Helping Children with Learning Disabilities Succeed

learning disabilities. Photo credit: Tiberiu Ana@FlickrClassroom teachers are constantly faced with new challenges in school. Some due to the complexities exhibited by children with learning problems or disabilities.

Learning does not just comprise cognitive development. Emotional aspects should also be considered to balance the desired growth needed not just in the academics but as a person in general. For a teacher, learning disabilities, if not properly addressed, will lead to a greater problem in the future.

Warning Signs to Observe

If children have already been identified as having learning difficulties, then the battle is half way won. But in many cases you could be the first to identify that any problem exists.

So if you’re going to have any chance of helping children with learning disabilities succeed, you need to know the warning signs to look out for:-

  • Difficulty following learning instructions
  • Slow acquisition of new and simple skills
  • Disorganized in school and at home
  • Trouble learning basic math concepts
  • Dislike reading and writing
  • Abhor activities in school that involve reading comprehension and mathematical  problems

These are behaviors usually and commonly manifested and spotted in every child in school at some stage. So if that is the case, when should teachers be alarmed? Answer is… if those signs are consistently persisting in the classroom and it hinders learning.

Common Learning Problems

These are conditions you are likely to come across at some stage:-

  • Dyslexia- reading difficulty
  • Dyscalculia- mathematical difficulty
  • Dysgraphia- writing difficulty

There are other disabilities of course but these tend to be the problems which parents/guardians would usually blame on the teachers’ skill and not on the child/learner’s developmental predicament.

How Can Teachers Help These Children Succeed?

  • Having these kids properly diagnosed or assessed is very important.

Though teachers may have the capacity to know the child’s limitations in school, it is always essential that we send them to a skilled professional for a thorough assessment. From there, we can come up with a program that would suit and cope with their needs.

  • Know what type of learners they are.

As mentioned earlier, it is important to know the child’s problem, if he is more of a visual or auditory learner. Do they get to learn more from pictures and images rather than from texts or words? They might be more into physical activities which can be incorporated through games for better lesson absorption. Discover a unique learning approach that would support their special needs and at the same time sustain their interests.

  • Extend love and support and enormous understanding and patience.

It is a known fact that if you want great wealth, you cannot find it here in the teaching profession. Most of us stay in this field because we love what we are doing. To some, what is more gratifying is seeing our students succeed in life more than us receiving pennies for our pockets. Children with learning disabilities will find ease battling educational trials and barriers if they are supported with the love, care and patience extended by their second parent in school.

  • Maintain an open communication line with the parents, co-teachers, heads, and administrators for support.

Remember, no man is an island. No matter how hard you try to find solutions to this concern, it would always be much easier to win the fight if you have allies by your side.

These simple guidelines should come in handy for any teachers having difficulty with some ‘problem students’ in their class, especially newer students.

But if we are going to help children with learning difficulties succeed, it is an essential skill for us to first know our students before we come up with our own program for our class.

Some may say that I can execute my lessons even with my eyes closed. Remember, we are faced with different set of individuals each year with varying needs. It is up to us to deal with those needs by finding suitable approach that would answer the distinct concerns of each student.

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