Learning in a Special Education Environment

Any child that has a need for guided education whether it is because of a mental or physical disability deserves to have the same chance in life and school as other children. Sometimes when a parent knows their child needs regulated special guidance on education, they don't want their child to be singled out. They don't want to have to have special arrangements. They want their child to be given attention without losing the same equality as other students.

Learning in a regulated special guidance on education is often required. It is design though not to restrict the children, but give them all the opportunity to succeed. Parents can rest assured that often it is the law that all children will have the best opportunities to succeed in education even if special education is needed. Sometimes students needing education need a complete special education curriculum while others just need various elements with education.

The student might have learning disabilities and needs extra attention to help them understand the lessons, to stay up with other students. Other students could be emotionally challenged and need special attention to help them accomplish goals. Then there are various physical disabilities that can cause the student to need more extensive assistance for their special education curriculum.

Often the definition of those being eligible for specialized education is provided by the state as well as the federal government. Depending on the disability there are various services available. Parents are asked to keep in mind that education environments are set up to benefit the child with a disability and provide them with more of an advantage than they would have otherwise got.

A specialized education environment is set up to benefit the classmates. It might be that is it more wheelchairs accessible to having equipment to help students with certain issues along with a teacher trained to help with these issues. Having specialized training will best benefit the child as an individual compared to a teacher in the traditional classroom with 19 other students that don't have a disability or a class room with a few others that need special attention as well.

There is often an Individualized Education Plan put in place for the student. This allows the student to get assistance and education that is geared toward their needs in a way that will best benefit them. Talk with the school administrators, teachers and your child's teacher to help design the best options for your child.

You may require talking to the child's physician about the best specialized education program that would assist in improving the child's development. Additionally, hiring the services of a special educator at home while the child goes to regular school is also a possibility to explore when you are looking for a cohesive environment for the child's development.

You may explore for more information online as there are numerous websites dealing with special educators, pioneers in the friend of education that impart information about parenting and education.

For the latest videos and training information on child development as well as books and curricula please visit http://www.childdevelopmentmedia.com/.

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Creative Kids and Learning Styles in the Classroom

Once you have discovered your child's learning styles and multiple intelligences, there is a good chance you will discover they are at odds with the way lessons are traditionally taught in the school system.  How can you go about making sure your child gets the best opportunities to learn? Here are some strategies:

Get To Know Your Child's teacher - This should be your first and most important step going forward. Teachers want their students to succeed but in most cases the deck is stacked against them. Standardized testing, rigid curriculum, cost cuts, large class sizes, and lack of support are all challenges that teachers face every day.

Getting to know your child's teacher gives you and your child an advantage. It lets the teacher know you are involved and concerned about your child. You can pass on valuable information - such as your child's different learning styles and issues they may be having that the teacher is not aware of.

Scheduling a face to face meeting with your child's new teacher each year should be a priority. Call and find a time that is good for them. Dropping in or trying to discuss your child at the end of a school day is usually frustrating and not successful as the teacher needs a clear head and schedule to absorb and address your concerns.

Come Prepared - Make the most of any meetings you have with teachers by being prepared. Create a list of the issues you want to address and have an idea of what outcomes you would like to see. It shows you are proactive and, if you offer solutions instead of just a whole bunch of problems, you are more likely to get what you want.

If your child is having difficulty in school because of their preferred learning style or multiple intelligence, look for solutions that are easy to implement in the classroom. See if there is any flexibility in how projects are done.

If your child is an auditory learner, see if they can do a presentation as opposed to a written report. If they are Kinesthetic see if they can get up and stretch from time to time. Incorporating stretching exercises, even for a few minutes at a time throughout the day, makes all students learn better. If your student is visual, practice good note taking skills at home and have kids write down any instructions they receive verbally. This will help them process the task at hand.

Offer Assistance - If there are any ways you can get involved, teachers are generally very grateful for the help. Does your child's class have parent helpers? Sign up!

See if there is any material the teacher needs that you (or a parent association, or community member) could help provide. There are lots of free resources out there that teachers don't have the time to track down. Many teachers operate on a tight budget, and any "extra" things such as art supplies or teaching aids that do cater to other learning styles are usually bought out of the teacher's own pocket. It gets expensive to be a good teacher.

If there is a skill you have that you can share that might benefit the students, see if you can come in and teach a lesson. If your child is Kinesthetic you could teach a quick lessons on exercises you can do while sitting in their seats (look up instructions for exercises to do while flying for ideas). This wold be great for students who have to be active while they are learning.

Find Out What You Can Do At Home - Ask your teacher for suggestions on ways you can help your child learn better at home. See if they can recommend any extra resources for you. It might take your child a little longer to finish their homework if you have to present it in a way that fits their learning style but it is worth it!

Sheena is an educator and author who is passionate about creativity. Her website "Growing Creative Kids" is full of ideas, resources and creative inspiration for parents, educators and care givers. http://growingcreativekids.com/

Sheena has two e-books available on her website at: http://growingcreativekids.com/shop

"Growing Creative Kids" a great resource providing you with the ideas, inspiration and and tools to cultivate a creative mind within your family.

"The Art of Money Getting - Adapted for the Modern Teen Money Getter" takes P.T Barnum's classic lessons and makes it relevant to today's teens.

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Learning Disabilities in Children

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.

For the latest videos and training information on child development as well as books and curricula please visit http://www.childdevelopmentmedia.com/

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How To Teach A Child With Learning Disabilities

Education is very important and when a child suffers from learning disabilities it is still vital that you influence his or her learning experience in a positive way in order to make a difference in how they interpret things. Every child sees and hears things differently but if your child has been diagnosed with learning disabilities, don't worry you can still encourage your child and help them to learn just in different ways.

Sometimes disabilities in learning can be misdiagnosed as ADHD. While they may have similar symptoms, they may be completely different in the end. ADHD or Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder affects more people than you realize. Learning can be more difficult because the individual cannot keep their attention on any one thing for too long.

There are seven types of learning disabilities according to the American Medical Association. These are:

* Dyslexia, or special impairment

* Dyscalculia or the inability to understand basic math concepts

* Dysgraphia or the inability to write correctly

* Language problems

* Time and space management problems

* Memory complications

* Sensory integration complications

When someone suffers from disabilities in learning they are challenged in some way or several ways while trying to perform a simple job or task that wouldn't normally be a problem. In fact, learning disabilities may not be diagnosed until later on in the school year. You may be able to pick up on it if your child is good in one subject such as science but cannot comprehend basic math problems.

If you have been told that your child suffers from one or more learning disabilities you may first blame yourself for not picking up on symptoms or clues earlier. You may continuously blame yourself while you try to back up in time figuring out when your child started showing signs that something wasn't being understood.

Attention deficit disorder is different from other learning disabilities in several ways. When someone suffers from ADHD all normal cognitive reactions are affected instead of only one or two like in the example above. ADHD is more of a medical condition then it is a learning disability and therefore it is picked up during an examination from a medical professional and not during a test given by the school.

If you feel that your child may suffer from a disability such as the ones listed below, these learning disabilities your child's school will know how to further test your child in order to determine which disability he or she may suffer from. Once it has been diagnosed, your child can receive special help and counseling in order to learn how to deal with their learning disabilities and how to better help themselves. If you suspect that your child may be suffering from a disability contact your school to set up a test that can determine if this is correct or if something else may be wrong. A child should be able to learn without any disabilities however when a disability exists a child can still learn.

For the latest videos and training information on child development as well as books and curricula please visit http://www.childdevelopmentmedia.com/.

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The Importance of Identifying If a Child Has a Learning Difficulty, Learning Disability or Dyslexia

Recent study by The International Dyslexia Association states that 74% of students who are weak readers in 3rd grade remain weak readers in the 9th grade. Several students still don't read well even as grown- ups. However, it is certainly not too late for individuals with learning difficulties, learning disabilities, or dyslexia to learn to read, process, and express details and information more effectively. I have seen it first-hand. Even 50 a year old can enhance their abilities. In fact, those adults that have had strokes have been able to restore some of their cognitive abilities once they knew exactly what the fundamental areas were that the stroke impacted.

Determining what your student's learning problems are and working with them is crucial because if they go unidentified and unaddressed, students may spend their school years either feeling stupid, struggling with their schoolwork, or disliking school. They may feel that their work is never going to be good enough so they stop striving. They may seem to stare off into space, not attending to instruction. They may regularly interrupt the class. Eventually, they may not be able to get into the college of their choice or get the job of their choice.

The Most Common type of Learning Disability: Language Learning Disability

Language learning disabilities are disorders that affect one's ability to either interpret what is observed or link information coming from different parts of the brain.

Difficulties with linking information throughout the brain can show up in a variety of ways. There can be certain difficulties with spoken and written language, coordination, self-control, or attention. Such difficulties extend to schoolwork and can impede learning to read, write, or do math.

How We Learn

The best way to talk about learning disabilities is to discuss about learning. We learn 3 ways, by seeing (visual processing), hearing, and (auditory processing) and doing (tactile/kinesthetic processing). Within each of these 3 categories there are 9 sub-categories of processing. Generally when one is struggling with learning reading, writing, or math it is due to one or more of these sub-categories of processing not working as efficiently as they could, should, and can. These skills are all learned and can easily be enhanced.

There is a simple way for you as a parent or teacher to find out if your child has learning problems, dyslexia, or learning disabilities. Using the informal assessment, the Learning Disability Screening Tool, gives you the ability to identify the fundamental causes of learning problems. With this knowledge and understanding about your child's learning problems, you become the 'expert' on your child. You will know what has been holding your child back. You can now be pro-active and deal with your child's learning difficulties, learning disabilities, or dyslexia.

Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., BCET

Bonnie Terry, M. Ed., BCET is a LD Specialist. Ms. Terry helps parents identify, understand, & address the underlying causes of their child's learning problems. Dyslexic, LD and ADHD kids advance 2-4 years in 20 minutes a day with Ms. Terry's books, games, and guides http://bonnieterrylearning.com/.

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