If your child has been diagnosed with a learning disability, he or she is not alone. Learning disabilities in children are common and can vary from mild to severe. If your child's disability was discovered in preschool years then you will have a better opportunity to grasp the idea and build on it in a positive way. However, if you didn't discover the disability until they were in school, it may take time to help your child.
There are many ways you can help your child at home once they have been diagnosed with a learning disability. First you need to learn how to recognize that your child may have a learning disability so you can get them the help they need. You may notice that some children have problems hearing information and others have problems with visual tasks. Some are nonverbal while others are verbal. Some disabilities may not come to surface until a child enters school. Look for problems that do not go away or that your child never learns to overcome.
When a child enrolls in school, they may be placed in a developmental class so they can receive the supplemental help they need. Activities at home may depend on the problem with your child. Children with disabilities improve when they have routines at home to help develop their basic skills and concepts. When a child has a routine that he or she completes every day this gives them a feeling of achievement and creates a more positive thought. For example, if your child can get up in the morning, pick out their own clothes, dress themselves, let the dog out to go to the bathroom, fix two pieces of toast for himself and his little brother and then get ready to catch the bus, this gives them a feeling of accomplishment before they even get to school. If your see that your child is struggling with routines, then shorten the routine so they don't feel so overwhelmed.
Meet with your child's teacher to form a support group. Your child's teacher has other children to work with as well so they can provide the instructional phase and you can provide support. When working together as a team there is no way that your child can fail. This also gives your child a sense of support and the ability to achieve almost anything.
Give your child as much love and support as possible. When something don't work, try something else. Show them that you are on their side and you can help them accomplish their goals. Have your child keep everything on paper so they can see their goals and chart their success. Re-evaluate your goals and plans often because your child needs to be able to reach some goals in order to feel encouraged to go on to the next goal.
Join support groups in your area if you can find one, if there is no support groups then consider starting one that covers learning disabilities in children. You would be surprised at how many parents are also struggling with the same learning disability or something similar.
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