How to help student under 15 who...

Reading fast is not as important as understanding. Begin with quite short passages and ask questions on the meaning of the passage afterwards. Comprehension is something that has to be learned and should be done in easy stages. There are comprehension exercises available in books and online and, if you have time, are best done as a discussion exercise: pupil reads the passage; teacher and pupil then discuss the meaning of the passage for a few minutes. It can be tiring for the pupil at first, so begin with short sessions of five, ten or fifteen minutes and gradually increase the length of the sessions and the length and complexity of the passages. Always try to choose a calm time and a quiet place when the student is fully awake and not stressed. A short period of breathing exercises before the session can sometimes help greatly to get the mind focussed on the task in hand. Always reward the student with compliments when she has done well and ALWAYS understand that it is not easy, so NEVER condemn or punish for getting it wrong. Some people find concentration more difficult than others (this is sometimes called Attention Deficiency Disorder but one should be very careful about using any kind of 'diagnosis' like this) but the ability to concentrate CAN be learned or improved.