Sometimes no matter how hard they try, your kids don’t get that A+ they wanted. School success seems impossible. Sometimes they have a learning disability. Learning disabilities are serious and need to be addressed or your child’s difficulties in school may never be solved.
But how do you know if your child’s problems stem from a learning disability or something else? When Andrew struggles with the multiplication tables, it could be a symptom of a much bigger issue which hours of math-drill won’t solve. Better than math-drill is finding the real issue. Does Andrew have a learning disability? By ignoring the possibility of a learning disability, many children never get the help they need. As a result, they find the entire school experience difficult, confusing and frustrating. School can be hard enough for most children. When a child has a learning disability, it’s even more exasperating because it rarely goes away.
So it’s time to discover why your child struggles in school or in a particular subject and what you can do to help him attain school success. Start by finding out if your child has a classifiable learning disability. “Classifiable” means the learning disability fits into a category that’s on the “approved”
list. This entitles him, by law, to receive special school support.
Most students have trouble in school at some point in their lives, but their problems may not be ongoing, severe enough, or specific enough to be considered learning disabilities. For example, Jessica keeps failing her social studies tests, Andrew can’t remember his math facts, and Cari cries every time she has to write a book report. According to the law, are these children defined as having a learning disability? Maybe?
Perhaps Jessica’s family is having problems at home, and Jessica is so worried about her parents that she keeps flunking tests. Maybe nobody showed Andrew a way that works for him to remember his math facts. And Cari missed a week of school when she had her tonsils out. Unfortunately, it was the week her teacher taught the class how to write a book report.
Just because a child has difficulty doing something in school doesn’t mean she has a learning disability. If that were the case, everyone would be classified as learning disabled!
Three Strategies for Managing Learning Disabilities
• Have your child evaluated. How do you know if your child has a
learning disability that meets legal criteria? It would be great if we could give them a blood test or a throat culture, but it’s not that easy. Parents, teachers and administrators have to rely on a combination of specific criteria. The school will do testing for learning disabilities. They will be looking for nonverbal learning disabilities, verbal learning disabilities, and other types of learning disabilities.
If you suspect your child’s school difficulties may be caused by a learning disability, consult your child’s teacher, school counselor, school social worker, school psychologist or principal for advice, or ask to have your child evaluated by the school. If you need to follow through, write a letter to your local school district requesting that your child be tested for a learning disability. This test is typically free, even if your child goes to a private school.
You can take your child to a qualified professional, usually a neuropsychologist or psychiatrist. Or ask your pediatrician if she has a list of professionals who can help. And remember, it’s a good idea to get a second opinion.
• Become educated. If your child is classified as having a learning disability, learn what’s available to your child. Contact your state education department for information. You can also contact the Learning Disabilities Association of America (www.LDANATL.org ) for advice. Many strategies can help your child learn. Go online or go to the library or local bookstore to find books on helping learning-disabled students.
• Be an involved parent. It’s important to help you child but don’t make a career of your child’s learning disability. Accept it, understand it, make adjustments and move on with your lives. Too many parents become over-involved, some to the point of being obsessive-compulsive about their children’s learning disability. This is harmful to them and to their children.
What if, after testing, you find your child doesn’t have a learning disability? Our schools are filled with children who, in spite of having learning problems all through school, don’t meet the state or federal guidelines for having a learning-disability.
These children often aren’t provided sufficient support. They may be given remedial reading in the lower grades. However, for the most part, once they reach middle and high school, they’re on their own. They may not be able to keep up with the reading, writing, or math.
Now it’s up to you to step in. Ask the school for more support. Get tutoring. Do what’s appropriate to get the help your child needs. Your child deserves school success. The good news is that many school districts now have learning labs and other support systems in order to address these students’ needs, and most private schools provide additional support.
About Dr. Linda
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