Children love learning new things every day. When faced with the inability to do so, despite many efforts, children might become frustrated with school and the entire concept of learning. Wherever a child struggles to grasp concepts and learn, there’s a parent or two looking out for the most suitable solution for their little one. From focused learning to getting homework done the right way, helping a child struggling to learn takes a lot of back and forth, and patience is required. With that said, here are five reat ways to support a child with learning challenges.
- Learning support
There are different groups of children on the learning spectrum. Some grasp concepts quickly, those who aren’t interested in grasping said concepts, and those who try their very best but cannot keep up with others due to serious learning issues. For the last group, an educational therapist is your best bet. These professionals take the children through psych evaluations and tests to help understand the learning style of your child. For example, if your child is found to have dyslexia, these professionals are experienced in teaching them the best ways to read. Learning support in the form of educational therapists is great because they help build confidence in children, alongside their learning and memory skills.
- Multisensory Learning
Teaching new information is fun using all our senses; sight, touch, and sound. This concept is known as multisensory learning; a popular way children learn best. When a child hears about a concept as it is explained, sees it and does it with special activities, they are more able to retain the new information and learn it in detail.
Multisensory learning can be used for spelling lessons, where a new word is spelled out by the teacher using the letter ties. Your child then hears this word before being given a chance to spell it themselves.
- Teach one concept at a time
Instead of dumping loads of information into your child’s head, take it one concept at a time. In teaching this way, you accept the short-term memory capacity of your child’s brain and give it more time to pick up and store concepts and skills for the long term.
- Direct instruction
The clear presentation of information about exactly what your child needs to learn is direct instruction. This method is employed to help prevent any misinterpretation and confusion on the part of your child. Here your child is taught exactly what he needs to learn and how to apply that new information.
- Subject support
Subject support is used when your child struggles to learn a new subject or fails in a specific subject. Subject support involved the use of a tutor, who is a knowledgeable individual skilled in a specific educational area. A tutor’s job is to fill in any background information your struggling child might have missed in school, expand on concepts, and offer more quizzes to equip your child with the right skills and knowledge.
By taking it one day at a time, teaching a struggling learner can be less difficult than it seems. It is demanding, but with the tips above, the journey becomes easier, and before you know it, your little one will be making strides you never thought possible.