For Robert Moeser, uncovering why his children were struggling in school proved to be a major challenge. His three children—ages 11, 8 and 6—all had unique learning needs, and Moeser found himself at his wit’s end trying to find the educational tools to help each child succeed in the public school system.

Identifying the Problem

Moeser dedicated much of his time in the early years trying to provide one-on-one attention and help for each child to further aid in their classroom success.

His first challenge was understanding what, exactly, was affecting his children’s ability to perform above average.  “I’ve been watching them like a hawk from the very beginning,” Moeser explained.  “We’re doing what we can to make sure they are doing what the teachers are asking.”

As much time as Moeser devoted to their learning and enrichment at home, his children still struggled. Like most parents, he didn’t understand why or how his dedication was not enough to help them succeed. 

Moeser pursued outside resources to help better evaluate and understand his children’s unique learning needs. Although his children were studying excessively and “putting in the time,” there seemed to be no explanation for why they weren’t excelling at school.

“I was going to every teacher, specialist, therapist, IEP advocate…four or five advocates saying ‘I am lost. I am not an educator. There is a problem with my kids. I need you, the professional, to tell me what is wrong,’” Moeser said of his efforts.  

Getting Help

After meeting with multiple professionals, Moeser discovered that his children were struggling with reading comprehension. While they spent hours studying, they weren’t fully able to grasp what they were reading. Their struggle to fundamentally understand the text in any given subject meant that their learning could be impacted across numerous subjects.

Two of his children were diagnosed with working memory issues as well. While his daughter could read text, she had difficulties with fully understanding the meaning and remembering the text. Moeser explained that his daughter had to read the passage at least eight times in order to retain it. However, his son, he said, has a much greater struggle in retaining the material.

“He might know it for a week,” said Moeser. “Then it’s gone.”

Swimming Against the Current

Throughout Moeser’s journey to help his children, one barrier seemed to stand in his way: the school system. While Moeser paid for private testing and consulted with numerous professionals, the school, he said, was unable to determine that his children had any identifiable struggles. 

Private screenings, however, provided him with the documentation necessary to push for more help from the public school system. Moeser hired an IEP advocate, which he said encouraged the school to take his children’s struggles more seriously.

Still, Moeser’s children needed more reading assistance that the school was able to provide. With no other hope, Moeser turned to Readability.

Readability is our Only Hope

When Moeser found Readability, he immediately realized this was his children’s only hope.

Since reading comprehension is the biggest obstacle to his children’s educational success, and the school district is not equipped to help children who need help with reading comprehension, Readability is the one tool that can help.  

All three of his children use the software daily. 

The struggles faced by Moeser’s children are not necessarily rare. While a child can seem to fluently read text and have few issues with pronunciation, their ability to understand what they read may cause them to fall behind. 

Sometimes, like Moeser, parents pick up on these struggles. However, struggles with reading comprehension may go unnoticed. According to Reading Rockets, about 10 million children may struggle to read.

Readability provides several tools that help children gain proficiency in phonetic and phonemic awareness and helps boost reading comprehension at home. Readability offers an integrated AI tutor that assists children in pronouncing difficult words and also 

What to Do When Your Child is Struggling?

When parents notice that their child is struggling with reading, they may feel powerless. However, parents are not powerless! A parent is the best advocate for a child. If the struggle is clear, reach out to the teacher for guidance and to discuss your concerns.

Sometimes, a teacher may feel that the struggles don’t warrant additional testing or maybe the teacher does not believe that the child is truly behind peers. Parents who feel differently or who are concerned can try to advocate for more testing.

Like Moeser, parents also may pursue private testing. Sometimes an official diagnosis can aid in pushing for intervention at the school. Private tests, however, can be expensive and may or may not be financially feasible for parents. As the Neuro Assessment and Development Center notes, “Having a medical diagnosis does not automatically qualify a child for special education, though in some cases a medical diagnosis is required to determine eligibility.”

For parents who don’t have the time or money to invest in private testing—or who may have already exhausted their efforts—Readability could be a key resource in helping a child improve fluency and understanding. 

Moeser decided to go against the current and personally take ownership over helping his children overcome their challenges. As a result, his children now have a tool that can help them overcome their biggest challenge, and subsequently, improve their academic performance.  

If you suspect that your child may be struggling to read, it’s important that you intervene as early as possible to get your child the help they need.