How to Support a Child with a Learning Disability

How to Support a Child with a Learning Disability

It is understandable to worry about the mental well-being of a child with a learning disability.

After all, the child will likely experience a life filled with more difficulty and challenges.

There are several ways to offer support for the child.

It is essential for your child to understand why they face difficulty with certain tasks.

By communicating with sincerity and kindness, your child will be able to understand why their difficulty and struggle.

You might find a child with a learning disability find it difficult to achieve the same results as children without a learning disability.

Rather than focus on the results, pay attention to the performance.

Praising the child's effort is a way to support a child with a learning disability.

Unreasonable or unrealistic expectations for a child with a learning disability will hamper the child's growth.

To support a child with a learning disability, consider your expectations for the child and how you can change it.

Find below effective ways to support a child with a learning disability.

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Jenifer Seas, LCSW

Jenifer Seas, LCSW

Colorado Springs, Colorado
(719) 452-4374
Margot Bean, LCSW

Margot Bean, LCSW

Colorado Springs, Colorado
(719) 345-2424
Naomi Kettner, LPC, NCC

Naomi Kettner, LPC, NCC

Colorado Springs, Colorado
(719) 452-4374
Hailey Gloden, MA, LPCC, NCC

Hailey Gloden, MA, LPCC, NCC

Colorado Springs, Colorado
(719) 602-1342

Be Sincere to Them

Children pick up things faster than you might think.

A child with a learning disability might have already figured out they learn differently than other people.

Thus, hiding the truth from a child with a learning disability is not advisable.

You can start by explaining what exactly the specific learning disability is.

This might be an opportunity to have an open discussion with the child.

Try to encourage questions and answer these questions with sincerity and kindness.

The age of the child might influence how the conversation will go.

It is vital at this stage to communicate that the learning disability does not make the child less valuable.

Ask questions to see the methods of learnings the child grasps best.

Being unaware of why they are different from their peers will likely bother children.

A great way to support a child with a learning disability is to educate them about the particular disability without sugarcoating it.

Praise Their Efforts 

Typically, a child with learning disabilities will struggle with some tasks other children excel at.

Adjust your assessment metric from the results to work put in.

Praising their efforts is an excellent method to support a child with a learning disability.

Praising their efforts encourages these children to keep trying to improve.

It is crucial to maintain their interest in continued efforts.

The results might follow the actions after a period of trying.

When you judge the child exclusively by their results, you risk demotivating them.

A demotivated child with a learning disability might lose interest in trying to work again.

Comparing them to other children might all discourage them.

Praise for their efforts teaches a valuable lesson to the children to actually put in the work.

This will transfer to any other areas of interest the children with a disability will need.

However, it is essential to recognize when the child is not putting effort and to refrain from praising there.

Set Reasonable Expectations 

A child with learning disabilities might have certain parts of their lives impacted.

Be mindful of the expectations you set forth.

The expectations will serve as a guide to support a child with a learning disability.

Create unique expectations tailored to the child with a learning disability.

You might have to break complex tasks into smaller steps.

Your expectations will influence your plans to cater to a child with a learning disability.

Be mindful of resisting the temptation to use the performance of other children to set an expectation for a child with a learning disability.

Consider your current expectations of a child with a reading disability and attempt to adjust these expectations.

It is helpful to evaluate and adjust your expectations from the child intermittently.

Expecting too little from the child can be harmful to the child.

When you expect nothing or little from a child with a learning disability will probably accept the same for themselves.

The right amount of push toward the child is determined by the individual child and their learning disability.

Focus on the Child's Strengths

It is easy to focus on the weakness of a child with a learning disability.

An alternative is to focus on the strength of the child.

Focusing on the child's strengths is a great way to support a child with a learning disability.

Diversity is a key part of society and the world.

Each person has a varying role they play in society.

Focusing on the child's strength prepares the child for a future role in society.

You might have little or no idea about the strengths of a child.

Pay attention to the child's interests to discover the child's strengths.

Also, another way to find the child's strength will be to enroll the child with a learning disability in several extra-curricular activities.

While focusing on the child's strengths, it is crucial to develop core skills.

Remember to ensure the child's development is complete.

There are some basic skills required to function independently in society.

Show Them Role Models

Children might assume the worst when they are told they have a learning disability.

Role models with learning disabilities will encourage children.

A meaningful way to support a child with a learning disability is to find them role models.

It is a human feeling to feel alone.

Finding out they have a learning disability might send children into a slump.

However, when we find people that have survived similar scenarios, it offers a scene of familiarity.

Thus, role models with the same learning disability can offer valuable insights into how they overcame their learning disability.

They also provide encouragement to children with learning disabilities.

Quick research will reveal role models with a learning disability for the disabled find.

Role models can also be people who have survived and lived an everyday life with disabilities.

For instance, a coach or teacher with learning disabilities.

The essence is to show alternative ways to live.

Conclusion

Children with learning disabilities have a more difficult path ahead of them.

This is why it is necessary to offer support for children and protect the child's mental well-being.

You can support a child with a learning disability by being sincere with them, praising their efforts, setting reasonable expectations, focusing on their strengths, and showing them role models.

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December 4th, 2023

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