As students progress through school, the academic demands increase quickly. Many students have challenges with this rising workload, but students with learning disabilities, ADHD, autism, and other special education needs tend to struggle even more. As a parent, you want to help your child thrive academically, but you may not be sure how to do so. Try some of the ideas detailed below.
Communicate with your child’s teacher
Parents always know their children best. If you see your child struggling to complete homework assignments, read and comprehend material, write words and sentences, or solve multi-step math word problems (or any related difficulties), reach out to your child’s teacher. Set up a meeting to discuss the challenges you are noting at home and see if the teacher is noticing them as well. If the challenges are also occurring in the classroom, ask the teacher if they can offer any modifications, like preferential seating or shoulder taps to make sure your child is listening and staying focused. If these difficulties continue, you may want to seek an evaluation.
Have your child evaluated
If your child continues to struggle academically or their focusing challenge is so great that they are missing out on learning, it may make sense to have them evaluated. Public schools offer free evaluations to students to see if there is an underlying disorder, like a learning disability, autism, or ADHD. Families can also choose to have a private comprehensive neuropsychological evaluation done outside of school. Once the results come in, if there is a diagnosis, your child will likely receive either a 504 plan or an IEP, detailing their challenges and any services that they should receive, like specialized tutoring, speech therapy, or occupational therapy. With a 504 plan, students typically stay in their mainstream classroom setting but receive special accommodations, such as extra time on tests, printed notes, preferential seating, and so on.
Learn more about the differences between a 504 plan and an IEP at https://www.nea.org/professional-excellence/student-engagement/tools-tips/differences-between-504-plan-and-individualized-education-program-iep.
Advocate for your child
It is important that you always advocate for your child. You may find that one year, or even for a period within a year, your child is doing well, receiving the appropriate services, and performing at their academic potential. Later that year or during subsequent years, however, that all can change. Your child may begin to struggle again as the academic demands increase. They may need new or different accommodations or services. If they were receiving specialized tutoring or speech therapy twice per week, for instance, they now may need it three or four times per week. It is important to stay in touch with your child’s team at school to make sure they are receiving the appropriate services deemed necessary on their IEP (or accommodations indicated on their 504) and that these services and accommodations are enough to help them meet their academic potential.
Seek tutoring
Some students may receive specialized services at school but still struggle academically. Others may not have a 504 plan or an IEP but need extra support with reading, writing, math, or executive functioning skills. If that is the case, outside tutoring may be immensely beneficial for them. Students with dyslexia or language-based learning disabilities tend to thrive with Orton Gillingham tutoring and often see massive gains in their reading skills from this type of tutoring. Students with ADHD typically benefit from executive functioning coaching, where they can learn strategies for developing stronger executive functioning skills, including time management, organization, planning, and task initiation. Make sure the tutoring your child receives is specialized and custom-tailored to their needs using research-based techniques. This approach to tutoring tends to be most effective in building these key skills. If possible, speak to your child’s tutor about the work they are doing during the tutoring sessions and ask for material you can use to reinforce the concepts in between sessions. The more practice and repetition your child receives, the more likely their skills will increase.
Learn more about this type of specialized tutoring at https://eblcoaching.com/
Many students struggle in school as the academic demands increase. Help your child thrive with these ideas and they will be well on their way to academic success.
