From time to time, POSITIVE Parenting readers have asked: Why isn't my child reading? That has been a major source of distress. We'll allow Colleen Thompson, who is trained in early childhood education, to address the issue in a two-part series.

Your son or daughter has been going to school from age three yet he/she is still not reading. What could be some of the possible causes? How can you help your child?

Below are some likely causes that you may consider. I have also outlined some ideas which you could try as you seek to improve your child's reading skills.

Since we are not sure as to the cause of his/her delay in reading, I would suggest that certain checks be done. We will name our child Rohan for the purpose of this article.

The following questions are crucial and parents should take full responsibility for this:

Is Rohan seeing well?

Can Rohan hear well?

Is Rohan experiencing any developmental delay?

You may think that your child is seeing and hearing well but you cannot be absolutely sure. He/she must be tested.

There are certain basic readiness skills which a child needs to master before reading can occur. These include auditory and visual discrimination. Auditory discrimination is the child's ability to hear differences in sounds, letters and words. If Rohan is hearing impaired, this would definitely affect his ability to hear words which are the base of reading or to hear letter sounds which are the building blocks of reading.

In order for a child to master reading, he needs to hear sounds which he can then associate with letters of the alphabet to engage in word building. The student who is hearing well will be at an advantage when it is time to put letter sounds together to form words.

Visual challenges

Visual discrimination has to do with identifying differences. The child who is experiencing visual challenges will get frustrated when he tries to read. It is, therefore, of utmost importance that he/she is examined by a doctor or a specialist in that particular area. Parents must ensure that their children are medically examined before they start school. At the secondary school level, medical examination is compulsory. Why not have your child examined while he is young? Ask the doctor to do a thorough physical examination, which will include testing his eyes and ears. It will then be determined if further testing is necessary.

I believe that there are parents who ensure that their children are tested; however, there are instances when there may not be anything physically wrong, but there may be developmental delay in specific areas. If your child has reached a certain age and has not mastered the basic skills of reading, such as letter recognition and letter sound, it is time for further testing.

Another reason why Rohan may not be reading could be that the learning material may not be appealing or appropriate. More hands-on material may just do the trick. Puzzles, pictures, word games, alphabet games, picture books, crayons, markers and other interactive reading games should be available.

In addition to the above, there is also story sharing. It is one of the oldest yet most effective tools for motivating children to read.

Story sharing should also be followed by discussion. Dramatisation may also be done.

Children love to draw so have crayons, markers and paper ready for them to draw their favourite scene or character. Encourage your child to talk about his drawing. It is a pleasant way to build self-expression.

NEXT WEEK: Going to the library.

Colleen Thompson is trained in early childhood education.