The struggle to read: One third grader's winding journey

Thomas snuggles under the covers with me at bedtime, warm and wiggly.

It is our third tour through the “Harry Potter” series, and tonight is like so many others. I pause and ask him to read a few pages of the Dr. Seuss classic “Hop on Pop” before I continue recounting the adventures of Harry, Ron and Hermione.

And like so many times, he refuses. Finally he fumbles through a couple pages, over passages like “Pup Cup. Pup in Cup,” with copious praise. Then he is done.

It all seemed very normal that night last fall. But this was the beginning of third grade, and the Seuss book is sold as “The Simplest Seuss for Youngest Use.”

Thomas has a learning disability, ADHD and epilepsy. And this is hard — harder than I thought possible.

https://apnews.com/article/reading-adhd-dyslexia-learning-disability-8636d7537cb25b8df1faf135301f9d92

Long article, but worth the read. My guess (I raised one) is that this little guy may be somewhere on the spectrum.