Learning Disabilities in Younger Grades
When you’re in the lower grades like 1st and 2nd grade, there are often some kids who are a little slower than the others. You kind of look at them funny unless the teacher does their job and doesn’t make the kid feel different. But if the teacher can’t mask it at all, these kids can become outcasts and ultimately feel worse about themselves. But are these disabilities really that much to worry about or is it all just blown out of proportion?
Most of the learning disabilities you see when you’re really young aren’t nearly as serious as the ones the media has made us accustomed to. I’m not talking about conditions like autism or Down syndrome. These go well beyond the realm of learning disability and just go into the normal disability category. I’m talking about the kids who have trouble learning to read or are dyslexic. They may have ADHD or just be slower than others in general. These may not be the biggest of deals, but they can really impact someone for life, so it’s important to know what exactly we’re dealing with.
Kids with learning disabilities can often feel worse about themselves if they are syphoned off into their own little groups aside from the rest of the class. However, there are things a teacher can do, like seemingly harmlessly dividing the class into the higher and lower reading groups or the groups that are good at math and the ones that need help. Really the possibilities are endless. Creative teachers can really do well here because small children can easily be fooled into thinking whatever you want.
The students do have to be given more individualized attention early on though or these problems could persist throughout life. The sooner you teach a kid to read or deal with their problems, the easier it will be to deal with and the faster they can solve it. You don’t want them going all the way to high school or college with these problems where there is no easy way to solve it. It’s best to just nip it in the bud as soon as possible.
