Parental Perceptions of Children's Reading Ability

Abstract

AbstractParents play a key role in seeking support when their child is experiencing problems with spoken and/or written language. A key question is whether parents are able to identify the nature and extent of their child's difficulties. Here, we assessed children's text-level reading ability and parents' perceptions of these children's reading ability. Results showed that although the 10 children we assessed presented with a range of spoken and written language difficulties, parents significantly overestimated their child's reading performance (in terms of accuracy, comprehension and fluency). This is a striking finding and, to our knowledge, has not been reported previously in the literature. It suggests the need for a comprehensive assessment of reading ability when children present with suspected spoken and/or written language difficulties; at initial assessment, parents may not be accurate reporters of their child's reading ability. It is likely that parents of children with spoken and written langua...