Abstract
Many if not most young people not only enjoy reading, they want to improve their skills so that they can read at higher and more interesting levels, especially with respect to topics that are personally relevant for them. While the process of improving reading skills seems to come naturally to some students while others may experience some specific challenges, the majority of students in American schools succeed in attaining grade-specific requirements through graduation. Some students, however, may have severe learning challenges such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) that limit their ability to maintain pace with their classmates. Furthermore, some of these young students are English as second language (ESL) learners, thereby compounding the challenges they face when trying to become proficient readers in American classrooms today. To gain some insights into these challenges and how these can be overcome, this individualized reading intervention provides a review of the literature regarding the effects of ADHD on ESL learners and what evidence-based strategies are available to help Gabby improve her reading abilities to describe the rationale in support of the selected approach. In addition, a description of the proposed intervention is followed by a description of the assessments that will be used to evaluate Gabbys progress and a summary of the research and suggestions for teachers and parents in the conclusion.
Individualized Reading Intervention Program for 7-Year-Old Gabby
Young learners that suffer from attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) frequently experience problems with their reading (Clarfeld & Stoner, 2009; Kim & Kaiser, 2000). Moreover, this problem becomes even more challenging when children are English as second language learners (Mokhtari & Sheorey, 2002). One such learner is Gabby, a bright, gregarious young girl whose native language is Spanish and who suffers from ADHD. Despite these disadvantages, Gabby has managed to nearly maintain pace with her English-speaking classmates although she is lagging further behind at present. The purpose of this individualized reading intervention is to provide a review of the relevant scholarly and peer-reviewed literature concerning students in situations that are similar to Gabbys in order to identify opportunities and strategies to improve her reading abilities. The rationale for the selected intervention is followed by a description of the envisioned program. Finally, a description of the assessments that will be used to evaluate Gabbys progress in achieving improved reading abilities is followed by a summary of the research and suggestions for teachers and parents.
Rationale
In an educational setting, it is axiomatic that if students are not learning the way they are being taught, they need to be taught the way they learn and that certainly appears to be the case with Gabby. At present, Gabby is not benefiting from the reading/writing workshops although she continues to improve her vocabulary and writing skills. The teachers attempts to help Gabby organize her workspace were directly on point, and it is likely that her teacher was correct In her assumption that Gabby was using the subterfuge of searching for her reading materials as a means of avoiding actual academic work even if she was consciously unaware of it herself. Likewise, Gabbys talkativeness may reflect her desire to avoid engaging with the reading instructions because they are apparently too difficult for her (Hook, 2018).
Based on the foregoing constraints to learning, an alternative approach to helping Gabby become a more proficient reader is clearly in order. Despite this need, formulating an effective reading intervention for students with ADHD is especially challenging since much remains unknown about the disorder. For example, according to Sherman and Rasmussen (2009), Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) has received much attention over the past several years, yet confusion still...
…mastery as determined by subsequent informal reading inventory assessments. Properly administered and interpreted, the informal reading inventory has been shown to help educators accurately assess students strengths and needs in the following areas:
Word recognition;
Word meaning;
Reading strategies; and,
Comprehension (Using the informal reading inventory, 2020).
The materials that are required to use the informal reading inventory for assessing Gabbys reading include a test manual and a student booklet that features two or three reading selections that correspond to each inventory level as well as word lists. It is important to note, however, that the informal reading inventory is not a one-size-fits-all assessment instrument and Gabby may require additional assessments using ESL-specific instruments to more accurately evaluate her reading abilities.
In addition, it is also important to note that this intervention is an iterative process that may require repetition of certain problem areas that are identified in the informal reading inventory. In sum, the areas and skills that will be assessed are those identified in the initial informal reading inventory. These results will be used to develop subsequent lesson plans that focus on Gabbys identified reading deficits as required by state and common core curriculum learning standards.
Conclusion
Reading ability has been shown time and again to contribute to academic achievement in virtually all other subject areas, so it is critically important to ensure that all young learners gain this ability early on in their school careers. The research showed that ESL students such as Gabby who suffer from ADHD are at especially higher risk of falling behind in their reading abilities. Some salient suggestions that emerged from the research for parents and teachers that are confronted with this scenario included ensuring the accurate diagnosis of ADHD in the first place, and then identifying appropriate interventional strategies that are geared towards the unique needs…
