{"id":7075,"date":"2016-03-10T16:31:29","date_gmt":"2016-03-10T16:31:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/?p=7075"},"modified":"2026-03-30T09:19:50","modified_gmt":"2026-03-30T09:19:50","slug":"what-is-school-like-for-a-child-with-learning-difficulties","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dyslexiadaily.com\/blog\/what-is-school-like-for-a-child-with-learning-difficulties\/","title":{"rendered":"What is School Like For a Child With Learning Difficulties?"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

The term \u201clearning difficulties\u201d is the hand grenade of education.<\/b><\/span><\/p>\n

Throw the terminology around and teachers, students, parents and school community members react widely and, at times, wildly. Some individuals ponder the term, others run frantically for a book to elicit a \u201cdefinition\u201d or \u201cdiagnostic term\u201d, some consult with colleagues and professionals, yet others hide their heads in their hands or behind a desk.<\/span><\/p>\n

What is a \u2018learning difficulty\u2019?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Does \u201clearning difficulty\u201d mean the same thing as \u201clearning disability\u201d? Is it different from the language of \u201cdifferences\u201d or \u201clack of ability\u201d? The term \u201clearning difficulties\u201d refers to students who can experience difficulty with learning. The acts of reading, comprehending, inferring, questioning, memorising and recalling knowledge can be laden with difficulties.<\/span><\/p>\n

Students can experience difficulties with learning for many different reasons. These include, for example, hearing and visual impairments; physical impairments; emotional, social or behavioural difficulties; prior education experiences; experiences at home; attention and concentration issues; and cognitive or intellectual difficulties. The impact of such difficulties may be short term or long term.<\/span><\/p>\n

These difficulties can be seen across various domains of education. Students may struggle with written expression and constructing meaning from language, or with the fine motor skills required for handwriting. Difficulty with mathematics may present as an inability to learn basic mathematical concepts including addition, times tables and mathematical problem solving.<\/span><\/p>\n

Reading difficulties include neurological deficits in decoding letter symbols and words, word recognition or phonological processing issues, or difficulties with comprehension. Misinterpretation of sound, touch and movement, and the inability to successfully receive, interpret and integrate sensory stimuli can lead students to actively seek or avoid sensory information, thereby impacting their ability to make sense of their learning environment.<\/span><\/p>\n

How do kids cope with learning difficulties?<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The classroom is fraught with social, emotional, physical and cognitive demands. Students enter at their own risk.<\/span><\/p>\n

In some schools, students sit quietly at desks, awaiting teacher instruction. The first task of the lesson, to acknowledge your presence, is the first stressor for some. The simple \u201chere\u201d or \u201cpresent\u201d can elicit stress for any student including those with additional learning needs.<\/span><\/p>\n

\"scrabble-921255_1920\"Did they hear their name? Did they have ample time to respond? Were they paying attention or watching the student across the room fiddling with their lunch order, tablet, pencil case, book, reader, art smock, calculator, diary, phone?<\/span><\/p>\n

Next, the student must listen and watch as the lesson begins. Handouts are distributed, chapters to be completed are announced and scrawled on the board in small illegible handwriting or placed brightly on the interactive whiteboard. By now, as other students settle down to read, to learn, to memorise, some students, those with additional learning needs or difficulties, may question whether they are on task.<\/span><\/p>\n