Support and Resources for parents of childrens with LD

    In some cases, parents are not conscious of the problems presented by a child with Learning disabilities. Often this “invisible disability” does not become obvious until a child reaches school age. 

Even then, difficulties may be subtle and hard to recognize.   

   Once a time that parents are conscious of the difficulties of their children, they have to act, because if they don`t have the importance that this event has, maybe their child will be real problems in the future. Although the majority of people think that all the help for this event is in class, people must to be conscious that class and home have the same impact in the child. So, a child with learning disabilities may need help at home as well as in school.

 Here are a number of suggestions and considerations for parents:

Learn about LD. The more you know, the more you can help yourself and your child. 

Praise your child when he or she does well. Children with LD are often very good at a variety of things. Find out what your child really enjoys doing, such as dancing, playing soccer, or working with computers. Give your child plenty of opportunities to pursue his or her strengths and talents.

Find out the ways your child learns best. Does he or she learn by hands-on practice, looking, or listening? Help your child learn through his or her areas of strength.

Let your son or daughter help with household chores. These can build self-confidence and concrete skills. Keep instructions simple, break down tasks into smaller steps, and reward your child’s efforts with praise.

Make homework a priority. Read more about how to help your child be a success at homework in the resources listed below.

Pay attention to your child’s mental health. Be open to counseling, which can help your child deal with frustration, feel better about himself or herself, and learn more about social skills.

Talk to other parents whose children have LD. Parents can share practical advice and emotional support. 

Meet with school personnel and help develop to address your child’s needs. Plan what accommodations your child needs, and don’t forget to talk about AIM or assistive technology

Establish a positive working relationship with your child’s teacher. Through regular communication, exchange information about your child’s progress at home and at school.

In order to show to all our readers the relevance of this topic, we are going to tell to you a little story about a girl with LD ...How do you think that teachers and parents help her?

  Sara’s Story

When Sara was in the first grade, her teacher started teaching the students how to read. Sara’s parents were really surprised when Sara had a lot of trouble. She was bright and eager, so they thought that reading would come easily to her. It didn’t. She couldn’t match the letters to their sounds or combine the letters to create words.

Sara’s problems continued into second grade. She still wasn’t reading, and she was having trouble with writing, too. The school asked Sara’s mom for permission to evaluate Sara to find out what was causing her problems. Sara’s mom gave permission for the evaluation.

The school conducted an evaluation and learned that Sara has a learning disability. She started getting special help in school right away.

Sara’s still getting that special help. She works with a reading specialist and a resource room teacher every day. She’s in the fourth grade now, and she’s made real progress! She is working hard to bring her reading and writing up to grade level. With help from the school, she’ll keep learning and doing well.

Finally, we want to add that we have create this entrance with the objetive to awareness people about the importance of childrens whit learning disabilities and we think that it could be helpful for people that has children in this situation to know some tips and advices to act.

 Learning disabilities can be overtaken, but teachers, parents, family and friends need to be near the children giving them affection and love appart from academic help.

Source: http://www.parentcenterhub.org/repository/ld/