For Nandini, reading had always followed the same order: phonics, CVC words, sight words, simple sentences, and only after mastering these, longer stories.
No one asked, what happens when a learner does not completely master one stage? Or what to do if a child’s reading level and life stage are not growing in the same pace.
Most reading programmes and teachers treat teaching as hierarchical; simply keeping the learner at the beginner stage for years to make the ‘foundation strong!’ So even as Nandini grew older, her reading world remained stuck at the beginning, Teaching reading to her like she was still a toddler. No wonder she lost interest. Over time, reading became something she simply dreaded.
She also had genuine difficulties. Longer words were hard. She struggled with spelling, anxiety and lack of attention and focus. Also, repeatedly returning to the same starting point affected her confidence. She never experienced the feeling of moving forward.
Eventually, she stopped trying.
In our first class, Nandini clearly told us in the beginning that she would not read anything in the workbook.
So we didn’t ask her to.
We listened instead because Nandini loved to talk. She talked about her car rides with her friends, her favourite food, her weekend plans with her family, her favourite dresses, her wanting to have her own little bakery and selling beautiful cupcakes. We noticed her face lit up every time she mentioned ‘baking’
That gave us our starting point.
Not simply a more interesting book, but a different way of helping her return to reading.
We kept the sessions low-pressure and spent time building rapport. We worked on her vocabulary, sight words, longer words, auditory processing and attention all through very carefully drafted material suited for her age before venturing into reading. We supported her while she read instead of expecting her to manage everything independently.
And we created stories around her world, baking, car rides, weekend films, recipes, friendships and everyday experiences, so she had a reason to stay with the text even when reading became difficult.
Every week, we reviewed what worked, where she lost interest, what made her anxious and what kind of support helped her continue.
Her needs and her pace decided what came next, not a fixed hierarchy.
And two days ago, in less than two months, Nandini read an entire story by herself.
Then she looked at her mother and said:
“I read it all by myself, Mama.”
We were elated! She had not simply decoded the words. She had understood the story. And after years of staying away from reading, she had experienced what it felt like to succeed. And it was a moment to celebrate for all of us at iCANthink too. We sent a secret ‘hi five’ in our curriculum group.
At iCANthink, we meet many learners like Nandini.
Learners who struggle with reading, comprehension or communication. Too often, these difficulties become a reason to keep them at the basics, year after year.
Eventually, they do not just lose interest in reading. They stop seeing themselves as readers or someone who can communicate effectively.
At iCANthink, we never let a skill gap become a ceiling.
We believe learners with special needs deserve more than simplified words and repetitive exercises. They deserve stories that respect their age, tools and techniques that would help them thrive, methodologies that are created keeping them in mind so they can live with their full potential.
Because our mission is not merely to teach learners how to read.
It is to expand what they can understand, express, experience and become.
