Here are five signs your teen may have a reading problem:

• Doesn’t read spontaneously, either for pleasure or for information.

• Gets upset when teachers assign reading for homework.

• Reads at a painfully slow pace.

• Has trouble with ordinary, everyday reading—signs, following instructions on a package.

• “Can’t find” anything to read.

• When reading aloud, frequently hesitates, mispronounces words, reads them out of order or reads the wrong word.

If your teen shows several of these signs, contact the school. Talk to them about working with you to attack the problem.

Don’t wait. The problem won’t go away by itself. Teens who have serious reading problems can learn to read, but they need help.

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