Providing Support For Students With Learning Difficulties

Susan Kelly Updated on Apr 04, 2023

All children benefit from positive reinforcement, but it is essential for children with learning difficulties to feel loved and supported to grow up with a solid sense of self-worth, confidence, and perseverance.

Remember that your goal in seeking solutions to help children with learning difficulties is to provide them with the tools they need to help themselves. Instead of trying to "fix" your child's learning problem, focus on equipping them with the social and emotional skills they'll need to overcome obstacles.

Helping your child face and conquer adversity, like a learning handicap, may make them stronger and more resilient. Your youngster will learn a lot about handling difficult situations from watching how you handle similar cases.

Strategies For Managing Your Child's Learning Handicap

Be Realistic. A Learning Handicap Isn't Insurmountable

Keep in mind that life throws challenges at everyone. As a parent, you are responsible for showing your child how to persevere in the face of adversity without giving up or becoming disheartened. Focus on providing your child with plenty of emotional and spiritual support rather than becoming bogged down in the testing, school bureaucracy, and endless paperwork.

Trained Your Expertise

Keep up with the latest research and advances in learning impairment programs, treatments, and educational practices to better assist your students. You could try going to a teacher, therapist, or doctor to find answers to your problems. Yet, you are the best authority on your child; thus, you should take the lead in determining what resources your child requires to succeed in school.

Speak Out For Your Kid

Repeated advocacy may be required before your kid receives the accommodations they need. Improve your communication skills and accept your responsibility as an involved parent. It's not easy, but if you can keep calm and be reasonable but tough with your kid, you'll make a difference in their life.

Remember Your Power

Your kid will do what you tell them to do. Your child is more likely to adopt your outlook on learning difficulties if you demonstrate positivity, diligence, and a good sense of humor. Learn what works with your kid and put it into practice as best you can.

Strengths, Not Deficiencies

Your child's learning handicap is not who they are. One area of weakness is a learning handicap, although there are many other talents. Pay attention to your kid's strengths. Your child's routine and daily activities shouldn't be based on their learning difficulty. Provide ample time and attention to the pursuits at which they thrive.

Self-care And Bolstering

It's very uncommon for parents of children with special needs to feel overwhelmed to the point of depression. They have considerably less energy and time for self-care than parents of typically developing children.

Yet they also have a more extensive requirement for fuel. Parents must care for themselves to make it through the marathon of caring for a child with special needs. This site is complete with helpful resources for maintaining physical and mental wellness. The best source of advice and comfort for parents of special needs children is often other parents.

Parents of children with special needs at Boston University saw this need and formed a peer support network to facilitate communication between parents and other members of the BU community. The network established a private website where parents might talk about their experiences and encourage other parents to contact them for help, advice, and resources.

Collaboration With Parents of Special-Needs Children

When dealing with families of preschool-aged children who have special needs, it is incredibly vital to establish strong bonds via open and honest communication. Children with disabilities may already be enrolled in your preschool program, while other families may discover their kid is disabled or developmentally delayed once they start attending your program.

You may be one of the experts who play a role in pinpointing a problem or holding up progress. The government provides special education services and IEPs to preschoolers whose families meet specific requirements (IEP). Some people may only be able to get benefits at a hospital, while other families may be associated with several different organizations.

Regardless, it's common for families to feel overburdened by the seemingly endless stream of recommendations, therapies, and appointments aimed at helping their child learn and grow. These families may seek your help, or that of others in your program, in identifying and gaining access to additional programs and agencies that can aid them in providing for their children.

Suppose you or the program's trainers and administrators want up-to-date information on how to make a recommendation and the sorts of services supplied and available. In that case, it may be good to establish ties with outside agencies.