oh joy! it's back to school time!
It’s that time of year, and excitement is in the air. School clothes shopping, supplies, wondering who your child’s teacher will be. There’s just so much to think about!
Invariably, there will come a time when you or child are met with obstacles. This happens more frequently than you would think, especially if there is a learning difference at stake. The first step to reaching a solution is to deal with the school. Following are some suggestions for dealing with your child’s school and staff effectively.
- Accept that there is a problem and that the student isn’t lazy or not trying hard enough.
- Move schools or home school if necessary. You can worry about social skills later, but if your child is failing school, you need to do something and something fast. Each day is seven long hours of torment for these students and damage can be done every day that is difficult and often impossible to remedy later on.
- Talk to the teacher about shortening homework amounts for your child, or if you are a teacher, please shorten homework assignments for students you suspect or know have learning differences.
- Talk to the teacher about shortening amounts of class work for your child. For instance, a first grader with dyslexia would struggle to spell three spelling words, so why should he be expected to memorize twenty? Some teachers are resistant to this, but it is worth a try. If you are a teacher, please consider this for the student.
- See if the student qualifies for a 504 Plan through the school. This could give him extra time for testing or would allow for shortened school and homework assignments.
These are just a few things that can help you and your child get off on the right foot. Stay tuned next week for more suggestions, and until then, keep an eye on your child and watch for distress, nervousness, or any other indication that the school day is not going well.
Best wishes
Lisa