7 Common Mistakes Parents Make when their Child has Difficulty with School Part 1

No Wonder Our Kids Are Struggling

Research tells us that 30% of the population across the board has some degree of difficulty with the key auditory skill that supports efficient reading. One in five students are now thought to have dyslexia.  The American Psychiatric Association (APA) says that at least 5 percent of American children have ADHD.

Most of these struggling students have average to above average IQ scores.  In other words, they have plenty of ability, but something is getting in the way of their learning and performing in school as expected.

In my experience, parents always want to help their children, but when smart kids struggle in school, it’s confusing and hard to understand.  How can they be so talented or capable in some areas, but do so poorly in others?  Can it change? What is the parent supposed to do?

Over the next few weeks, we are going to look at the 7 most common mistakes made by parents of students who struggle in school.

Mistake #1 – Waiting Too Long Before Looking For Help

Panic is not what most parents want to do.  School can be hard and some students take a while to get adjusted to the workload, the new ideas, and the routine.

But if students have trouble keeping up…if they struggle with the foundational elements, then something is probably wrong.

For students who are not keeping up, school is a very painful place.  They begin to believe they aren’t very smart.  Their self-esteem gets destroyed…one little piece each and every day.

And coming home is no fun either because they spend hours doing homework that takes other kids just a few minutes.

School should not be a struggle for most students.  It can be challenging, it can be some work, but it shouldn’t be a constant struggle.

Reading, writing, and spelling are easily learned by most children.  If a child keeps working harder at those subjects than other students, then there is problem.  The sooner it is addressed, the sooner the student can relax and enjoy school.  And the sooner the family can relax and enjoy life again.

Learning, including speaking, paying attention, organization, reading, spelling, math, and writing is built upon a foundation of underlying processing skills.  These are skills such as auditory and visual processing, attention, body awareness and control, memory, and reasoning.  These are not typically taught, but rather are assumed to be in place when children go to school.   When any of these underlying skills are weak, it can cause students to struggle more than would be expected.

The great news is that these challenges can be changed.  While there are no simple, overnight solutions, most learning and attention challenges can be dramatically improved or completely corrected through developing the weak underlying skills and remediating the affected academic areas.

Bright but struggling students CAN be in regular or honors classes and learn as easily as the rest of the class, BUT it takes understanding and developing the weak underlying learning/processing skills at the root of the problem.

Is your child struggle struggling in school?  Don’t make the “waiting mistake.”  Take the first step towards correcting the problem:

JOIN US for a FREE Information Night

For information and RSVP go to www.learningdisability.com

 

“Helping smart but struggling students dramatically improve or completely correct their learning and attention challenges by developing the underlying learning skills that are not supporting the learner well enough.”
We serve children and adults with diagnosed or undiagnosed learning and attention challenges including learning disabilities, dyslexia, ADHD, auditory processing disorders, and autism spectrum disorders.
Jill Stowell, M.S.
Author:  At Wit’s End A Parent’s Guide to Ending the Struggle Tears, and Turmoil of Learning Disabilities
Founder and Executive Director – Stowell Learning Centers

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