Blog - Insight into LD

I was recently looking at a website related to issues with ADHD and Learning Disabilities. I stumbled upon a string of emails from mothers about their child’s bedroom.

When your child is having trouble in school, it’s hard to know when to intervene. I’ve asked Stacey, a Springer parent, to share her thoughts about her decision to send her first grader to Springer.

“Do it now, so you don’t have to do it later.”

Those wise words from my mother helped me to make the decision to enroll my son George at Springer School and Center.

Have you had to levy a consequence that you knew was going to cause an uproar with your child, but did not know how else to phrase it? This usually happens when you have to apply a consequence because the student did not meet an obligation, meaning she loses access to something she dearly loves because she failed to meet some responsibility.

If something holds little interest for us, we tend to feel fatigued, and perhaps we make more mistakes as we engage in that activity. Word problems involving baseball statistics are of interest to the Little League player, but would be tedious for the soccer enthusiast. Sometimes adults can raise the interest level by relating the assignment to something practical or of interest to the student.

Becca invited her friend Trisha over for lunch, and then to go swimming and fishing at the lake. She was excited to tell Trisha that she had learned a great way to catch lots of fish. “You take a handful of Wheaties and get them wet,” she said. “Then you make a ball out of the soggy Wheaties and put it on the hook. The fish love it!”

Savannah came home from school with slumped shoulders and a pouty face. When her mom asked how her day had gone, Savannah replied, “I’m just tired of kids laughing at me!” “Why were they laughing?” Mom asked. “They laughed because I said I have a high HQ,” said Savannah. “I DO have a high HQ!”

prtymyplace 2nite. r u cmng?

Blake stared at the screen of his new cell phone. The message was from the first friend he’d made at his new school, but he had no idea what it meant. He put the phone in his pocket and went back to his video game.

A half hour later Blake’s phone lighted up with another message from Xavier.

wuzup r u aak?

Jordan breezed up to his best friend and gave him a slap on the back, saying, “Hey Shawn, let’s go to the park for some batting practice.” Clearly down in the dumps, Shawn replied half-heartedly, “Okay, I guess.”

Language-based learning disabilities can affect more than a child’s academic performance. Difficulties with processing and expressing language come into play in the social arena as well, impacting social interactions in a variety of ways.

When talking with a child with a learning disability or significant attentional challenges, keep in mind these words from Peggy O’Mara. “The way we talk to our children becomes their inner voice.” Whether interacting as the parent, sports coach, volunteer or scout leader, our words have a tremendous impact on our children. What we say and how we say it has great importance. Do you sometimes hear the voice of your Mom or Dad in your head?