Essay Sample on Child with Learning Problems: Defending Against Criticism

Introduction

According to Blachman (2013), a child with learning problems may have some behavioral characteristics, since he/she is not accepted by his/her classmates. It may be because they criticize his/her mistakes in school and for the child with learning problems, it is difficult to see how his/her classmates are progressing and he/she is having difficulties keeping up. These characteristics are a defense mechanism for him/her and they include disruptiveness, impulsiveness, destructive behavior, hyperactivity, disorganization, irritability, poor self-image, and low self-esteem, anxiety, and depression. Behavioral problems can be derived from learning problems or vice versa, or both can have a common etiology (Yew & O'Kearney, 2015). In addition to the associated difficulties and behavioral problems, it is important to take into account the neuropsychological aspects about learning problems, since advances in cognitive psychology and information processing allow visualizing from another perspective the complications related to higher-order psychological processes.

Is your time best spent reading someone else’s essay? Get a 100% original essay FROM A CERTIFIED WRITER!

Save 25%

Strategies Used by Teachers and Behavioral Specialist to Reach Children

There are several strategies that are used by teachers and behavioral specialists to teach children with behavioral and learning difficulties. Taggart, Williams, Dennis, Newall, Shortus, Zwar, and Harris (2012) are of the opinion that teachers have been forced to learn and incorporate childhood activities into their teaching processes to reach out to such students. According to Taggart et al. (2012), word search, gallows, and crossword puzzles remain effective in working on children's ability and helping them to mitigate the effects of learning difficulties and dyslexia on their lives. Snowling and Hulme (2012) agree with Taggart et al. (2012) by stating that it is often up to the teacher to adapt the methodology so that the child learns reading and writing and that, through its restlessness, may require that playful activities are developed and applied during class. Farrrell (2006) also agrees with Snowling and Hulme (2012), stating that for children, playing makes them learn by playing and constituting a world apart. This play can also be stimulated through the songs of wheel, dominoes, bowling, playing catch, with modeling clay, among others. Daunic, Corbett, Smith, Barnes, Santiago-Poventud, Chalfant, & Gleatonn (2013) focus on the importance of phonological awareness exercises are strategies for teachers arguing that it is important to stimulate phonological awareness. That is, help them distinguish the syllables and their sounds. Importantly, working with phonological awareness has proven effective when it comes to improving the reading and writing of children aged 5 to 8 years. However, in older children, the same may not occur. This suggests that phonological awareness is an important skill, but it is not enough to improve reading, especially in older children.

Lagae (2008) introduces another strategy that teachers have had to learn to reach out to children with learning difficulties. According to Lagae (2008), music is an important tool in dealing with various ills. It is responsible for unlocking the nervous system, acting on the cardiopulmonary system, among other areas of the body. Lagae (2008) adds that there is a transfer of skills present in brain rhythm, which contributes to the ability to differentiate sounds. With this, the child can start reading correctly, according to the phonemes picked up from songs and singing. Dell, Newton, and Petroff (2016) address the issue of assistive technology in the classroom. Dell et al. (2016) state that teachers use assistive technology and alternative means such as tablets, electronic readers, electronic games, and audiobooks to make it easier to reach out to students with learning difficulties. Action games induce children to have both improved speed and reaction time, which allowed for improved reading. Dawson, Antonenko, Lane, and Zhu (2019) however argue that teachers should provide additional hands-on activities, as assistive technologies and materials often do not provide enough for children with learning disabilities. Such practices may include practical exercises; instructional games, pair teaching activities, and computer programs.

Many schools use electronic devices to stream some supplemental content. In this case, it is not about games, but really pragmatic content that belongs to the child's curriculum. Tablets, for example, are widely used for this purpose. They have many activities that provide knowledge of the child. It is always valid to emphasize that the accompaniment of the educator must be frequent. To this end, public policies, managers, teachers, students, and the school community should be involved in mechanisms of inclusion, respect, and practical-pedagogical diversity. The school and the educators need to make this student aware of their learning disabilities and make them understand that they are not a failure.

Approach and Effectiveness of Literacy Studies Used on Kids with Literacy Issues

According to Ron Nelson, Benner, and Gonzalez (2005), children with learning disabilities need a special adaptation. They will not learn in a way like the others, but rather from much movement and activities. Petersen, Bates, and Staples (2015) add that they get bored very easy, and for them, it is very difficult to simply read and read books. In that line, having extra activities at hand will always help when the child with these conditions is in a state of boredom for having quickly completed the course tasks. However, Rhoad-Drogalis, Sawyer, Justice, and O'Connell (2018) believe that there is still difficulty in properly dealing with this disorder, especially in the school context. As a result, it is not uncommon for the teacher, on the one hand, to feel frustrated and helpless because he/she cannot properly deal with this problem, and on the other hand for the student to experience the constant sense of failure in the course of his/her development.

Soctt, Alter, and Hirn (2011) point out that the most important thing is to detect it at an early age before the child lives the experience of failure. The traits begin to be seen from the literacy process when the letters are being taught. Goh Kok Yew and O'Kearney (2015) warn that a child with learning disabilities is able to learn to read, but he/she will do it in a different way and with a different method, where he/she will be taught the different skills that help him/her understand and memorize the texts read and the use of strategies innovators that promote this condition to be overcome. Sutherland, Lewis-Palmer, Stichter, and Morgan (2008) advises that, although it is good for parents to be aware of their child's situation, it is also necessary that they know that detecting it in time will be the improvement and it is very important not to generate stress around the child on the subject. This is because poor management will even make the child think he is sick and nothing is done to solve the disease.

Along the same line of action are also parents. Wehby, Lane, and Falk (2005) point out that sometimes the family does not usually tolerate the existence of learning difficulties in their child, generating a feeling of concern that becomes anxiety. Likewise, feelings of guilt are common, which is why the psychopedagogue goes into action to guide the family, "desculpabilizing it" and explaining the nature and prognosis, as well as the treatment for their case. From the family, Baker, Grant, and Morlock (2008) add that a positive and relaxed attitude should be encouraged, congratulating the child on every small step, without expecting important changes to give him/her the positive stimulus.

Interventions of Behavioral Literacy

According to Carroll, Maughan, Goodman, and Meltzer (2005), within what constitutes the intervention, the fact of intervening early is justified by both the neuropsychological aspects and the evolutionary development of the individual. In this way, two different levels should be distinguished in the intervention. The first and most technical is to provide resources to face nuclear demonstrations (Dawson et al., 2019; Dell & Newton, 2016). The second is to ensure the minimum conditions of participation of interested students (Rhoad-Drogalis et al., 2018). That is, to ensure that they see their difficulties as something solvable, that they agree to understand the value of written language and other possibilities that it contains.

Yew and O'Kearney (2015) are of the opinion that within the school, the participation of the psychopedagogue with their experiences of intervention with the teacher, in a partnership process, enables very important and enriching learning, especially if the teachers are experts in the field. Dell et al. (2016) agrees with Yew and O'Kearney (2015), arguing that not only is their intervention with the teacher positive, but also with the effective participation of parents in meetings, clarifying their children's development in school, as well as monitoring and suggesting activities, seeking strategies and necessary support for each child with difficulty.

Dawson et al. (2019) and Dell et al. (2016) are in agreement that the interventions must be early, in order to avoid potential damage or seek the empowerment of the subject already affected by the damage. The child is provided with experiences that allow him/her to build his/her knowledge process and at the same time that favors the development in other areas of his/her life, such as emotional or social, and in the generality of the cases he/she intends to be preventive of greater difficulties. Blachman (2013) argues that early intervention is directed towards high-risk detected or diagnosed subjects, that is, those who have presented pre, peri or postnatal difficulties, or that their development process is interfered with by infectious, traumatic or intoxication factors. An argument in favor of early intervention is given by neuropsychology, from the point of view of brain plasticity.

Conclusion

Often, learning disabilities are intellectual, emotional in origin, including teacher-student relationship difficulties, in which the teacher's role is critical to learning. Generally, when the student has a good relationship with the teacher, learning occurs easily. It is up to the teacher to have an observant look to detect when a student does not learn, resorting to new methodologies, seeking to give greater attention so that he/she can help the student with learning disabilities.

References

Baker, J. A., Grant, S., & Morlock, L. (2008). The teacher-student relationship as a developmental context for children with internalizing or externalizing behavior problems. School psychology quarterly, 23(1), 3. https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/1045-3830.23.1.3

Blachman, B. A. (2013). Foundations of reading acquisition and dyslexia: Implications for early intervention. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781410601230

Carroll, J. M., Maughan, B., Goodman, R., & Meltzer, H. (2005). Literacy difficulties and psychiatric disorders: Evidence for comorbidity. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 46(5), 524-532. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7610.2004.00366.x

Daunic, A., Corbett, N., Smith, S., Barnes, T., Santiago-Poventud, L., Chalfant, P.,& Gleaton, J. (2013). Brief report: Integrating social-emotional learning with literacy instruction: An intervention for children at risk for emotional and behavioral disorders. Behavioral Disorders, 39(1), 43-51. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F019874291303900106

Dawson, K., Antonenko, P., Lane, H., & Zhu, J. (2019). Assistive Technologies to Support Students With Dyslexia. TEACHING Exceptional Children, 51(3), 226-239. https://doi.org/10.1177%2F0040059918794027