his lessons. She brought him back a year later for another round. It went well. He went from not reading at all to reading at about a 4th grade level. She continues to work with him to this day but I have not been in touch with them in a few years.

I hope this is helpful to you, let me know if I can answer any more questions,

Amy Pedigo
apedigo@letsgolearn.com

4) Amy, I really need your help. I am acquainted with a young man who is in his early 40s. He is a very successful businessman. One problem, he cannot read. people who work closely with him know this. i do not believe his employees are aware of this. I would like to know if there is such a program that can help him with his reading and math. even just his reading. one thing is that it has to be on computer. he has one in his office. is there a program that is voice activated? I really would like to help this man progress and at least be able to read some of his correspondence and financial reports? thanking you in advance for all of your help.

Hello,

Thanks for your email. I have worked with a lot of adults with reading issues. One thing to remember is that it is never too late. I have worked with senior citizens. A person who has gone that long with out learning to read most likely has a weakness in what is called phonemic awareness. Phonemic awareness is the ability to distinguish sounds wit

hin words, this processing ability is vital in reading development. People with this processing weakness have a hard time learning how to sound out words as a child, this makes beginning reading very very difficult. The first step to reading improvement is assessment. Even if he can't read at all, he probably has strengths and weaknesses in reading processes, these need to be measured to create a way to increase his reading abilities. My company, Let's Go Learn, Inc. offers a full reading assessment on line, available on the Homeschool.com website. If he decides he wants to pursue assessment and would rather have an assessment in person, look for someone in your area who specializes in reading assessment and instruction. Make sure any assessment you choose measures all parts of reading; sounding-out words, memorizing words, spelling, reading in context and vocabulary. My company also has on-line instruction in development that might offer him a dignified way to work on his reading. However, a student with extremely poor phonemic awareness may wish to boost his phonemic awareness before tackling a self-taught program. As far as voice recognition software, it is still in the beginning stages. The voice recognition software that they sell at most software stores works mediocre at best and it would be very difficult to use that as your only tool for

reading instruction. I recommend getting some intensive one-on-one reading intervention and supplementing it with a computer program.

I also want to share with you the thing I found most difficult about working with adult students; reading practice. Think of it like this: if you are taking a night course to learn Spanish, and you work at a job with native Spanish speakers, you will have an easy time practicing. If you did not work at a job with native Spanish speakers, you would have a much harder time practicing, it would not be as easy to learn. In my experience teaching young children how to read, they had to practice because reading tasks came up all day, every day in school. This is not true for adults. Adults with reading problems have constructed their entire lives in a manner that avoids reading at all costs. Therefore, building reading practice into their lives, above and beyond instruction, takes a lot of dedication. Don't let him be too embarrassed to get help. Phonemic awareness issues have absolutely nothing to do with intelligence. Without a doubt, some of the smartes

t people I have ever met have phonemic awareness weakness. I wish you luck and remember to remind your friend over and over that it is not too late. He can learn to read.

Happy Reading,

Amy Pedigo
apedigo@letsgolearn.com

5) Dear Amy, My 15 year old is in 9th grade and reads on a 6th grade level also my dad who is 53 reads on a 5th to 6th grade level. I need something to help my child read better and actually get interested in reading and I also need something to help my dad read better and comprehend better so that he can get his GED. I have no idea where to look or where to get started. Could you please give me some ideas or advise on what I need to do to get both of them help. Please remember funds are low so we will be trying to do this at home. Thank you.

Hello, Thanks for your email. Here are my thoughts:

If money is short, you should spend money on educating yourself. I have spent my entire

career learning to teach people how to read, and teaching people with reading difficulties is infinitely harder. Therefore, spending money on a course for yourself is probably better spend than spending a lot of money purchasing an expensive reading kit or program. In my opinion, you should seek out a workshop or a course designed for reading teachers. This will get you up to speed fastest. When signing up for a class, make sure you ask if the class is appropriate for someone who is a homeschool teacher and not a reading specialist.

The second thing I advise is frequency of instruction. Reading intervention in schools is sometimes administered once or twice a week. This is not enough. For your child and especially your dad, daily instruction is crucial to reading improvement. Adults with reading issues have fashioned their lives around avoiding reading. This means that intensive daily reading instruction is especially important for adults. When I am administering reading instruction, I work with reading students 15 to 20 hours a week, one on one.

You may wish to have a reading assessment done for your child and your father, this will

tell you exactly which areas of reading are difficult for them. Sometimes people don't realize how complex reading is, there are many skills and cognitive processes involved. This means that your child and your father will likely have some strengths and weaknesses in reading skills. The first step to informed instruction is assessment. A wise old speech pathologist that I worked with used to say, "You can only know where to go if you know where you are." Assessment will also help you monitor your progress over the year.

I hope this is helpful, let me know if I can answer any other questions.
Happy Reading!

Amy Pedigo
apedigo@letsgolearn.com

6) My daughter is in seventh grade and reading and spelling have always been hard for her. Reading and spelling were always hard for me too and I still don't like reading very much. Should she be assessed or can we both be assessed?

Hello, Yes, she or both of you can be assessed. However, reading and spelling are

not going to get easier for a seventh grader with out some intervention. (Instruction in reading is part of a school's curriculum through the fourth grade in most states) The first step to intervention is assessment. It will be important to know what her reading strengths and weaknesses are. If she has coped thus far, she is probably strong in some areas and weak in others. As high school and then college approach, she will be expected to complete larger and larger quantities of reading and writing. She may be able to get by but she may feel like there is not enough time in the day to do all the work required. Getting help now will be more effective than later. As for you, adults from every walk of life have difficulty with reading. Studies show that 20-30% of the world's population has weakness in the processing abilities necessary for reading. You may want to think about taking an online assessment; this can give you or anyone the dignity and privacy they may desire. Or you can go a different route and have your daughter and or yourself assessed by

a local professional who can explain everything to you if you are not comfortable reading a report that would be generated by an online assessment. If you are interested in improving your own reading level, go for it by all means. I personally have worked with business men, construction workers, moms, grad students and even a few people in their seventies. It is never too late.

Amy Pedigo
apedigo@letsgolearn.com