Buzz has reading difficulties. He has learned phonics and can
sound out words, but his phonetic processing is slow. His word
attack skills are significantly better, but his word
identification and reading fluency have not improved at the same
rate. Despite seeing a few reading tutors for help, trying a few
reading programs, and generally having no difficulties with
comprehension, Buzz continues to experience the frustrations of
a struggling reader. Buzz's reading difficulties are very
common. Many struggling readers experience problems with
establishing sight words and contextual fluency. These kinds of
reading difficulties are not disabilities - they are symptoms.
And, the root cause of these symptoms is usually a weakness in
symbol imagery. Symbol imagery is the ability to visualize the
identity, number, and sequence of sounds and letters within
words. Many children and adults who are thought to have reading
disabilities are able to sound-out (decode) and comprehend
words. However, like Buzz, these individu