Academic experience has a tremendous effect on self esteem. The child who is successful in school will present as more self confident. This child will attempt new and more challenging academic tasks, will volunteer to answer questions or demonstrate work. The child with academic difficulties will not. At a very young age, a child recognizes the differences between his academic performance and that of his cohorts. Self comparison and subsequent deprecation are common responses a child demonstrates when measuring his performance against that of other students. Currently, The National Center for Children With Learning Disabilities reports that 2.9 million school age children experience some type of learning disability. Learning disabilities-or Learning Differences, as I like to refer to the title "LD" do NOT mean the inability to learn, grow, understand or perform academic tasks. It means that THIS CHILD LEARNS IN A MANNER DIFFERENT FROM OTHER CHILDREN. It means that those who instruct and guide need to develop different ways of understanding each student's learning style and accommodating that style to support academic success. It is not difficult to learn how to more effectively instruct a child. However, when those who instruct and guide a child do not know how to recognize the specific learning needs of that child. Call to learn how, as a parent, YOU can support and enhance your child's academic experience. Learn how you can better advocate for your child's academic success. |