Why does a student struggle with reading?

There are four general reasons why a student struggles with reading and learning.

Medical reason

There are some medical conditions that obviously impact a student’s ability to learn.  However, there are some situations where an underlying medical condition may be the cause of the problem and the family or school is not aware of the issue.   For some insights on this topic, you may want to consider reading the book, Smart but Feeling Dumb, by Dr. Levinson.

Inadequate instruction

Although relatively rare, there are instances where a student just has not received sufficient instruction.  When academic testing indicates a problem, parents must do their best to explore whether the teaching situation is an issue and what can be done to address the problem.

Life situation

Sometimes a student faces circumstances that are beyond their control that limit their ability to learn.  This may include their situation at home, personal issues or peer pressure.

Weak learning skills

In most cases when a student struggles with learning, they likely have one or more weak foundational learning skills.  Heretofore, it was very difficult to obtain a cognitive skill assessment to discover if weak skills are an issue.  The Gibson Test now makes it possible for any school, any parent or any student to quickly discover if weak learning skills are an issue.

Our goal is to ensure that every student has a Learning Skill Profile so parents, teachers and students are informed.