Learning Difficulties
Different Types of LearningReading Difficulties : A parent may be the first person in a child's life to recognize a reading problem. A parent's observation is critical because some of the earliest signs that foreshadow a reading difficulty can be seen during preschool and kindergarten years. Globally around 20% of English-speaking children reach the age of 11 unable to read confidently. Depending on who you talk to, the amount of dyslexia in the population varies from 5-15%. Even after ten years of familiarity with that figure, we still find it amazing; one in five children unable to read the blackboard after 5 years at school. If it is the first time you have seen it, you will probably be struggling to believe it. Imagine doing 10 years at school unable to read the board. |
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It is a massive problem and there is a lot of confusion as to what the reasons are. For instance, it is difficult to find two definitions of dyslexia that are the same. Sometimes parents notice difficulties during first grade because a child who's just beginning to learn to read may have trouble making associations between sounds and letters. Problems include detecting differences in speech sounds and performing tasks that require this skill, such as:
By the middle of first grade your child should be able to read at least 100 common words, such as the, and, and is, and know the letter-sound associations well enough to read words in simple books. Watch for these warning signs as you listen to your child read aloud:
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Fine Motor Difficulties :
Fine motor skills generally refer to the small movements of the hands, wrists, fingers, feet, toes, lips, and tongue. Here is a list of observable behaviors of children with fine-motor difficulties.
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Fine motor movements affect almost everything we do on a daily basis such as moving and manipulating tools and objects, preparing and eating meals, personal hygiene, communicating through writing and typing, counting change, opening doors, etc. Fine motor skills can become impaired in a variety of ways, including injury, illness, stroke , and congenital deformities. An infant or child up to age five who is not developing new fine motor skills for that age may have a developmental disability. These problems can include major health conditions including cerebral palsy , mental retardation , blindness, deafness, and diabetes. Children with delays in fine motor skills development have difficulty controlling their coordinated body movements, especially with the face, hands, and fingers. |
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Communication Difficulties :
A communication problem occurs when children have difficulty with :
Learning to understand and talk occurs gradually. Most children have learned basic talking and understanding skills by the ages of 3 to 3½ years. By the time they start school (around age 5 years), their speech will also have more formal structure, including full sentences and descriptive language. |
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| Opportunities to practise talking and listening with adults and other children help children to develop their communication skills.
There are many types of communication difficulties. These include:
Causes of communication problems : Parents often want to know why their child is having difficulty learning to understand and/or talk. It can be difficult to pinpoint a particular cause. In some cases, there are reasons for a child's communication problems that can be related to one or more of the following :
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