Thomas Said:

mainstream schooling for children with learning difficulties?

We Answered:

I don't think she'd be bullied but they'll take liberties with her and the benifits of mainstream education will be outweighed by the problems. My step son was diagnosed as autistic although he's alot better now (12), he's in main stream education but the kids upset him a little and he doesn't understand why (that's exactly why they do it and how they do it). It's nothing major but it's not easy to cope with.

Phillip Said:

i want to work helping children/ young adults with learning difficulties?

We Answered:

Nursery Nursing is a good start. This enables you to work with children ages 0 to7 and sometimes older. Within the nursery where I worked we had a high percentage of children with learning difficulties and eventually we became a designated special needs nursery. Once you have a qualification in childcare it is easier for you to go on to specialised courses and gain the qualifications you need to go on to find your ideal job. Its a fabulous career, I wish you all the best xx

Leon Said:

Are there learning difficulties for bilingual children?

We Answered:

If your child has an underlying learning disability, being bilingual complicates things, but does not necessarily cause the problem. I am from a very diverse area, Los Angeles, and we had many, many bilingual children. When we had kids that are developing slowly in academics it is at times very difficult to tell what the problem is.

The first thing we had to do was determine language dominance and test kids in their dominant language, otherwise, you may not get a true result from your ability testing.

If I were you, I would ask the school to do an ADHD rating scale. If the results indicate the possibility of ADHD, you can take it to your doctor and discuss it with him or her.

The other reason that children don't attend is due to an underlying language disorder or learning disability. Children with receptive language deficits and/or auditory memory or processing deficits will not attend to verbal lectures. They also tend to have a great deal of trouble with transitions between activities because they either don't attend to the instructions or don't process them adequately. Then they are a step behind when the lesson starts. They inevitably miss something.

Finally some children also have visual memory and processing deficits so that they don't understand things written on the board or it takes and inordinately long time for them to process what they see.

You may want to observe your child in class and identify exactly when she drifts off. If it is mostly during verbal lectures, you may want to have her hearing tested and ask for testing for a learning disability or receptive language disorder. The same goes for when she is reading from a book or the board. Have her vision tested and ask for her to be screened for a learning disability.

If anyone in either of your families has a learning disability, it increases her odds of having one. It isn't the end of the world, but since she is a stage of critical learning windows, it is best to have this addressed.

Ronald Said:

Should all children be properly assessed for learning difficulties?

We Answered:

Many public school systems, like the ones in New Jersey, created a No Child Left Behind Act which tries to enforce that all children will learn through modifications - whether that means having a child study team evaluation for an IEP, or having a teacher make modifications within their lesson plans to help a child learn.

Public school teachers HAVE to do evaluation assessments on all the students they teach during the school year. Usually if we see a "problem" (possible learning disability or non-specific LD) we will contact the parents for an initial meeting. PARENTS NEED TO BE THEIR CHILD'S ADVOCATE and many times must push the school system to evaluate a child and offer assistance. Assistance may be a one on one aide, involvement in a special education class, large print books, occupational and physical therapies, etc.

I believe that many children slip through the cracks because parent/teacher communication may be weak. I also believe that it is a teacher's NUMBER ONE priority to ensure the students in his or her class can learn. Sad to say many teachers become complacent in their careers and are not looking to hard for the children who need help.

Ian Said:

What current methods are in place for working with a child with learning difficulties in a school?

We Answered:

Hiya
I am a LSA helping kids in schools, I have worked in Main Stream and Special Schools and I am now Home Schooling my Autistic Son.
There are 5 stages to schooling a child with Addtional Needs;
1. Recognition of child being different from their same age group peers, either by, teaching staff, parent or medical diagnosis.
This is done through base line assesments if the child is just starting key stage 1 schooling (infant age)
2. The school or main care base are asked to build evidence of the childs needs, this can be done through an ABC format observation A= action B= beghaviour C= Consequences
Any evidence is evdience to the parents and all staff involved will write a pencil portrait of the child, and their needs.
3. A meeting will be held with the school SEN CO Special needs Co-ordinator. They will decide what needs to be done next. Some children will have a IEP = individual Education Plan. This gives them targets other to that of the national curriculum so they work on small achieveavle targets until they can catch up with their peers.
4. If it is felt that this is not working or appropriate to the child other professionals will be asked to make assesments. This may be many outside bodies but will always include and Educational Pschologist and a Doctor. It may also incude Speech Theropist , etc and even Child Protection Caseworker or Social Worker.
5. Based ont he recomendation of the professionals the school will apply to the Local Education Authority (LEA) for a Statement of Special Needs.

A Satatoury Statement of Special Educational Needs. Is basically a statment complide by the LEA to outline the strenghts weakness and the needs of the child. It will be pin pointed where and when the child will need additional help from an Learning Supoort Assistant (LSA) and how many hours help a week the child will get. This means that the child will get specialised care for their individual need at times of the school day. They will have work appropriate to their learning ability. Statment reviews are carried out yearly with the same process as No. 5 to re-asses the child's ongoing needs and requirements.
As far as learning awards goes the child will be encouraged to take part as fully as they can in relation to the national curriculum. For SAT's the child would have a reader and a writer to help them durring test's. They are assesd on number levels P being working towards then 1, 2 ,3 for Key stage 1 SAT's. Key stage 2 would be level 3,4 and 5 but split into 5a, 5b,5c with GCSE's the child would have the same help during exams and coursework. If the child is unable to obtain a level F in a subject they can get credits to gain an ASDAn award. This is used a lot in Special Schools. This is when the Kids get credited to paying a attention to activities and showing interest. This is appropriate to their pyshical and learning abilities.etc
Hope this helps.
K

Oscar Said:

Is it wrong to bring children with learning difficulties into this world?

We Answered:

No I don't think so, if I was prepared for it beforehand I think it would be a bit easier.

Walter Said:

Why is so much more funding invested in educating children with learning difficulties than gifted children?

We Answered:

If a gifted student doesn't pursue interests on their own, then they aren't gifted. Most truly gifted students need very little motivationto explore beyond what is taught in the classroom.. A child with learning difficulties needs help in developing skills to understand and learn.

You can't stop a truly gifted person from learning but you can prevent learning by failing to teach the study skills a learning disabled child needs