STOP The Band-Aid Approach

STOP the Band-Aid Approach to Dealing with Learning Challenges

Dr. David Angus, author of A Short Guide to a Long Life was recently on talk radio speaking about preventing and reversing disease and pain by addressing the root cause of the problem.  What struck me, besides my interest in health, was that his message was the same as ours…

Stop putting a Band-Aid on symptoms and

deal with the issue that is really causing the problem.

When applied to health, this might look like strengthening core muscles to prevent long term back pain or avoiding habits that cause pain and inflammation (such as wearing shoes that hurt your feet), because inflammation leads to heart disease, cancer and brain decline in the long run.

Most people believe that if you struggle in school, have a learning disability, or dyslexia, you just need to try harder and get accommodations – use a note taker, spell checker, or digital recorder to help with writing and note taking; have your tests read to you or get audio-books to compensate for poor reading skills; use a calculator to compute.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with these things, except when they are used in the long run to cope with a learning challenge as opposed to actually getting to the root of the problem and correcting it.

Often children who struggle with phonics, a key component of reading, are given more practice with phonics.  Makes sense, right?  But if the underlying auditory processing skill that allows us to think about the sounds inside of words is not in place, more phonics is just an exercise in frustration.

Schools teach students all kinds of interesting and important curriculum.  And thank goodness they do, because nobody else is doing it.  But what people often don’t realize is that there are a tremendous number of underlying learning/processing skills that support the student in learning those academic skills.  Weaknesses in one or more of these underlying learning skills can cause otherwise capable students to struggle.

The great news is that most underlying learning/processing skills can be developed so that the reading, math, writing, spelling, speaking, or comprehension challenges can be dramatically improved or completely corrected. Isn’t this a better solution than a band-aid?

A band-aid covers a cut, but it doesn’t heal it.  A band-aid was never meant as a permanent solution.  So let’s stop using a band-aid approach to learning challenges and actually address the root of the problem.

Summer is coming up.  This is a great time to make real and permanent changes in your child or teen’s learning.

Join us for a parent information meeting to learn more.  Go to www.learningdisability.com for details and RSVP.

ASK about how your child can get a HUGE boost through our summer intensive programs.