LAKE WORTH BEACH, Fla. — Educational advocates, non-profits, and doctors gathered at Common Ground in Lake Worth Beach for a literacy roundtable.
The meeting was to discuss reading levels in Palm Beach County schools and how to get students performing at grade level.
Educational advocates say some of the reasons why students are not reading at grade level include lack of resources at home, COVID, and a hidden learning disability called visual and auditory processing disorder.
Sue Mann is a mom and the founder and CEO of Bright Minds Processing. She says she saw the struggles of reading with her two children.
"My kids really suffered at school," Mann said. "My son would always skip lines and my daughter couldn't remember what she read. Both of my kids had visual and auditory processing disorder. They hated reading."
Palm Beach County
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Visual and auditory development in children can have a significant impact on their academic success and their grades. Data from Palm Beach County schools this past summer shows that 46% of students in grades 3-10 tested below grade level.
Doctors at the roundtable said learning disabilities like ADHD and dyslexia can be to blame for some of the reading issues, but if your child is skipping lines and words while reading, they need to have their vision checked.
Functional Optometrist Eric Chow says learning disabilities and vision problems go hand in hand.
"Forty percent of children with learning disabilities such as dyslexia, ADD, and ADHD, also have a vision issue," he said.
The good news is, if your child is showing some of these symptoms, they may be corrected by doing visual therapy.
Advocates hope that hosting more events like roundtables will boost reading scores across the district, with the goal focused on the students that need a little extra help.
They also say resources like tutoring can be beneficial for students who are struggling and can give them the confidence they need to be successful readers.
