Understanding and Supporting Your Child’s or Student’s Other Learning Needs
This information will help you create a Student Profile, meet with the teacher/parent or learning support in the school, or support your child at home.
Recognising and addressing your child’s unique strengths and challenges is crucial for their success, especially if they have dyslexia or other learning differences. Dyslexia often coexists with other challenges, such as difficulties in math, language comprehension, or behaviour.
By taking an overall view of your child’s learning, parents and teachers can better understand their needs and provide the right support.
Children who struggle with reading often face challenges that go beyond literacy. These difficulties can impact spelling, math, writing, class participation, attention, vocabulary, and general knowledge. Understanding these interconnected areas is vital for both parents and educators. The following information outlines key questions to ask as you assess your child’s needs, helping you to prepare for a productive discussion with their teacher and ensure they receive the necessary interventions.
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Basic Math Facts: Can your child recall simple number bonds, such as pairs of numbers that add up to ten?
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Number Recognition (Subitizing):
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· Perceptual Subitizing: Can your child instantly recognise small quantities (e.g., seeing a group of 3 dots and knowing it’s 3 without counting)?
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· Conceptual Subitizing: Can they group and recognise quantities in patterns (e.g., seeing two groups of 4 dots and understanding it as 8 )?
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Place Value Understanding: Can your child differentiate between numbers like 14 and 41?
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Times Tables: Are they able to recall multiplication tables fluently?
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Arithmetic Skills: Can they perform basic multiplication and division?
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Fractions: Do they understand and work with fractions effectively?
For more detailed information and resources on supporting children with math and other learning challenges, please refer to MATH/DYSCALCULIA
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Delays in Language Development: Are there specific areas where your child struggles, such as understanding or using certain words?
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Story Comprehension: Can your child understand and summarize a children’s book or a chapter from a novel?
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Story Retelling: Can they retell a story in the correct sequence (e.g.,first, then, after, last)?
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Critical Thinking: Can they predict what might happen next in a story or answer questions like what, where, when, how, and why?
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Basic Language Concepts: Do they understand terms like:
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Before/After
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Under/Over
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More/Less
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Long/Longer/Longest
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Big/Bigger/Biggest
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Vocabulary Use: Do they use precise words or default to vague terms like “stuff” or “things”?
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Do they have a good understanding of vocabulary in speech and writing?
For more detailed information and resources on supporting children with Language and other learning challenges, please refer WHAT IS ORAL LANGUAGE?, WHAT IS BACKGROUND KNOWLEDGE AND VOCABULARY? and WHAT IS DEVELOPMENTAL LANGUAGE DISORDER (DLD)?
Handwriting can be a significant area of difficulty for children with learning differences, including dyslexia and other co-occurring conditions. Challenges in handwriting often stem from difficulties with fine motor skills, visual-motor integration, or processing speed. It’s important to assess whether your child struggles with letter formation, spacing, or maintaining consistent size and alignment in their writing. Ask yourself:
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Does your child find it tiring or frustrating to write for extended periods?
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Are their letters legible and correctly formed?
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Do they struggle to hold a pencil properly or apply the right amount of pressure?
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Can they write fluently and quickly enough to keep up with classroom demands?
To address handwriting challenges effectively, consider explicit and direct instruction tailored to your child’s needs. This includes:
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Teaching proper letter formation systematically, starting with the most basic strokes.
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Providing structured practice sessions that include modelling, guided practice, and independent writing.
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Breaking down the writing process into manageable steps to reduce overwhelm.
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Occupational Therapy: To develop fine motor skills and improve pencil grip, pressure control, and hand-eye coordination.
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Assistive Technologies: Introducing tools like keyboards, speech-to-text, software, or specialised handwriting programs to support written expression. Touch Typing can also be considered, but only if the child can spell.
Explicit, systematic instruction combined with tailored supports can help children improve their handwriting skills, boosting their confidence and academic success.
For more detailed information and resources, please refer to ARTICLES TO READ and RESOURCE HUB.
Behavioural and Emotional Challenges
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Appropriate Work Allocation: Has the school tailored assignments to your child’s learning needs, or do tasks seem overwhelming for them?
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Impact of Reading Challenges: Could anxiety or behavioural issues stem from their struggles with reading and the frustration of feeling left behind?
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Management vs. Solutions: Are classroom strategies addressing the root problem (e.g., teaching reading) or merely managing behaviours?
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Support Strategies: What approaches has the school used for anxiety or behaviour, such as mindfulness, sensory tools, Cognitive Behavioural Therapy (CBT), or Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA)? Not all approaches are supportive towards dyslexic children.
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Coexisting Conditions: Does the school account for additional diagnoses, such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or ADHD?
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Has the school considered adopting Dr. Ross Greene’s Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) framework or transitioning to a more neuro-affirming approach to addressing behaviour?
For more detailed information and resources on DR. Greene’s CPS model, please refer to his free website: https://livesinthebalance.org/
For more information on Neurodiversity- affirming goal setting, please refer to this factsheet: https://www.aspect.org.au/…/Neurodiversity-affirming…
Next Steps for Parents and Educators
Once you’ve identified your child’s specific challenges, you’ll have a clearer understanding of their needs. This insight is the foundation for meaningful conversations with teachers and learning support to create a plan to support your child this year in class.
Together, you can develop strategies and interventions tailored to your child, such as structured literacy programs, personalised accommodations, or targeted therapies.
Please be aware that not all schools have the funding to offer one-on-one interventions, and most therapies are not covered by the Ministry of Education. You will have to pay for these at your own cost. Those that are covered usually have a 16-month wait list.
As a parent, understanding these areas also empowers you to:
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Advocate effectively for your child’s needs at school.
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Implement complementary support strategies at home.
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Providing a positive learning environment where your child can thrive.
By taking this comprehensive approach, you can ensure your child receives the interventions and encouragement they need to succeed.
Created by Sharon Scurr on the 15th of January 2025