Learning disabilities and other neurological disorders, like ADHD and dyspraxia, remain with the children throughout life, there is no known cure for these learning disabilities, but know that managing learning disabilities can be successfully done with the right knowledge and guidance. Managing learning disabilities is largely influenced by several factors like availability of resources, acceptance within the family, peers and community at large, quality of available education, and finance. But as we do in any adverse condition, it is essential to create a plan to support and manage your child’s condition both at home and in school.
In this section, we will first discuss the steps required to successfully evaluate a child for learning disabilities and then we will guide you through the process of managing learning disabilities.
Parents are often confused about whether their child's development is in sync with that of their peers. To address this confusion, parents need to understand the concept of developmental milestones, which are a set of behavioural or functional skill thresholds that tell parents about their child's intellectual development. Hence,
The road to arriving at a conclusion about whether your child has a learning disability or not is lengthy, confusing, and cumbersome at times. Preferably, it should be a two-step process: screening and then an in-depth evaluation. What does screening entail? Screening is done to decide whether a child needs an in-depth evaluation or the...
Children who may have learning disabilities need to undergo a comprehensive evaluation process carried out by specialised professionals for confirming their condition. There are two approaches that you can take – one is governmental institutes like the National Institute of Public Cooperation and Child Development...
Usually, the therapies for managing learning disabilities and co-morbidities, like ADHD, are administered in conjunction with each other. For example, your child might need both occupational therapy and special education. In contrast, some other child might need psychotherapy and expressive art-based therapy with special education.
Interventions and therapies for managing learning disabilities are highly individualised and based on the difficulties children face and their severity. Therefore, the impact of these interventions may vary from one child to another.
The benefits of therapy that your child undergoes for managing their disabilities are numerous, but your child will need your constant support to get all the benefits of therapy. They will also need the help of their teachers, counsellors, siblings..
Psychotherapy or talk therapy is a way to use psychological methods to improve an individual's wellbeing and mental health. It is an integral part of managing learning disabilities, co-morbidities like ADHD.
Social skills refer to behaviours that we employ to interact successfully with other people. It includes both verbal and non-verbal behaviours used for communication. A person who can communicate with people effectively, be it family, friends or even strangers, is socially competent.
Occupational therapy (OT) is a branch of health care that helps people with physical, sensory, or cognitive difficulties to perform their daily activities (occupations) at school, workplace, home, or any other setting.
Special education is the practice of providing individualised instruction to students with disabilities or different learning needs who may not be performing at the grade level and require additional support to build the skills needed to access the curriculum in the classroom.
