There is no deadline or age limit for when a person can learn to read. Research attests to the plasticity of the human brain and its ability to reshape itself in mature adults as it does in children. There are many dyslexic adults who are out of school and working or in retirement who simply want to learn to read or have more focused goals related to their work or to pursuing a high school equivalency (GED) diploma. Such adults face a serious challenge but one that can be met successfully.
In the coming years the vast majority of new jobs will require a twelfth grade reading level. The ability to read impacts the quality of everyday life. Printed materials we read every day require a surprisingly high level of reading, from instructions on the ATM to IRS forms. To allow someone to enter adulthood and remain a very limited reader is to sentence him to second-class citizenry.
While children who are poor readers have not learned the foundational skills of reading, adults, in contrast, may have acquired a smattering of some skills while totally lacking others. And so placement testing is especially important for older disable readers since each is invariably starting from a different point and typically shows an uneven and unpredictable pattern of reading skills. Keep in mind that the goal is to match the instruction as closely as possible with the adult's needs. Teachers (and adult students, too) tend to overestimate and adult's reading abilities and are often shocked to see the results of the testing.
Ideally, the reading instruction is research-based, systematic, and delivered in small group settings. Adults in particular do well with group instruction (with a well-trained teacher). It's engaging, highly motivating, socializing, and effective. Adults benefit from learning from one another. Optimally, this instruction occurs four times a week, for one and a half to two hours per session. Some successful programs meet twice weekly is critical since attendance is one of the few factors associated with better progress.
Adults are particularly sensitive to issues of consistency and duration of instruction. Adults work during the day or may have young children (the majority of students in adult reading programs are between sixteen and thirty), and it is often difficult to get to class more than twice a week. Long intervals between classes and lack of practice reading at home represent real barriers to more rapid progress.
For teaching adults, I recommend these:
