Helping a Child With Learning Disabilities
Do you think that your child has a learning disability?
In this article, we will review the general characteristics of learning disabilities and offer a unique approach to identify them, so you’ll have an anchor in the overwhelming amount of information available.
What is learning disability?
Learning disability is a general term that describes specific kinds of learning problems, such as reading, writing and listening. A learning disability can cause a child to have difficulty learning and applying certain skills.
In such cases, a specific disorder affects the brain’s ability to receive and process information. This disorder affects the child’s ability to learn as quickly or in the same way as someone who is not affected. Children who are asked to complete tasks or apply certain specific skills by themselves or are taught in conventional ways will often find it difficult and will choose to avoid the task or complete only part of it.
Studies show that learning disorders are caused by a difference in the brain that affects how information is received, processed, or communicated. This difference is not well understood, but is considered to be caused by hereditary factors, problems during pregnancy or birth and accidents during childhood. There is little evidence that a learning disability or disorder is related to intelligence.
Identifying the child’s learning disability
There is no single specific indicator which confirms that a child has a learning disability. A standard diagnosis looks for a significant difference between a child’s actual and expected school performance, given his intelligence or ability. Examples for issues that may be indicative of learning disability include trouble with spelling, difficulty expressing ideas in writing and trouble following directions.
Children’s drawing analysis offers a unique model to enable the child’s parent or an expert to clearly identify learning disability. This model uses projective techniques to evaluate non-verbal indicators or symbols in the child’s drawings and reach conclusions about his personality and skills.
A primary benefit of this model is that it would not be necessary to wait for a child to lag sufficiently behind to qualify brainstormrehab.com.au for assistance, because his drawings are always available at home or school, waiting to be understood.
In other words, interpretation of the child’s drawings may enable him to receive professional support before experiencing significant failure, which may result in low self-esteem, feelings of frustration or a need for intensive and expensive special education services.
This method offers several more benefits. First, the evaluation process using drawings takes into account children’s individual neuropsychological factors in a way that can subsequently inform effective solutions.
Second, the analytic process is considerably shorter than in established techniques, so it’s easy to identify the disability and tailor an appropriate form of www.brainstormrehab.com.au intervention.
Third, drawing analysis may be used by both parents and experts, who can identify the learning disability by observing about 20 drawings made by the child in various environments.
Finally, analyzing drawings and handwriting prevents the mistaken impression that a child does not complete his assignments because he is spoiled or lazy. When analyzing drawings made by these children, it is possible to see that this impression is indeed wrong – these children are full of vitality, but they find it difficult to organize it on a page. Thus, the result is a stormy, unstructured and non-methodical drawing.
Case Study
The parents of a 7 year-old consulted us because they felt that doing homework has become an impossible task for their child. For them, just like many other parents of children with learning disabilities, getting him to do his homework or prepare for school in the morning are not easy tasks.
His parents report that the early morning hours are very tense and full of angry outbursts and fights. They told us that when he finds interest in a task, for example preparing for a ski vacation, he is able to prepare for it quickly and efficiently. As a result, they assumed that he does things on purpose, to annoy them, and this only made them even angrier at him.
Analyzing his drawings revealed that he is constantly frustrated. He uses drawings as an excuse to externalize his aggressions and scribbles with heavy pressure. The pressure he applies is so strong that he almost tears the page. His drawings are loaded with lines and other add-ons, symbolizing his attention overload. He has a feeling that there are a lot of interesting stimulations around him, which are all equally important.
These two indicators are part of a list, which supported our conclusion that this child has a learning disability, which should be treated by common disciplines and interventions such as: direct instruction, classroom adjustments and assistance or special education.
Conclusion
When discussing the case of a child with a learning disability, it should be clear that this isn’t an issue of trying harder, improving motivation or paying closer attention. Such a child needs guidance that will help him learn how to perform the required academic tasks.
Your child’s body has an extraordinary capacity to change. When a teacher or parent provides intervention and support in an early stage, it can really improve the chances of your child’s success. Many children respond well and achieve their goals in life when given the support and encouragement they need.
If you feel unsure about how to obtain the best help for your child, we suggest you start by looking at his drawings. In them, you will find the valuable clarity that you require to decide – quickly and effectively – whether to intervene with other supporting tools or not.
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