Child Learning Challenges: How to Address Them Early

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No parents want to believe that their children are plagued by learning disabilities, but every year thousands of school-age children are diagnosed with a wide range of disorders that could impact their ability to learn at the same rate or in the same way as their classmates. This is nothing to be ashamed of. Consider that some kids are better at sports while others excel at music. The child that is good at everything is rare. So when your kids face challenges with learning, the worst thing you can do is ignore the problem and hope it will go away. This could be an academic death sentence as your children slip further and further behind in their studies. Your best bet is to address any potential learning challenges as quickly as possible in order to give your kids the best opportunity to get the specialized instruction needed to keep them remain at grade level or even excel beyond it. Here are a few ways you can face these issues head on.

What you don’t want to do is make your children feel that something is wrong with them. Instead, you must empower them to do their best by providing them with the help they need. This starts with having them diagnosed as soon as you feel that there might be more at play than individual development. It’s true that all kids grow and develop at different rates, both physically and mentally, but there are certainly parameters for what is considered average. So if your kids are within the boundaries of what is commonly accepted when it comes to recognition, comprehension, and recall, then you probably don’t need to worry just yet. But if it seems that your children are falling behind in their studies, to the point that you or their teachers have started to notice, it’s definitely time to put in a call to your pediatrician or talk to the school about testing. If you want the absolute best for your child it is imperative that you diagnose learning challenges as early as possible so that you can begin to address them.

Once you have determined what is holding your kids back in their studies you can find ways to ensure that they continue to get the best education possible. Can you imagine how frustrating it would be for a child with dyslexia to be told that there’s nothing wrong with him, that he simply has to work harder and he can succeed? Now picture that same child operating under the tutelage of a teacher or coach who can help him to confront the words on the page and puzzle them out in a constructive way that is suited to his particular style of comprehension.

The first child is likely to fall behind in reading (and every other subject) as a result, becoming more frustrated and angry along the way. The latter may learn to love reading, excel at his studies, enjoy attending school, and go on to a UF Online degree program for communications, or even a stint at Harvard Business School. As a parent you have a lot of say in how your children’s education progresses, so don’t hesitate to address any learning challenges by taking immediate corrective action. It will almost certainly make a huge difference for your kids, now and in the future.