Struggling Child Needs

Many children struggle in school, and the first thing many a struggling child needs in order to succeed is simply a diagnosis of what is causing the learning problem.  Often, it is not a learning disability at all.  It could simply be something as simple as a sensory processing problem.  This sounds very technical, but it is quite common, and it just means that the child is overly sensitive to visual, aural or tactile stimuli, and these stimuli are therefore interfering with the learning process. “An example of this would be a malfunctioning sensory system that shouts “pain,” when a tag on a shirt touches the skin. Another example is when a child covers his ears at fairly minor unexpected sounds, because the sensory system is giving the errant signal that the sound is too loud. This child is not just distracted by his outside environment, but is distracted by his inside environment as well.” (hslda.org)

Sometimes, a struggling child needs a different approach to learning.  Your child may be a right-brain learner in a left-brain educational system.  Left-brain learners tend to work out of sequence, skipping around from subject to subject, and prefer spontaneous events to structure.  “Since most curriculum teaches in a more left brain manner, focusing on auditory and sequential aspects, as well as writing, our children who are more right brain learners often feel left out, and even struggle with learning and retaining material using this same curriculum. Once we have identified the right-brainer who is struggling because he is stuck in a left brain curriculum, then we can tweak our teaching process to help these right brain children get in touch with the smart part of themselves.  (hslda.org)

Most importantly, you must support your child in what he wants to do, even if his desires tend to change or shift around a lot.  “The point is, it is your job to help him figure out what he is truly passionate about in life, not to force him into continuing to do something because you forced him into it. Imagine if your child could spend his adult life doing something that he loves because you allowed him to figure out what that was – what a gift!” (certificatestreet.com)

If you would like more information on what a struggling child needs to succeed, please visit one of these links, which were referenced above:

·  http://www.hslda.org/strugglinglearner/sn_checklists.asp

·  http://www.certificatestreet.com/strugchildcontenttips.html