Question: Is there any one thing that I can do to improve my child's reading ability? - Struggling Reader
Answer: Here is one of the most worthwhile activities that parents can do with children who are struggling readers. It involves using a technique called the Neurological Impress Method, which we have described in previous columns. To use NIM only takes from 10 to 15 minutes a day, with 10 being sufficient for young or restless children. By impressing what is being read on children's brains, NIM can help most poor readers read more fluently. And research supports that it works with first-graders as well as high school students.
To obtain the best results with NIM, it is extremely important to follow these steps exactly:
- Begin with material that is very easy for your child to read. Then, as you meet with success, move rapidly toward material on his or her grade level.
- Sit your child slightly in front of you so you will be reading into his or her right ear.
- Hold the reading material with your child.
- Read the material out loud with your child at a normal rate.
- Have your child run his or her finger under each word as it is spoken. At first, you might have to guide your child.
- Read as many pages as you can in a session.
- Never ask your children questions about what has been read.
When you start to use NIM, you might need to read slower or repeat sentences for your child. For some children, it might even be necessary to repeat phrases within a sentence many times before they can read an entire sentence.
Later on, you can lower your voice to let your child lead the reading. After four accumulated hours of instruction, you should have a good idea of whether NIM is working effectively with your child. Unfortunately, it doesn't help all children. If it is the right method for your child, however, he or she could be reading at his or her grade level after eight to 12 hours. Once your child is reading at the level where he or she is expected to be, very little improvement will take place, even with additional NIM sessions.
To keep your child's interest in using NIM, use varied materials. Try newspapers, magazines, and both fiction and nonfiction.