All parents want their child to be a super star in the classroom. Unfortunately many young students encounter learning challenges that prevent them from exceling as fast as their peers.
It can be difficult to watch your child struggle while learning to read or uncovering the basics of math. Accepting that your child may have a learning disability is not easy but it is the first step to overcoming it. Educational professionals can help identify the various types of disabilities and recommend appropriate methods for parents to use to help their child study.
According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, most parents are not aware their child has a learning disability until they begin school. If a disability is detected, know that your child is not alone. Statistics show that 8 to 10 percent of American children suffer from a learning disability.
Signs that your child may be displaying symptoms of a learning disability include having difficulty pronouncing words that other children in preschool can easily say. If your child talks slow or is slow at conducting relatively easy tasks such as tying shoes – these could be indicators as well.
Sometimes the disability is not uncovered until elementary school. Trouble with spelling words or reading comprehension or following sequences or basic addition may be caused by a learning disability.
Many disabilities can be managed with trained educational professionals and the support from parents. While the teacher plays an important role in overcoming a learning disability, a parent’s role is absolutely critical. If you feel frustrated that your child has a learning disability, imagine how hard it must be for him or her.
Children are painfully aware if they are lagging behind their peers. This has a dramatic impact on their self-esteem. Parents should always provide encouragement and protect their child from any bulling or teasing from fellow classmates or siblings.
A good piece of advice is to identify the strengths your child has outside of the classroom and to make him or her feel good about those. If your child has a hard time reading but can throw a baseball further than anyone else on the playground, make sure you sing praises for that.
Parents should also make an effort to learn everything they can about their child’s specific learning disability. A common learning disability for reading is dyslexia, a condition that occurs when someone struggles to understand the difference between sounds, letters and words. Dysgraphia, on the other hand, is a common disorder that challenges people while writing expressively.
Dyscalculia is a learning disability that interferes with a child’s ability to memorize and organize numbers. This condition makes math classes incredibly irritating. Fortunately, with a good teacher and parental support, disorders like dyscalculia, dyslexia and dysgraphia can be overcome.
The bad news is, as educational budgets continue to shrink, good teachers often get bogged down with more students than they can handle. Providing individual attention to a student with a learning disability sometimes just is not feasible for most teachers. Most schools provide specialists for students with learning disabilities but even these professionals have their hands full with various students of all ages dealing with a range of learning disabilities.
Finding help outside of school can get expensive. If you are concerned that your child is not getting the support he or she needs from school, ask the teacher what types of exercises and practices you can do at home to hone in on the problem. With individual attention, love and support, your child will have a healthy, academic life despite any learning disability.
