Child's LD

Nimu was puzzled when she saw her son's class report. Bright, articulate Navin , who ad secures A's and B's in his oral exams, had only C's in his first written test in senior KG .

But within a year, Nimu knew something was very wrong. In his first standard environmental science test, Nimu scrawled only a few lines. ' The words indecipherable problem" .

A PSYCHOLOGIST confirmed Nimu's fear and recommended that the boy take lessons after school from a specially trained tutor. Navin's grades improved. In fact, when he transferred to a school that gives remedial instruction to children with learning disabilities (LD) , he started doing really well. In his tenth standard public exams, he scored 72.6 percent

Like Nimu , millions of parents worry about children who seem bright but do poorly in school. But it's only in the last Ten years or so that the concept of learning disabilities has gained a tentative foothold in India,

Although as yet few schools in the country have facilities to provide remedial education to the learning disabled, a number of cities now have organised that help such CHlids.

Theoretically, a child is identified as having LD when his academic achievements fall below expectations as predicated by IQ, and the difference can't be explained by slow maturation , lack of motivation or a physical disabilities.

HERE'S WHAT EXPERTS ADVICE

1. Before any child enters school , parents should be encouraging " phonemic awareness'- the ability to recognize separate, distinct sounds in a word by reciting rhymes- Mother Goose, for instance, or reading aloud from rhyming narratives such as the Dr Seuss stories. Have your children repeat them , making sure he understand that the sound corresponding to the letter is what distinguishes hop from pop. If your child shows difficulty, spend even more time with Dr Seuss books. .The earlier a child compenstates for a learning disability ,the better .

2.

At six of seven, a child usually understabds that the English languagehas more than 4o spoken sounds corresponding to one of 26 leters or a combination. .He or She also recognizes what are known as sound boundaries - that there are three distinct sounds for the three letters in dog , for instance , through they are blended together /

Test him or her with nonssense words spelt backwards Try niv or zil, for instance and see if he or she recognizes the individual n,v,z or I sounds But don't go overbored the first time your child readsgod for dog or mixes up b and d . so called reversals are commen among beginning readers and usually correct themselves in class one .

3.

'If your child seems to be having a problem with learning consult a pediatrician with a special interest in neurology" says Dr. V.Sapna , consultant pediatric neurologist. Sapna acknowledges that many pediatricians don't know much about learning disabilities. Still, they can rule out othr culprits such as poor eyesight and hearing problems. More over ,ou doctor can compare your child's progress with normal child development .

4

If your child appears not to be measuring up in the classroom, take your concerns to the child's teacher ' He or she sees your child every day and can compare yours to other children. While school teachers were once unaware of learning disability as a problem that requires special help, they're gradually becoming more sensitive to it , says Nirmala Pandit of the Madras Dyslexia Association (MDA) . Every year, the MDA holds a ten-day workshop on learning disabilities for school teachers.

Ask your child's teacher for specific information on problems you've noticed. For instance, can the child follow multiple-step directions such as '"Take A PIECE OF PAPER AND COPY THE WORDS YOU SEE ON THE PAGE "? AN INABILITY TO DO SO COULD INDICATE A PROBLEM IN AUDITORY ROCESSING ; HOW WELL THE BRAIN REMEMBERS AND UNDERSTANDS WHAT THE EAR TELLS IT . mULTIPLE INSTRUCTIONS CAN CONFUSE A CHILD WHO HAS A LEARNING DISABILITY.

5

study the school

If your child has a learning disability, take a hard look at the facilities available in the school. For kids with readin difficulty , phonics teaching children to read by havingthem associate letters with sounds - is an essential component of reading instruction , since linking letters wit sounds is one of their key weakness .

The school should keep LD pupils with their peers as much as possible, while also pulling the LD children out of their usual class for small group instruction on a regular basis. For severe reading disabilities experts recommend one-on-one

6.

As a parent, you have plenty of teaching opportunities. Keep magnetic letters on the refrigerator move them around and have the child sound out the words. Make him trace the letters on the cornflakes box, sounding each letter as he outlines it. Continue reading to him even when he can read on his own.

Make kids with Maths problems your kitchen helpers. Have them measure or count ingredients. Double recipes or cut them in half to teach fractions and multiplication.

Tr to present information to your child in a new way - in graphic form, for instance, Remember not to put too much pressure on the child-take frequent breaks , if necessary .

7

USE TECHNOLOGY

A Computer allows a child to change words around as he or she writes;its spell-checkers point out and correct errors. Typing on a keyboard helps the slow child to write down his thoughts. By combining sound and pictures with text, a computer with CD-Rom or Pen drive can be particularly useful difficulty.

A tape recorder can also help . Play children's stories and have kida follow them on the printed page .

TO CONCLUDE : Don't give up

Many people have overcome a learning disability to become notable successes. They include Leonardo da Vinci and Thomas Edison. Even Albert Einstein is said to have had a learning disability. He certainly caught up with his peers

.