Raising Children With Learning Differennces
May 18, 2021
“Soon you'll find that raising a child with learning differences is a gift.”
This week on the 3D Parent Podcast, I am sharing my top tips on raising children with learning differences, based both upon my personal upbringing and my personal experience with my children.
Some of the topics covered in this episode include:
- How to detect the signs of your child having learning differences.
- What proper steps and actions you should take as a parent when you determine your child has a learning difference.
- How to embrace your child having a learning difference and realizing it’s a true gift.
If you currently have a child with a learning difference or maybe you grew up yourself with one, it can be an overwhelming situation at first. In this episode, I’m going to share my top ten tips on parenting children with a learning difference, as well as my personal experiences with this topic.
Things You Will Learn
[01:11] The topic today is raising children with learning differences. This has been a topic I have wanted to cover on my podcast for quite some time, and it is a topic that I am very, very familiar with. It is quite personal in terms of my own experiences with learning differences both in myself and also in some of my children and also with my background as an elementary school teacher.
[03:54] Starting with my own story growing up, academics and school in the traditional format were very challenging for me. I was assessed at a young age. I was identified as being on the more gifted end of the intelligence IQ test. It's kind of embarrassing to talk about in a way that doesn't make it sound like I'm bragging about how smart I am or something of that nature. With that test I was given as a kindergartener, there were certain expectations that went along with that that was just not being met. I worked with countless tutors through the years to try and support me and help me in my learning. But nothing was ever officially flagged or identified until way later on in my schooling. In fact, not until my junior year in high school.
[14:36] I'm going to jump in on ten tips for those of you for whom this may be new or something you're considering to help you when it comes to raising children with learning differences. Tip one, know the signs of learning differences. Some of the real common ones are high sensitivity. I devoted a whole episode to the topic of highly sensitive kids and raising them Episode 20 for parenting the highly sensitive orchid child. So if you aren't as familiar with high sensitivity and what looks like kids, you might want to go there for some more background.
[17:21] Tip two, if you think maybe you're picking up on some of these signs from your child, do not fear having them diagnosed and tested and do not fear a potential label that they might have if it is determined that they have some type of a learning difference in the three day period approach. I talk a lot about making sense of your child, getting to understand them, what makes them tick, who they are. This is part of that. So if your child is struggling in some of the areas I just mentioned, this is part of making sense of who they are.
[20:06] Tip three, embrace a strength-based approach to understanding your child's learning difference. You may notice that I've never once used the term learning disability. I want to encourage you to raise learning disability and the word disability from your vocabulary and help others make this change.
[27:20] Tip four, identify your child's role models. So, again, this goes hand in hand with that strength-based approach when you learn that your child has a diagnosis of a learning difference. Find out who else out there that might inspire your child with the same or similar learning difference.
[29:33] Tip five, provide physical and or creative outlets for your child to help them discover their gifts. Physical outlets can really help with some aspects of certain learning differences, in particular ADHD.
[40:43] So it can really be helpful and not only helping your child but also being a better parent to your child by better understanding yourself. So those are my 10 main tips about parenting children with learning differences. I understand that it might feel overwhelming, but although it may feel overwhelming and scary at first, soon you'll find that raising a child with learning differences is a gift.
Quotes From Episode 43
“I would say because of having just a few accommodations, namely extended time, and in some cases kind of alternate ways in which to show my work and particularly the use of word processing and computers versus handwritten work were a huge help and moving forward.”
“The demands on them academically start to become increased. And so, therefore, the frustration, they can't keep up. Things are taking longer and they kind of go into the sense of overwhelm and shut down.”
“So do not fear the diagnosis, embrace it. It helps make sense. And if nothing turns up, great, you have an answer to that question. If something does turn up now, you have knowledge.”
“If your child has a diagnosis of anything having to do with the learning difference, educate yourself and your child and anyone who interacts with your child about not only the challenges but also the gifts that come with your child's learning difference.”
“You need to do the work as your child's parent and help others who interact with the child. Make a shift in your thinking to recognize what is inherently challenging to your child due to their difference and then provide appropriate support.”
“If the hiring of tutors or academic coaches for your children is of a financial concern for you, something that feels cost-prohibitive, there are services that provide that free of charge or on a low sliding scale.”
“Soon you'll find that raising a child with learning differences is a gift.”
Let's work together! I provide 1:1 support for parents motivated to make positive changing in their parenting and gain confidence and increase fulfillment in their role as parents. If this sounds like it might be what you've been looking for, book a free consultation today.
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