Are you concerned about your child’s literacy or numeracy skills?

A child who is struggling at school may not always have a specific learning difficulty. Those who struggle with reading typically demonstrate difficulties with recognising sound blends in words (e.g. oa, igh, ai.), breaking words down into sounds and being about to blend the sounds in words together accurately to form the whole word e.g. n-igh-t, all in a FLUENT manner (less than 3 seconds per word). This process becomes an automatic process which is when we would typically regard a child as a fluent reader. Children will, of course, learn such skills at different rates, but generally, these skills are fully developed by the mid to end of Year One, where you would expect to see your child reading fluently and comprehending the texts at an appropriate level.  

Why is my child struggling at school?

Potential Reasons for Reading, Writing and Spelling difficulties at school.

Your child may simply not have yet learnt the basic literacy skills that form the foundation skills for their reading, spelling and writing.

Your child may simply be taking a little longer to learn the basics than their peers due to their own developmental process.

If your child has missed a large amount of time from school, for example, due to an extended illness, they might have missed out on some essential learning at school.

How can I help my child with literacy difficulties at school?

If your child appears to be struggling with the basics, the FIRST place to start is providing intensive literacy learning intervention. This can be through:

• Small group learning at school,
• 1:1 school learning support
• Specialist Tutor focusing on phonics, reading/spelling rules and writing and maths skills as needed.
• The use of phonics based literacy programs such as:
• MiniLit
• MultiLit
• Toe by Toe
• Jolly Phonics
• Jolly Grammar

What to do next?

Diagnostic Criteria for a Specific Learning Difficulty.

If you and/or your child’s teacher feel that your child is falling below an expected level for their age or year level in one or more academic areas, you may be wondering if your child has a specific learning difficulty, such as an impairment in reading (Dyslexia), an impairment in mathematics (Dyscalculia), and/or an impairment in writing (Dysgraphia). Many factors need to be considered when a child is struggling in their learning, including educational experience, behavioural and/ or social issues, autism spectrum disorder, vision, hearing, amongst others. Cognitive and academic strengths and weaknesses can be assessed by a specialist psychologist using a psycho-educational assessment. The specialist psychologist can conduct a cognitive and academic assessment to investigate underlying cognitive reasons behind such a difficulty, or difficulty in specific areas of reading, spelling, writing, or maths. Such a comprehensive educational assessment can provide details as to any potential diagnosis and strategies then to support your child’s learning, in accordance with the American Psychiatric Association Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – Fifth Edition Revised (DSM-5-TR) diagnostic criteria.

Is my child’s attention behaviour normal or is it an attention difficulty (ADD/ADHD)?

Other areas that may be affecting your child’s ability to learn includes their difficulty to focus, concentrate and attend to the learning activities in the classroom. They may be just a particularly physical child who needs to move around, or they may have a behavioural difficulty such as ADHD which is out of their own control and sitting still to listen to teacher instructions, or sit quietly at their desk to do their work, can be considerably difficult for such children.

Attention difficulties at home/school might include:

• Difficulty sitting at the table to eat a meal with the family
• Always on the move
• Fidgeting a lot
• Impulsivity
• Difficulty sustaining attention (short attention span)
• Easily distracted
• Poor organisational skills for their age.

What is ADHD or ADD? Inattentive, Hyperactive, and Impulsive Behaviour(s).

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder does not just go away with time.

A psychologist or paediatrician can assist you in the diagnosis of ADHD. A paediatrician can prescribe medication (if deemed warranted) to support ADHD behaviour. Alternative, other areas of non-medication support may include behavioural therapy, a focus on nutrition e.g. through a dietician, exercise (e.g. joining a sport’s team), understanding of and at school and at-home support for such behaviours.

For more detailed ADHD/ADD information see:

ADHD in Children – https://www.helpguide.org/articles/add-adhd/attention-deficit-disorder-adhd-in-children.htm.

Why have a psychological and educational (psycho-educational) assessment with a psychologist?

A psychologist can investigate (either some or all, as needed):

• Intellectual abilities and look at any strengths and weaknesses that may impact upon learning.
• Academic skills and specific areas of strengths and weaknesses in reading, spelling, writing and maths.
• Attention Difficulties (ADHD/ADD) affecting learning.
• Adaptive Behaviours that is their ability to function in everyday life e.g. dress themselves, communicate, level of social engagement that can also impact upon their education and learning abilities.

A psychologist may also refer onto to other specialists (e.g. paediatrician, speech pathologist, occupational therapist) if they think such a consult would further assist the child in their education and life development skills.