The problem with many of the millions of children who have been classified as “reading disabled” or “dyslexic” is simple: no one has even taught them, correctly, how to read. These children are the walking wounded – victims of a teaching method called “Balanced Literacy.” Balanced Literacy starts children off with consciously-memorized sight words, that is, with the rote memorization of words based on various visual characteristics rather than the sound value of their constituent letters. If an unknown word is not a sight word, the child is encouraged to guess what it might be, based on context, on an accompanying picture, or on the word’s first letter.This is not reading. Before you spend thousands of dollars on testing and diagnoses, on private tutors, and on outside-the-school reading programs, consider something much simpler: teach your child to read properly, yourself. Many parents before you have performed this task competently and effectively.But you have to use the correct method. That method is called Synthetic Phonics. Synthetic Phonics starts, not with sight words and guessing strategies, but with individual letters and the primary sound those letters symbolize. As soon as enough letter/sound correspondences are mastered, the child is taught how to decode (sound out) unknown words by blending the sounds indicated by the word’s spelling into a complete pronunciation. This book is the only source you will need to teach your “reading disabled” child (or teen, or illiterate adult) how to read. Even if your child is dyslexic (born that way rather than made that way through faulty reading instruction) Synthetic Phonics is still the method of choice. Dyslexic children don’t require a different teaching method; they require only additional time with Synthetic Phonics. Take control of your child’s happiness and academic future. Cut through all the nonsense and use this guide to teach your loved one to read with Synthetic Phonics. -- Provided by the Publisher.