Learning difficulties in preschool children.

[syilla]

:salamext:

How to know that we have children with learning disability?

How to handle them?

What should we do?

[*Hana*]

Salam Alaikum:

Very hard to determine, sister. What is the child's age? What are they doing/not doing that makes you think there may be a disability.

Also, please understand having learning difficulties is different from a learning disability.

My son has learning difficulties. He is able to learn, but we have to teach him in a way that makes sense to him and this varies for each child. My son really needs visual clues. Like, when he was younger and learning math, I would use a jar of pennies or toothpicks.

Wasalam,
Hana

[syilla]

Jazakallah khayr sis... for the reply :)

whats the different of learning disabilities and learning difficulties.

What about a child age four?

[*Hana*]

Salam alaikum sister:

Age of 4 would be difficult to determine I think.

Having a learning disability is used more when discussing a child that will take an extremely long time to learn the basics. This child will struggle constantly trying to learn. This would be very noticable I would think, even at a very young age. However, with a determined teacher and parents, they will eventually learn. A learning difficulty means there are areas where there child has problems, but will eventually learn how to overcome the difficulty to make learning somewhat easier. It will never be super easy and they will always have to work hard, but they will learn.

My son was tested and scored above average to average in all areas EXCEPT the ability to focus, where he almost fell off the charts!! Basically, my son can't stay focused enough to keep things clear. It would be like words and colours moving over the screen and trying to read it. The poor kid is like me....he as the attention span of a gnat. :) However, one on one is perfectly fine, visual cues help a lot. These children are usually very good playing video games or using the pc because these are visual and hands on.

At age 4, you can try little things like giving him a list of 3 things to do. "Go to your room, get the red block and put it on the kitchen counter." See if the child can do that. My son would never get all 3 without a reminder. Bless his heart, at 4 years old, he MIGHT remember the red block IF he made to his room without something else grabbing his attention. :) Try to get him to put an easy puzzle together and watch to see if he is easily distracted.

You'll have a much better idea once the child is in school and you see how he/she progresses.

Wasalam,
Hana

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[syilla]

At age 4, you can try little things like giving him a list of 3 things to do. "Go to your room, get the red block and put it on the kitchen counter." See if the child can do that. My son would never get all 3 without a reminder. Bless his heart, at 4 years old, he

MIGHT remember the red block IF he made to his room without something else grabbing his attention. Try to get him to put an easy puzzle together and watch to see if he is easily distracted.

yes...you are right. He can do it but he need to be reminded. But eventually he'll do it.

I'm having difficulty in making him to recognise the alphabets. the small alphabets.

He is very good with the pc though.:uhwhat He knows how to shutdown the computer since the age of 3.

I'm teaching the arabic alphabets too...did you know the iqra'. He is okay i guess but he hate it so much. I don't know whether i should force him to learn this... :hmm: And know i don't know where is the book, i think he hide it somewhere. :rollseyes

[*Hana*]

LOOOL Hid the book. :giggling: Too funny!

I wouldn't worry too much about it, sister. I also wouldn't give him too much at one time because if he does have a problem focusing, it will only make him really frustrated and he will learn to resent learning.

I guess constantly repeating is the best way and definitely visual cues. I would put each letter of the alphabet on small cards and go through them. Then make a game out of it. Like: flip them over and have him pick one and name the letter. As he gets this down, you can try having him pick a letter and making the sound. Like, "B" "BA" and when he's older and learning to read, have him add a word so it would be "B" BA" "BALL"

If he does have a problem focusing, just be prepared to have lots and lots of patience because just when you think he understands something, the next day it will be like he's never seen it before. :hmm: Then it's back to the beginning. Always, always, always use visuals wherever you can.

Hope that helps!

Wasalam,
Hana

[syilla]

Flash cards doesn't work with him...

At the end of the day, he'll be the one who is holding the card, and asking what alphabets is this :hmm:

I'm very worried about him...because i don't know whether he is a hyperactive boy or maybe not.

Cause some of the days...he is sooo active and it is very difficult to handle. Some of the days he'll be obedient and nice.

I think my mother and my husband can't handle him...erm...i think. Well...most probably because i think nobody can take care and teach my son better than i am...lol

[*Hana*]

lol sis. But, you know you're right...of course it's only us moms that can REALLY teach and care for our kids. :giggling:

I'm not sure where you live and what your license plates are like, but here we have letters and numbers and I used to play the alphabet game with him using that. We would look for the letters, in order, on license plates.

But, I wouldn't worry too much sis. Once he's in a structured learning environment they'll have a better idea if he has a difficult time learning and will offer a lot of suggestions. If you find he does have a difficult time learning, chances are I'll still be around, let me know and I can offer some suggestions that were given to me.

Inshallah, everything will work out fine and you'll probably find he's just being a little boy!! :)

Wasalam,
Hana

[AmarFaisal]

I think sis syilla, u should first get ur son assessed. An assessment by a child psychologist/teacher, will determine exactly what his weak points, strong points are, and what approach will be best for him. They might even have a questionnaire for u to fill to better assess him.

I think "learning disability"is a very harsh word. And should not be used so easily. It kinda sticks to the child. My daughter is 2 years 10 months and is still way behind in spoken language as compared to children her age. Her speech is unclear, and she still makes up her own language to talk in. She also goes to preschool.

As mother a lot of things concern me. For eg, does she have a hearing problem? does she understand me? Is her memory bad?

As a mother u can be the good assessor of ur child but not the best. Because u will always look at your child with that love and think "Oh he/she is still a baby!".

So it's best to find a third neutral experienced party to assess ur child and guide you through.

Good Luck

[chosen]

It is very important to get your child evaluated as soon as possible if you feel he or she is not meeting the proper benchmarks....only a professional can give you the proper answer..also rest assured that many learning/behavior problems when addressed at a very young age can be overcome..
But also you must know it is not uncommon for parents to expect too much from their children..we sometimes do too much comparing to other children..all children are different and progress differently..when my son adam was three I was worried about him because "compared" to other children his age I felt like he was not speaking as well as he should be...the doctor looked at him and assessed that either 1) he would be a slow learner and need additional help..2) he would be highly intelligent.
Thank god for me it was the second..he is extremely bright..in the honors program getting straight A's...
Please take heart and remember not to compare him too much and seek a professional..\
much love...from a fellow parent

[*Hana*]

My son barely said a word until he was almost 3, BUT, when he did speak, he was VERY articulate and would speak in full sentences. I knew his hearing was fine because he would follow simple instructions, like, get the ball, or clap your hands, etc.

It wasn't until he was in school the the focusing problem surfaced and in many cases, it's not until they're in that environment that he can be assessed adequately. Once he starts school, ask the teachers to observe him and compile notes. If the school doesn't offer an assessment program, then take your notes to a doctor and ask for an assessment. In our case, my son was assessed through the school psychologist so we were fortunate that the pyschologist was able to observe him first hand and test him. When his suggestions didn't work, we moved to the next step, etc., and we're still working on it, but, Alhamdulillah, we're progressing. :)

For sure if there is a difficulty, it can be overcome, inshallah, with some effort. :)

Don't worry, sis, just enjoy his little boy antics. :giggling: As you can see from the story posted above, you could have a little genius on your hands! :)

Wasalam,
:hana: