Expert: Norm Bishop - 1/15/2010

Question
My sophomore son was diagnosed 2 years ago with ADD and a reading disability termed "fluency/rate" problem. He has had extensive tutoring and does take medication. He continues to make forward progress and manages well in all classes except Spanish. He eeked through Spanish 1 last year and is now half way through Spanish 2 but made a D at semester. I can't help but think that if you have ADD and a "fluency/rate" reading issue in English then that same issue must grow exponentially in a foreign language. He attends an independent college prep school. He likes the teacher a lot and she likes him and desperately wants him to succeed.

Answer
You are correct, his fluency problem in reading is an indication that his brain processes language in a different manner than most people.  Without more testing I can't tell you with precision where the exact language difficulty lies.  Then when you add the attention deficit disorder, which causes him to not organize language as well as his peers and you have a compounded problem.  While Spanish is a more consistent language, it will be a problem for someone who struggles with aspects of his native language.

I would suggest that you ask the Spanish teacher to base his grade on a combination of effort and proficiency of the language.  Even without the learning difficulties, most of us who learn a foreign language in our teens only remember a few words in five years.  It take immersion into a language for most of us to actually master it.  Therefore, I am saying that in the long run, his success in high school Spanish will have little effect on his success later in life.  

I would also suggest that you try enrolling him in a "speed reading" class (often offered at local community colleges) or purchase "speed reading" software for your computer.  I like the one called Ultimate Speed Reader.  What speed reading will do is increase his reading speed (fluency).  Research says that high school readers who read at least 225 words per minute remember more of what they read and can use more of what read.  

Some people who have struggled with learning a foreign language learn it better with the use of computer software like Rosetta Stone.  Often your local library will have it to check out, which means you can try it without expense, if it seems to work, then you can purchase it.

I wish you luck...Norm