| Is Your Child Struggling? When Something's Not Quite Right |
| Written by Written by Dr. Paulene Kamps | |
| Wednesday, 16 April 2008 | |
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Is this what you sometimes think about your child... When you meet with staff at school during parent-teacher interviews, have you heard teachers make comments about your child’s very friendly nature but weak and slow written output? Have you ever heard that your child has been teased at school? Or has your child endured name-calling because of their size? Does your child have problems with focusing, general organization, and seem too sensitive?Have teachers also commented that your child is quite emotional and cries at the drop of a hat? Are you aware that your child has been left out of recess or lunchtime play opportunities because they have problems performing basic motor skills and other physical activities on the playground? Is your child starting to look and/or act somewhat depressed?If you answer yes to one or more of these questions, you are likely very frustrated and probably wish you knew what to do or where to go… You may even be thinking, “If someone would just point me in the right direction, I’d get some extra help – because life isn’t easy for my child (or me/us) right now…” 1. When you comment or tell others about your concerns, no one seems to take your child’s issues too seriously. After all, you’ve been told that your son/daughter is a reasonable reader; their math skills are appropriate; and, well, even though their writing is not up to par, it is not as bad as some of the other student work samples that the teachers have seen. 2. You may have even been to the doctor about your concerns – but you still don’t feel you have the answers you seek. In fact, recent research shows that parents may visit 12 or more professionals before finally getting answers that make sense! Therefore, it is important to trust your own intuition and continue to seek help – because there may be several things going on… 3. When children struggle in school, it can be for any number of reasons. Is it because your child has lower cognitive ability? A learning disability? Coordination problems? Deficits in social skills? Explosive behaviors? Attention problems? Sometimes, these conditions are more related than the general public realizes. The best thing to do if your child is struggling is to be proactive: 1. Get as much information from your child as possible - ask them to be honest about the things they like and the things that are very difficult at school; ask how they are truly feeling about their day-to-day functioning at school and what they need to be able to do better. 2. Talk to the classroom teacher and ask what they think is happening. 3. Discuss and plan for some informal changes to see if that makes a difference. 4. If positive changes are not forthcoming within a short time frame, ask if the teachers could discuss your child’s needs in a bigger group of teacher/resource personnel. 5. Visit with your doctor again and ask for a complete medical check-up to make sure there are no physical reasons for your child’s difficulties. 6. Don’t forget to have your child’s hearing and vision checked. 7. Ask about the possibility of having your child assessed for possible learning problems. 8. If the wait for testing through your school’s resource/student support team is too long or the staff at school report that your child’s needs are not as problematic as some other student’s, you may want to consider having a private practice psychologist perform the testing. 9. If you decide to pursue a private assessment, ask the psychologist about their credentials, training, and experiences with children in the school setting and whether or not they do all of the work themselves (or if assistants do some of the testing). Make sure the professional is able to assess all of the areas that you have concerns about. In summary, if your child is struggling greatly, and an eventual diagnosis is made, your child should be able to have additional supports put in place at school. If your son/daughter is struggling so much that it is affecting their psycho-social or emotional well-being, then they deserve help. And, once you have a formal document to show that your child has distinct needs, they will have more support and, best of all, the opportunity to flourish in school. |
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