Thriving Kids Podcast Tackles Learning or Attention Issues
The latest Thriving Kids podcast focuses on what caregivers should do to address learning or attention issues in children. An estimated one in five children in the United States struggle with these issues.
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In the podcast, Dave Anderson, the Child Mind Institute’s senior psychologist and vice president of public engagement and education, joins Jacqueline Rodriguez, PhD, the CEO of the National Center for Learning Disabilities, to discuss the topic.
The podcast includes discussion of what caregivers are seeing and feeling when their child starts to struggle, why early screening and evidence-based intervention can make a life-changing difference, and how evolving language around learning disabilities - from “learning disorder” to “neurodivergent” - reflects a shift in how people are owning their identities.
Other strategies for caregivers with children with learning or attention difficulties include:
Help them reframe the narrative; listen closely to how a child talks about themselves and their abilities - if you hear “I’m stupid” or “I can’t do anything right,” gently help them to reframe those thoughts. A learning disability means that their brain works differently, and not that they’re less capable.
Practice speaking up. Self-advocacy is a skill that gets easier with practice; role-play conversations your child might have with a teacher, such as asking for extra time on a test. The more comfortable they are using their voice now, the better prepared they’ll be in middle school, high school, and beyond.
Talk with them about their diagnosis - and early. Children are often more capable of understanding things than they are given credit for, and a learning specialist can help to find age-appropriate language. The sooner they can say that they have dyslexia or learn differently, the sooner they can advocate for themselves.
For more information, listen to the latest Thriving Kids podcast.