The Canadian Paediatric Society says doctors should regularly screen children for reading difficulties and dyslexia, calling low literacy a 鈥渟erious public health concern鈥� that can increase the risk of other problems including anxiety, low self-esteem and behavioural issues, with lifelong consequences.

New guidance issued Wednesday says family doctors, nurses, pediatricians and other medical professionals who care for school-aged kids are in a unique position to help struggling readers access educational and specialty supports, noting that identifying problems early couldhelp kids sooner 鈥� when it鈥檚 more effective 鈥� as well as reveal other possible learning or developmental issues.

The 10 recommendations include regular screening for kids aged four to seven, especially if they belong to groups at higher risk of low literacy, including newcomers to Canada, racialized Canadians and Indigenous Peoples. The society says this can be done in a two-to-three-minute office-based assessment.

Other tips encourage doctors to look for conditions often seen among poor readers such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder; to advocate for early literacy training for pediatric and family medicine residents; to liaise with schools on behalf of families seeking help; and to push provincial and territorial education ministries to integrate evidence-based phonics instruction into curriculums, starting in kindergarten.

Dr. Scott McLeod, one of the authors and chair of the society鈥檚 mental health and developmental disabilities committee, said a key goal is to catch kids who may be falling through the cracks and to better connect families to resources, including quicker targeted help from schools.

鈥淐ollaboration in this area is so key because we need to move away from the silos of: everything educational must exist within the educational portfolio,鈥� McLeod said in an interview from Calgary, where he is a developmental pediatrician at Alberta Children鈥檚 Hospital.

鈥淩eading, yes, it鈥檚 education, but it鈥檚 also health because we know that literacy impacts health. So I think that a statement like this opens the window to say: Yes, parents can come to their health-care provider to get advice, get recommendations, hopefully start a collaboration with school teachers.鈥�

McLeod noted that pediatricians already look for signs of low literacy in young children by way of a commonly used tool known as the Rourke Baby Record, which offers a checklist of key topics, such as nutrition and developmental benchmarks, to cover in a well-child appointment.

But he said questions about reading could be 鈥渁 standing item鈥� in checkups and he hoped the society鈥檚 statement to medical professionals who care for children 鈥渆nhances their confidence in being a strong advocate for the child鈥� while spurring partnerships with others involved in a child鈥檚 life such as teachers and psychologists.

The guidance said pediatricians also play a key role in detecting and monitoring conditions that often coexist with difficulty reading such as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, but McLeod noted that getting such specific diagnoses typically involves a referral to a specialist, during which time a child continues to struggle.

He also acknowledged that some schools can be slow to act without a specific diagnosis from a specialist, and even then a child may end up on a wait list for school interventions.

鈥淓vidence-based reading instruction shouldn鈥檛 have to wait for some of that access to specialized assessments to occur,鈥� he said.

鈥淢y hope is that (by) having an existing statement or document written by the Canadian Paediatric Society 鈥� we鈥檙e able to skip a few steps or have some of the early interventions present,鈥� he said.

McLeod added that obtaining specific assessments from medical specialists is 鈥渄efinitely beneficial and advantageous鈥� to know where a child is at, 鈥渂ut having that sort of clear, thorough assessment shouldn鈥檛 be a barrier to intervention starting.鈥�

McLeod said the society was partly spurred to act by 2022鈥檚 鈥淩ight to Read Inquiry Report鈥� from the Ontario Human Rights Commission, which made 157 recommendations to address inequities related to reading instruction in that province.

He called the new guidelines 鈥渁 big reminder鈥� to pediatric providers, family doctors, school teachers and psychologists of the importance of literacy.

鈥淓arly identification of reading difficulty can truly change the trajectory of a child鈥檚 life.鈥�

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 23, 2024.

Cassandra Szklarski, The Canadian Press