Bookmark support on reading difficulties
Alexandra Strick

Alexandra Strick, freelance project manager, describes how Booktrust's new online resource can support all those working with children with reading difficulties.

Why does reading confidence come more easily to some children than others? Is a child's 'reluctant reading' an indicator that there's an underlying problem other than motivation? At what point should a parent or professional seek help?

For a long time, the charity REACH answered many such questions, offering families and professionals advice on all aspects of reading difficulties. When the organisation was forced to close in 2002, a substantial void was left, and the Trustees contacted the national charity Booktrust to see how some of the valuable services could be picked up and developed.

So work began on Bookmark - a project aiming to develop a new way to provide advice and information on books and disability issues. While it doesn't specialise in reading disabilities, what Booktrust does have is substantial experience in developing effective projects, publications and online resources which help encourage all ages, cultures and abilities to discover and enjoy books. Rather than attempting to answer all the questions, the Bookmark website offers a forum to share information, ideas and experiences, and serves as a 'signpost' to relevant sources of specific expertise.

The site itself was developed in partnership with organisations including Scope, Mencap and Contact a Family, who contribute regularly, and with guidance from parents and children. However, an increasing amount of the content is generated by visitors who provide valuable material and personal/professional experiences.

Many common concerns have already been highlighted, including the dilemma of when to take action on a child's reading difficulties. Parents and professionals are often unsure of when to address a child's reluctance to read. Drawing attention to a child developing reading confidence at a different rate to peers, or experiencing a lack of interest in books, may exacerbate the problem. On the other hand, there is a growing awareness of the need to provide any necessary intervention or support as early as possible. As Prue Goodwin points out in her article for Bookmark:

"If children are not keen to read and become reluctant before they are about seven years old, they can also become inefficient readers. Failure to become proficient at this vital skill may cause a reluctant reader of seven to become a poor reader at eleven and a non-reader at fifteen."

Ensuring that such children are given a sense of achievement in what they can do, however slight their progress, is one key. Likewise, access to as broad a range of reading materials as possible is vital. Becoming a good reader must never be allowed to be associated with which book one is 'on', how quickly one reads it, how small the print is or how many pages it boasts.

Of course, peer credibility is a huge factor for young readers. The embarrassment of being seen with books that look too easy or babyish may well deter a struggling reader still further. Books that are both accessible and suitably 'cool' are the answer; titles by popular children's authors, with contemporary covers that appeal to the reader's age not their reading level, are ideal. The Bookmark site provides suggestions, for example, Barrington Stoke's titles by Malorie Blackman and Terry Deary, and books for 12 to 16-year-olds with a reading age of eight or below.

There is sometimes reluctance on the part of professionals to label reading difficulties, for fear of stigmatising (or, worse still, getting the diagnosis wrong). However, the parents and young people we consulted encouraged the voicing of concerns (and possible causes) at an early stage. A suggested diagnosis can, if nothing else, provide a valuable starting point for support. One individual, who had only been told well into adulthood that she had dyslexia, told of her immense relief at being able to give her difficulties a name, having experienced many years of battling with reading and labels of a different kind such as "stupid" and "lazy".

The Bookmark site offers information and sources of help relating to the plethora of conditions and impairments that can involve reading difficulty, such as speech and language disorders, processing problems and autistic spectrum disorders. It offers a growing, searchable database of organisations that can help on each specific area, complete with links to all their websites.

The site also takes interested visitors in a different direction - that of books about disability issues and featuring disabled characters. It explores views on this subject and offers teachers, parents and librarians a range of book reviews, many including comments by more than one professional, parent or young person. This is another area which Booktrust plans to develop dramatically over the coming months.

It is hoped that many more visitors will use the site to share their own ideas, contacts and experience, continuing to make it a valuable resource for professionals and families alike.

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