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According to an ADDitude magazine article written by Jerome Schultz (9/13/2021, “Why School Stress is Devastating for Our Children”), a case is made for parents to stay tuned to the behavioral indicators that your child may be stressed at school.
Children diagnosed with attention and learning issues can be at more risk to dislike school and assign negative feelings about themselves.
Your child showing stress can often be the first sign that school is difficult for them. Sometimes the warning signals can be misinterpreted as oppositional behavior, that they are willfully making a poor choice. Oftentimes it is easier to have the attention of “being bad” rather than look inadequate in class revealing that they struggle to read or do math. Schultz would say that stress ensues and a child’s brain goes on high alert to escape from danger.
This stress can occur day in and day out for many children. Unless the cycle is broken, stress can overtake a young child’s academic path and can often make learning even more difficult than it already is for them. Dr. Eric Kanel uses a DE-STRESS model to attempt to break this school stress cycle. Following are the DE-STRESS steps:
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Define the condition. |
Adults and children need to know the diagnosis or name of the condition; whether it be a learning disability or ADHD. |
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Educate. |
Once everyone understands the name of the learning issue; those near the child, and including the child, need to understand and be educated about the challenges so the child and adults can advocate for them. |
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Speculate. |
Include the child’s strengths and look ahead; what might be difficult?, how can their strengths be utilized? going forward. |
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Teach. |
The child will need tools and strategies to capitalize on their success. |
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Reduce the risk. |
Setup learning environments that help the child succeed. Some examples might include; small class sizes, more time to reinforce learning, decreased distractions, etc. |
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Exercise. |
Physical activity is known to improve mood and learning. |
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Success. |
Learning environments need to allow students to experience success far more often than failures. Competent and confidence are built through success. |
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Strategize. |
Use your child’s past experiences to plan for the future. This is helpful in reducing stress before you get started! Learning from errors should be part of the program and help move a child forward. |
It makes so much sense why Springer School, located in Cincinnati, Ohio, is often referred to as an “oasis” for children with learning disabilities and ADHD. Parents share that the stress they have often melts away when their child enters our school. Our teachers understand that each child walking into their classroom has walked a different path, and many have experienced just what we are talking about, school stress. And even better the students often say, I’m so comfortable here- the adults understand me. It is what we all hope for, understanding. Now that is not so stressful.
