We encourage families to seek assistance from teachers early in their child’s schooling to ensure they receive explicit teaching in application of letter-sound connections to reading and spelling.
Many parents request an assessment toward the end of Year 2 or during Year 3 as this allows time for children to develop early literacy skills.
It’s essential that parents noticing difficulties earlier than this involve their child in an evidence-based intervention program to assist literacy development.
Early identification and intervention is vital to boost confidence by developing effective reading and spelling strategies from the outset of a child’s education.
Many parents start to notice difficulties in later primary school years or early in high school when academic demands increase.
An older child or a young adolescent who has previously managed adequately starts to experience reduced self-esteem when their performance falls behind their peers.
This is common for children with strong intellectual capabilities who have previously met basic literacy benchmarks through school testing, but struggle as the requirements for reading complex text increases.
Other children may have received support throughout primary school, but then display difficulties when the same level of assistance is no longer available in high school.
