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Supporting A Child With Learning Differences In The Primary Years - One Parent’s Experience (Part 1)
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n this article, an Oak Hill alumni parent and mother of two boys, one of whom has severe dyslexia, shares her thoughts about how to navigate the learning difference journey from initial identification. Her opinions are her own and not based on research or qualitative data; rather they are one person’s personal experience of supporting a child with learning needs in the international school setting in Lac Leman. She very much hopes her comments will be helpful to other parents starting out on an unfamiliar path.
What kind of difficulties might a parent observe in the home setting? A child with a learning difference or co-
occurring learning differences may display challenges at a very young age, even before they start school. For example, when putting on shoes/balancing when walking (coordination), tidying up their toys/room (organisation), speech development (oral communication), recalling facts or names (memory), decoding words/phonics (early reading skills), sensitivity to touch/noise/ food textures (sensory) or having difficulties reading social cues (communication). Therefore, observing your child by comparing their development with an older sibling/family member or neighbour/friend can be a good starting point. In addition, assessing how they interact at playdates or settle into playgroups, etc. can provide a lot INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL PARENT AUTUMN 2021 | 64
of useful information. For me, I quickly identified differences because our son’s sibling was only 20 months older, which provided a gauge for comparison. By pre-school age, we noticed that our younger son was not absorbing or understanding the world around him as much as his older brother did at a similar age; he had no interest in books, jigsaws or TV for example. He did however love elephants and playing with a ball, which continues to be important in his life.
How do you really know if your child is finding things hard? Regular chats with children can unveil many insights. How does your child feel,
