Abbey Neuropsychology Clinic offers reading interventions with a multi-sensory approach. What does this mean? It means that reading skills are learned in a game format with interactive graphics that stimulates multiple senses.

The multi-sensory approach may seem confusing given the fact that reading appears to be something that is purely done with the eyes, but by engaging multiple senses, those who struggle with reading have an easier time.

The two senses most commonly used for reading interventions are auditory and visual stimulation, or things the child can hear and see. However, beyond just seeing the words on the page, reading intervention strategies use interactive graphics that further engage the child and help them maintain focus and interest in the activity.

This approach benefits children with many different neurological disorders and conditions that inhibit their reading abilities.

ADHD

Many children with ADHD struggle to focus and maintain concentration, which makes reading, in particular, difficult. Reading is a task that requires immense focus, and many children with ADHD may feel that the effort needed for reading does not justify the enjoyment gained.

Furthermore, some kids gain no enjoyment from reading because their ADHD makes it difficult to comprehend what the words on the page mean. They can read the words, but their lack of focus results in them having to read the words over and over again, which can be frustrating.

Multi-sensory reading interventions help make reading more enjoyable, which can help to maintain the focus of children with ADHD and keep them better engaged in the activity.

Learning Disorders

The learning disorder dyslexia can make it very challenging for children to learn to read because they often read slowly and make many mistakes. These two actions often result in difficulty with comprehension.

However, those with dyslexia often have no problem understanding the text when it is read to them, which is why they benefit immensely from multi-sensory reading interventions. Since this treatment involves an auditory component, children with dyslexia can use an aspect they are strong in (auditory comprehension) to strengthen an area they struggle with (visual comprehension).

Vision Problems

Vision problems with eye-tracking can increase frustrations with reading. Eye-tracking involves the eye’s ability to follow words on a page. Those who have problems with this skill may find that they skip words or reread the same sentence repeatedly.

Reading interventions offer a way to learn reading while overcoming the problems that appear in those with eye-tracking problems. The visual component of multi-sensory reading interventions helps to highlight the current word, while the auditory component allows a guide for children to follow as they read, ensuring that they follow the progression of the story.

Overall Benefits

A multi-sensory approach to reading can help overcome many of the problems children have with reading, primarily those caused by difficulty focusing. The multi-sensory approach keeps the lessons exciting and engages more senses in the child’s mind allowing them to better hold onto their skills. And with a multi-sensory approach, children who used to struggle with reading can overcome these problems and realize the benefits of reading that they were previously impeded from enjoying.

If you are interested in how multi-sensory reading interventions can help your child, reach out to Abbey Neuropsychology Clinic for more information.

Sources

[1] https://www.abbeyneuropsychologyclinic.com/reading-interventions/

[2] https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/adhd/facts.html

[3] https://dyslexiaida.org/frequently-asked-questions-2/