Supporting a Child With Learning Difficulties - An Overview

Introduction

Learning difficulty is common among children and interferes with daily activities and academic performances. Nearly ten percent of children worldwide are affected by learning difficulties. It is an umbrella term denoting a combination of disorders involving significant challenges in speaking, reading, writing, learning, understanding, and mathematical aptitudes.

What Are Learning Difficulties?

Learning disability, also known as learning difficulty, is a condition in which a child has an impairment or difficulty learning and processing information, but this does not affect one’s general intellect. For instance, the child has a hard time reading, comprehending, and sounding out words. The typical learning difficulties are as demonstrated.

• Dyslexia: Difficulty in reading.

• Dysgraphia: Impairment in writing.

• Dyscalculia: Difficulty in mathematics.

• Dysphasia: A language difficulty.

How to Support a Child With Learning Difficulties?

As a parent, teachers, or loved ones, we must be concerned about our child’s pros and cons. Learning difficulty is something that affects the ability to enumerate the skills of other children. In this way, the child with learning difficulties sounds different from their peers and requires special attention with care. Here are some guidelines to support a child encountering problems in learning:

• Cope Up with the Child: Every child is exceptional, yet they exhibit different conduct. They encounter sadness and feelings of loss once they find they have impairment in learning, unlike other kids. So, parents must convey to the child that they are not facing learning difficulties but learning differently, which can be sorted out in various approaches. Establishing a genuine relationship with the children so that they listen to the parents and thus endure hardships.

• Complement the Efforts: In the stereotyped fashion of getting high grades, some children do not achieve victory even after taking quiet steps. Notably, a child with a learning difficulty could not reach good grades and possess outstanding performances. And when someone indicates or compares such things, the child seems discouraged and disappointed. Therefore, parents and teachers must assist in explaining that only effort matters amidst the results. In addition, the children always expect to praise their work.

• Highlight the Strengths: As it is known, children have their strengths with particular weaknesses. For example, a child who is good at math sounds low in literature, while a child showing the extraordinary play in kinetic activities seems dull in theory. So, considering this, praising those strengths in the child by leaving the weaknesses aside can be beneficial. Every little one with their unique talents finds a place in accordance.

• Icons to Look At: The younger one is quite young, and they learn from what they lay their eyes on. It might be parents, teachers, peers, or star icons on television. Consequently, there lived and succeeded celebrities with certain learning difficulties. For instance, Albert Einstein had autism, and Richard Branson was diagnosed with dyslexia. By preaching to them, parents must encourage the child to consider people like them as role models while keeping moving.

• Aid Playful Activities: The child discovers hard and excruciating only when seeing learning as such. In contrast, the child shows more potential if learning is taken as a joy-filled game or activity. When the parents or teachers recognize that a child is suffering from learning or comprehending phrases and math, they must give some time and teach the child in a playful manner using strategies. To give an example, they can teach the name of fruits or vegetables by showing the real ones, objects, or stickers.

• Visual-Structured Information: Children with learning difficulties have more visually processed information and they could easily switch between real and imaginary environments. So, providing many visual aids for each lesson would be helpful. For example, instructing the child on drawing the theme that they understand in the study. Through this, elders can understand what the child tries to portray or what they need further to improve their learning skills.

What Are the Strategies to Guide a Child With Learning Difficulties?

Learning difficulties do not rely on one particular phase. Instead, it is about all skills and actions involved. Therefore, several strategies to look for each difficulty are as follows.

Strategies for Language Difficulties:

• Encouraging more written assignments and asking the child to start priorly.

• Allotting the child a proofreader to correct the punctuation and grammar.

• Conveying instructions in both writing and speaking.

• Encouraging the child to give verbal responses than written ones.

• Asking the child to make supplemental notes.

• Telling the child to record the lectures in an audiotape recorder and to hear them time and again.

• Encouraging to utilize a text processor and spelling checker.

Strategies for Reading Difficulties:

• Cheering on pre-reading often.

• Encouraging the child with reading difficulties to use colored highlighters variably for main points and key points.

• Asking the child to be an active reader instead of a passive one.

• When the elders notice that the child finds difficulty even reading a simple passage, they must advise them to re-read a bit louder and paraphrase the information.

• Push the child to refer to various themes like dictionaries and encyclopedias.

• Providing the child with guided notes comprising a summary of the main ideas.

Strategies for Difficulties in Comprehension:

• Encouraging the child to utilize the record tapes.

• Ensuring that the child sits near the blackboard.

• Helping with visual cues by prompting or giving hints whenever necessary.

• Asking the teacher to provide a written record of the lecture.

• Give a helping hand to the child in overcoming external distractions and auditory disturbances.

• Assisting throughout the day with the information.

Strategies for Mathematical Difficulties:

• Advising the child to spend enough time practicing maths.

• To use graph paper rather than a regular book to solve math issues.

• The colored highlighters could seem helpful as they emphasize exponents and variables.

• Provide absolute examples and concepts before moving on to numbers.

• Utilizing visual aids like videotape to understand basic math.

• Giving examples with objects so that the child can easily manipulate them.

Conclusion

Learning difficulties refer to various states involving significant difficulties in the several phases of the learning process. This includes listening, speaking, writing, reading, thinking, reasoning, or mathematical skills. The child faces hardships with these difficulties that could eventually diminish their self-confidence and self-esteem. So, it is essential to help the child find a way to cope and succeed between these difficulties.