Need some helpful advices for my ADHD daughter... Disliking READING

[saipanstayathomemom]

My daughter was diagnosed with ADHD & LD. She loves drawing & music but reading... No patience at all

what are your suggestions to get her to like reading? I am trying to get her to be more independent in homeschooling (self study). I try to be a role model by reading a lot at home. I love reading at her age (10) till now.

Thanks. - Joy

[lovehmschlg]

Hi, Joy. Have you tried books on CD that she can follow along with the book? We use those in the car a lot. I would also suggest reading to her. Find books that she is interested in. Could be books about animals or girls her age. The American Girl books are interesting. There is also a series called Dear America, which are historical fiction books and are short but very interesting. Another series my daughter enjoys is Sisters in Time. My oldest daughter loves horses and at that age, she loved reading stories about horses. Here is a list of books about horses.

Joy, I wouldn't push her to read. I would just read to her. Set a time in your schedule, every day if possible, when you read for just a few minutes (20 mins). Even if it's only 5 or 10 minutes, it's better than not at all. Gradually you can have her read a page or two. This may take month, so don't ask her too soon to do this. Try to always end during a part of the story that will have you eager to come back and read again. Who knows, she may want to pick up the book and read it on her own to find out what happens next. So the secret is to help her develop a desire to read. That she can understand how reading can be an escape into a dream world. It opens up a whole new world for us...and eventually even non-fiction books are fun to read. Foster a love for reading. This may take lots of time and definitely consistency on mom's part.

[saipanstayathomemom]

Thank you Janet...

[reb621]

Books + CD/audiobook is a great idea. Helps them to hear how new words are pronounced as they follow along in the hard copy. The best ones have character voices and sound effects. (Your librarian will have suggestions.)

Yes, reading TO her (be sure to use fun/scary voices) and taking turns (she reads 1 pg, you read 2 or 3 until she improves, starting with easier books).

Finally, check your local library for a kids' book club. Ours has a homeschool one and mine now LOVE reading. The librarian lets the kids suggest books/genres and mine have made some great homeschooled friends there.

Make it fun, silly, follow the book with the movie (for motivation, such as with the American Girl stories), and she'll get there eventually.

[lovehmschlg]

Something else I thought of is to read to her while she's drawing, or play some soft music in the background while you're reading, since she loves both. My youngest daughter loves music and singing. She loves watching videos of her favorite singers. So since it's a motivator for her, when she goes to speech therapy, that's what we use to motivate her to stay on task. When she is done, if she's been focused and done well at listening and following directions, she gets to watch a video of one of her favorites, like Chris Tomlin.

Another suggestion is to get a big exercise ball for her to sit on or bounce on while you read to her. She's 10, so I'm not sure if she's too old for this. My daughter enjoys the exercise ball because she cannot sit still sometimes, so this keeps her attentive while she can still move about.

[MamaToHerRoo]

I just wanted to add that my ADHD daughter loves audiobooks! She says that reading is too limiting because she can only do one thing at a time. It is not that she is unable to read, but that she can't draw or anything else if she is reading. Every day I have to remind myself that it is not about how we learned. Getting our ADHD kids to learn sometimes means stepping away from the traditional school model. Our ADHD kids don't necessarily need quiet to learn, they don't have to only concentrate on one thing, they (or at least my daughter does) need "input" all the time.

The audio books let her "read" at comprehension level, and at maturity level without being held back by her actual reading ability or limiting her to "only" reading. I can't say enough good about audio books and how well they work for my ADHD daughter!! The fact that you are modelling reading behavior is good. The other thing I have noticed is that my daughter actually learns better if her hands are busy, or her body. We have tried using an exercise ball instead of a chair (lets her wiggle a bit, and requires that she balance--good for those core muscles LOL). We have done things like throw a bean bag back and for as we learned multiplication tables. She also loves to draw and listen. I'm thinking about letting my daughter listen to lectures, or audio books while riding the stationary bike.

A friend of mine lets her ADHD son play with Legos, or model with clay while listening to books.


Best of luck!

[Delaware SpEd Teacher]

One sneaky move I made with my reading-reluctant son when he was ten and not reading was to get a Hardy Boys book and read him the opening chapter. It ended with the boys in a car hanging halfway off a cliff. I then closed the book and declared I had other things to do and we could read more tomorrow. He begged for more. I acted busy, and he finished the whole book on his own that week. He went on to read50+ of the books in the series. I highly suggest you try it, maybe with a Nancy Drew book.

[SandyKC]

My daughter was diagnosed with ADHD & LD. She loves drawing & music but reading... No patience at all

what are your suggestions to get her to like reading? I am trying to get her to be more independent in homeschooling (self study). I try to be a role model by reading a lot at home. I love reading at her age (10) till now.

Thanks. - Joy

Hi Joy,

You say she has ADHD & LD. What kind of LD? OFTEN when a child dislikes something, particularly reading, it is because her LD issues are interfering with her ability to read without stress and great difficulty.

Depending upon what her LD is, if you can work on strengthening her areas of disability, it can help reading become easier, which will--in turn--make her less of a reluctant reader.

If she specifically has an LD in phonemic awareness or reading, using a program like LexiaLearning's Reading program, Earobics, Logic of English, etc. can help your DD build her reading fluency. Building fluency will make reading less draining on your DD and that will help her like reading better.

[loveHSedu]

just a thought...question... does she like to read lyrics to songs? perhaps that and other forms of poetry may keep her attention. or creating songs through books she's reading. i often fond myself even as an adult reading a lengthy poem but turning it into a rap or singing it. the rhymes help me retain information. and as for her drawing again reading rebus could engage her, it is afterall someone who chose not to use a word, but instead use a picture. she should know that her enjoyment could be her gifts to share with the world but only at first she must know the information before she shares it and that comes from reading.. a lot! hope she improves and discovers a new love for reading and that perhaps other people may read what she's created through pictures and song. GOOD LUCK!!

[MammaJenny84]

I also advise you to suggest your daughter to draw while listening to an audio book. Gradually she will get into reading herself.