Children listening to audiobooks - can they be as good as reading?

[Bobkitten]

There’s a question mark over whether my 11 year old DS has ADHD. Teachers are happy enough as he’s achieving well and a reminder in class is usually enough to refocus him. He’s the type to drift off and get distracted by pretty much anything that’s not work, although if it’s work he enjoys he can hyper focus. It remains to be seen whether this will continue to work as he moves into secondary school.

With regards to reading, he’s fairly able and has read several classics, but sometimes he finds it really hard to stay focused and, as a result, doesn’t often read for pleasure. However, he greatly enjoys listening to stories I read him, as this allows him to potter about his room at the same time (sometimes I’ve had to stop to check his comprehension as he’s so active I can’t believe he’s taking it in, but he definitely is listening). I think he’d ‘read’ far more if he could listen to audiobooks.

The question is, is this a reasonable enough substitute for reading? What are the downsides? I’m aware that at some point he will need to read and absorb large bodies of text, and wondering if this could set him back. On the other hand, far better he listens to many stories than only read a few?

It’s better than nothing, although you don’t get the benefit of learning spelling my osmosis!

I find it quite upsetting that none of my kids like reading or audio books

Listening to audiobooks won't slow down the development of your child's reading skills. In fact, many experts will tell you it can help kids get better at reading. Listening to audiobooks isn't “cheating.” The main purpose of reading is to get information BUT if he needs to improve his reading skills then you need to spend some time on that too.

Audio books will help with his vocabulary. However he needs to also do some actual reading to develop his word reading & spelling skills.

We've found our ADHD DC adore audiobooks, and now they're taking medication for the ADHD they're getting into reading in a much bigger way because the audiobooks have helped develop a love of stories.

If he is an able reader, then actual physical work of reading doesn't need so much work. So I think it's good to listen to stories and think about it, comprehend, and make imaginations, etc, etc. In fact, my dc's school had sessions for parents to help with children's reading skills, and they said anything can be used to help them.

I use Audiobooks to get my child to read above their reading level. I have some books on Audible and then buy the paperback copies second hand on eBay. They then listen and follow along. I've found this has really helped their reading.