Gifty Quarcoo
16 July 2007
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Kampala — As we discussed last week, not all learning difficulties are caused by learning disabilities.
There are many other problems that can contribute to lags in learning or difficulties in mastering different academic skills.
Like learning disabilities, some of them are neurological in nature while some can exist along with learning disabilities but affect the learning process in a different way than learning disabilities do. Here are some of them:
Hearing and Vision DeficitsHearing and Vision Deficits
Sometimes problems with seeing and hearing are mistaken for inattention or even low intelligence. Children who cannot see what's written on the board clearly enough to read it or hear what the teacher is saying are missing the relevant information they need.
Psychological Problems
Emotional trauma, anxiety, or depression can interfere with a child's learning process or take their attention from learning.
Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
This is a developmental disorder, which is neurological in nature.
It is often characterised by inattention, hyperactivity and impulsive behaviour.
A child with such a condition clearly has difficulties with learning in the classroom and in general behaviour.
Poor Home environment
In some homes, adults are frequently too absent to encourage and guide their children's learning or do not provide them with stimuli that engages the mind; written and spoken language, interesting things to look at, a variety of sounds, tastes and textures. Such lack of stimulation can have an effect on the brain and hinder a child's ability to learn.
Differences between a child's learning style and that of teachers /and or parents
People have different learning styles so a teacher or parent who operates in only one learning style won't be able to convey information effectively to a child who learns in another style.
Sometimes, the difference may be personal in that a child may just not respond well to a teacher's personal style and this difference can lead to lower academic achievement.
It is therefore helpful for a teacher or parent to know and understand a child's learning style or try other methods or learning styles when a child expresses difficulty in understanding what is being taught. In this regard, when helping children with their homework, try to find out from the child how the teacher taught a particular topic or subject.
Childhood distractions
We live in a society with countless distractions and children today experience many social pressures their parents never dreamed of! For example, the desire to appear 'cool', concerns about sports or social life can all cause a drop in academic performance in children.
If your child is struggling in school, the problem may be one or more of the problems we have discussed or it may be a combination of conditions. It is important to ask the child questions that will help you understand the problem in as much detail as possible.
Ask simple questions like. Can you see the board clearly? Ask open-ended questions such as, what makes it difficult to listen to the teacher?
Once you have a better idea of the difficulties your child may have, you will then be able to seek professional help.
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