Children all develop at different speeds and learn things differently as they grow. Some children are born with learning or developmental disabilities which can hinder their progress and make it harder for them to learn than other children.
This can come as a surprise to parents, but fortunately, a modern understanding of developmental disabilities means there are many ways to help your child learn in this situation. We have pooled some of the best resources to bring you this article about what parents should know about developmental disabilities and how to deal with them.
What Is A Developmental Disability
Learning or developmental disability is a broad term used to describe a person who has trouble taking in and processing certain things. This could be a fixed issue such as the inability to understand numbers and math, or a more complex layered disability where a child is unable to understand social cues, emotions, or other complex life issues. These can obviously greatly impact how a child learns, develops, and grows into adulthood, but many are able to be coached and helped to minimize their impact.
How To Tell If Your Child Has A Learning Disability
There are many tell-tale signs of developmental disabilities, though these aren’t always immediately obvious as every child learns differently. The experts over at Autism Parenting Magazine listed some of the most common signs as delays in language development or speech, problems with memory, or severe frustration when trying to learn. Most of these issues relate to children around pre-school age, as by this time their speech and language should be good enough that you understand them. If it isn’t, and your child grows increasingly frustrated about it, they could be having issues with learning. Recognizing these issues and learning quickly how to support and help your child is the most important thing.
What Causes Developmental Disabilities
There are multiple causes of developmental disabilities, ranging from hereditary issues down to illness. Many of the most common developmental disabilities are passed down by a parent who had or has similar issues. Though this isn’t always the case. There are factors during pregnancy and birth which can cause developmental disabilities such as pre-natal illness, low birth weight, or maternal illness. There are also risks when your child is very young as any head trauma or injury could cause developmental disabilities further down the line.
Ways To Help Your Child
So, we’ve discussed the early signs and basic understanding of what a learning disability is, but we need to understand how to best help your child once these issues have come to light. Here are some of the experts’ top tips for helping a child with a developmental disability.
● Love And Support
The first way you can help your child through their struggles and frustrations is with plenty of love and support. Remind them regularly that, even though it may feel like it, they are not alone. You, your family, and other friends are all here to help and support your child through any stressful times. Fill their spare time with the activities that they do love and understand, encourage them to find enjoyment in these things. Your child will feel much stronger, safer, and happier knowing that they are not alone.
● Celebrate Strengths And Victories
Another tip shared by almost every expert we spoke to was in how you celebrate your child’s strengths, Whether they are having trouble with logic, words, numbers, or emotional connections, they will certainly be stronger in their understanding of other things. Celebrate their achievements and victories in the areas they are stronger, encouraging them that they are still strong and special. This can really help shift your child’s emotions away from their struggles and help them focus on positives.
● Meet Other Families
Meeting with other families, children, or groups designed to help with disabilities is a great way to help your child grow. Simply meeting another family and their children, who may or may not have the same struggles, is a great way of helping your child meet people and develop key skills. Taking them to a club designed for children with disabilities is also great. They are then able to mix with more kids that understand them, spend time with adults who are trained to help them, and learn new skills such as sports to give them that feeling of independence from their disabilities.
With these few tips and a deeper understanding of learning disabilities, you can help give your child a great start in life. They will be able to progress through their problems with your love and support, whilst learning key skills to take with them into adulthood. Remember to seek help for yourself and your children, helping the whole family learn and grow together.
