The Learning Center Foundation

Many kids with learning disabilities run into trouble with organizational skills. They may forget to bring home their homework or bring it home, complete it then fail to turn it in the very next day. Changing classes, multiple teachers with conflicting rules, locker combinations and different materials required for different classes presents unique challenges for learning disabled children. Parents can best aid their kids by providing a plan and a structure. To start with, an organized work space will help your child settle into the work of learning more quickly. When a work area is arranged strategically, it minimizes distractions that inherently trip up a learning disabled child such as looking for paper or pens as well as blocking out extraneous noise.

Tune into your child's needs for what an optimal work area feels like to them. Some don't like to be tucked away from the family in an isolated room. For them, isolation causes more distress which in turn exacerbates their learning difficulties. Do not underestimate how much your child can benefit from structure and routine. Where to be and when can be disastrous for someone who is learning disabled if left to their own devices. We recommend that parents model for their kids how to record events on a calendar and how to check it the day before. Initially, this will be primarily the parents' responsibility but slowly your child will develop a habit of utilizing a calendar. Be careful to help your child record the realistic time each event will last. Learning disabilities characteristically cause children suffering from them to be really bad at estimating how long something will take. As a parent, you will need to teach them how much time an event requires and demonstrate exactly how to arrange that on the calendar. As your child sees things improve through this method, she will be motivated by the evidence that there are certain things she can do that will deliver the results she wants.

Talk with your child's teacher and ask them to help your child stay on top of her schedule of assignments. These children need routine more than most and teachers do well to assist them with ending one task and starting another; something a learning disabled child has a hard time doing.

Starting a new school or beginning a new class can turn a learning disabled child inside out. Taking them step by step through their new schedule can make a huge difference. As already stated, structure is the name of the game. The learning disabled have difficulty with the steps it requires to complete a project or a task. In particular, the sequencing part creates the biggest challenge. Many of these kids need to be walked through their home chores repeatedly until they become adept at the routine. While it may be tempting to skip it and finish it yourself, it is more helpful to your child to patiently guide them through the process so they can learn important skills they will need later on. This builds their confidence and sets a pattern for tackling other tasks. When asked to complete a project in school, many learning disabled youngsters throw up their hands when they discover it requires multiple steps.

You are crucial to helping your child develop the skills they need to work around their disability. Breaking the project into smaller chunks helps tremendously. Once the project is finished, learning disabled students still need assistance. Losing assignments, books, and completed projects is a common annoyance for these children. As a parent, the best way to minimize this is to create a system that keeps up with all materials that travel to and from school. Many parents feel they're not organized enough to help their kids. In that case, we recommend that you secure outside help for your child sooner rather than later.

At The Learning Center we help our students to learn how to get organized for optimal effectiveness and efficiency in learning. Contact The Learning Center.