Parental guidance is one of the most significant aspects that determine the success of a child. This becomes even more crucial for a child who suffers from slow learning and related challenges. Lack of appropriate parental support and understanding could result in extreme frustration and social troubles in a child who has learning disabilities.
Is Your Child a Slow learner?
If you have ever received complaints about your child being very distracted or not interested or too slow in learning or writing, your child could be clinically classified as a slow learner. Though he or she possesses the basic academic skills, his/her IQ level would be slightly lower than that of a normal child, which creates challenges in processing certain numbers or words.
What should parents do?
The first step to help a slow learner is to accept the child with the shortcomings. It is essential to understand that slow learning is not a medical condition. Hence, it does not always require special education. However, it requires special attention and care with enormous patience, encouragement, complete trust, and faith in the child’s success.
The following are some of the simple steps that parents can take to help a slow learner:
- Appreciate the Efforts: It is quite common that a slow learner is not able to set goals or have time frames due to distractions. As a parent, it is extremely important never to push your child to achieve anything that challenges his/her abilities. Appreciating the child for every small success would build confidence and show consistent improvement in his or her accomplishments.
- Extended Time Limits: Judging the capabilities of the child and helping him/her complete tasks he/she is capable of, within extended time limits, would make him/her feel appreciated. However, it is important to not to let your child under-utilize his/her potential.
- Identify Interests: Kids with slow learning abilities easily get distracted. Identifying activities that the child likes and motivating him/her to take part in such activities at home or school would greatly improve his/her performance.
- Create a Chart: Creating a chart that sets time for various daily activities would give the child a sense of responsibility and involvement, while encouraging him/her to complete the tasks on time.
Above all, since the attention span of a slow learner is less, making your child work for multiple short sessions rather than a single, long session for any activity would offer better results. One of the major responsibilities of the parent is to interact with the teachers to understand if there are other areas where your child requires help.
