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If your child is underperforming in school, it could be a sign that they are struggling with a learning disability.
As a parent, it’s important to dig deep and try to understand the reasons behind these struggles.
When you do so, not only will your little one feel a closer bond with you, but they will also feel encouraged by your support.
It is estimated that one in five students have some type of learning disability.
It’s also worth noting that learning disabilities are very common and not something to look down upon. Everyone progresses at a different rate.
However, if a student does have a learning disability and it goes undiagnosed, the result may be devastating.
For example, your child may be blamed for not trying hard enough when they simply can’t meet the task due to their disability.
Additionally, they may be scolded for their below average reading level when they simply can’t decipher words due to dyslexia.
This can result in low self-esteem, depression, and anxiety down the line.
And that’s not a future we wish upon your kiddo.
Below are the five most common learning disabilities:
Dyslexia is a learning disorder that impedes a student’s ability to read and comprehend text.
There are a variety of ways in which this disability can manifest.
For example, some people struggle with phonemic awareness, which means they fail to recognize the way words break down according to sound.
Similar problems can occur with phonological processing, wherein students cannot distinguish between similar word sounds.
Other issues relate generally to fluency, spelling, comprehension, and more.
Students may experience one reading issue or multiple issues when struggling with dyslexia.
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Attention Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder affects more than 6.4 million children.
While there is some debate as to whether or not ADHD is a learning disability, there is no doubt that it is a common impediment to learning.
Students who have ADHD often have difficulty paying attention and staying on task.
These students can be easily distracted and may have difficulty in traditional school settings.
Experts link ADHD with the structure of the brain, and there is evidence that ADHD may have a genetic component as well.
Unlike typical learning disabilities, which need instructional interventions, ADHD can be successfully treated with medications and behavioral therapies.
Math is another major area of concern when it comes to learning disabilities.
While difficulty with reading can affect a student’s ability in math, some students also suffer from Dyscalculia, which specifically affects math capabilities.
Dyscalculia can range from an inability to order numbers correctly to difficulties with problem solving.
Students with math disorders may have trouble performing basic math calculations, or they may have difficulty with concepts like time, measurement, or estimation.
While reading disabilities receive the most attention, writing disabilities can be equally difficult to overcome.
These disabilities are known as Dysgraphia.
Students with this disorder often have trouble holding a pencil correctly, and their posture may be tense while writing.
Dysgraphia can also hinder written expression by making it challenging to organize thoughts, writing redundantly, or omitting key words.
Additionally, it can affect basic sentence structure and grammatical awareness.
Learning disabilities are also connected to processing deficits.
When students have a processing deficit, they have trouble making sense of sensory data.
This makes it hard for students to perform in a traditional classroom without added support.
These deficits are most often auditory or visual, making it hard for students to distinguish and remember important information that’s needed to succeed.
Schools are required by law to make accommodations and modifications for students who meet eligibility requirements for learning disabilities.
Sometimes parents need to advocate to make sure the school is doing their part by participating in creating an Individual Education Plan (IEP).
Parents may need support and guidance in navigating the school system and coping with the additional stress of homework on the family.
Sometimes two parents are in disagreement about the best course of action to take and need help from a professional to sort out the options and make the best decision.
That’s why we’re here.
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I am blown away! I don’t write testimonials, unless I have been extremely moved by something. I was blessed to work with Brooke on a single session, and before this I was in therapy on and off with multiple therapists for the last 20 years of my life. Brooke was able to do more in one session than many years of work with my previous therapist. She has the true gift of great insight and compassion while also getting straight to the heart of your blind spots and unconscious issues in a way that has truly changed my life.
Skyler J.
There are people who are good at their work there are people like Brooke: who are born to do it. I cannot recommend Brooke more highly. I can only imagine where I would be today if I had started working with her years ago. From the beginning of our session, she knew exactly what tools and questions that would work for my particular psychology and my personal experience. No other therapist has been able to do that or anything close.
What I also really appreciate from our session is Brooke's ability to go directly to the source of the issue while also keeping a very gentle and kind energy with me. I felt very seen, understood, and supported. Everything and more that I could have ever asked for from a therapist. I have a severe trauma history and complex issues she was able to immediately identify and help. If she could help me, I know she can help you too.
Taylor E.
You did more in 45 minutes than my last therapist did in a year.
Jamie
With your help, I've finally started to understand that while my vivid imagination often wants to create terrifying monsters under the bed, in a lot of cases those monsters are nothing more than a heap of decidedly less-terrifying laundry I've avoided for too long that just needs to be aired out and put away. Which is definitely a lot easier than monster slaying. Thank you for shedding light in the dark places I was too afraid to face alone.
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I am extremely fortunate to work with Sydney, who is helping me create real internal change. The talent to listen well is Hall of Fame stuff, and she has that. She then follows with questions, strategies that are organic to the moment. I have come to believe that deep, radical, if occasionally deeply painful change ... and, then, healing can happen. I'm just at the lip of that last part - but would not have gotten there, AT ALL, without Sydney
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The best therapist ever! Life-changing 🙂
Catherine H.
Right now, the work is changing my life, sometimes in inches, sometimes in miles.
Ric K.
