5 Signs Your Child Needs Reading Support - A Guide For Parents

 

How to Know If a Child Needs Help – Beyond Grades

Looking Beneath the Surface of Student Performance

As educators, we've all encountered students whose academic performance doesn't tell the complete story. A child might be maintaining passing grades while struggling internally, or conversely, poor grades might mask a complex web of underlying issues that require different interventions. In today's educational landscape, particularly in the post-pandemic era, teachers face the challenge of distinguishing between various types of learning challenges: temporary learning gaps, persistent learning difficulties, and the increasingly common attention problems associated with excessive screen time.

Understanding these distinctions isn't just academic—it's crucial for providing appropriate support and ensuring no child falls through the cracks. Let's explore how to identify when a student needs help and what type of support might be most effective.

Spotting the Difference: Learning Gaps vs. Learning Difficulties

Learning Gaps: The Temporary Hurdles

Learning gaps are typically temporary interruptions in a student's educational journey. These gaps occur when students miss foundational concepts or skills, often due to circumstances beyond their control. Think of learning gaps as missing pieces in a puzzle—once you identify and fill them, the complete picture emerges.

Common Causes of Learning Gaps:

• Extended absences due to illness or family circumstances
• School transfers or frequent moves
• Inconsistent teaching quality in previous grades
• The COVID-19 pandemic's disruption to traditional learning
• Language barriers for English language learners
• Socioeconomic factors affecting educational consistency

Identifying Learning Gaps in Your Classroom:

Students with learning gaps often display specific patterns. They might excel in some areas while struggling significantly in others, creating an uneven academic profile. For instance, a fifth-grader might demonstrate age-appropriate critical thinking skills but struggle with basic multiplication facts they never fully mastered in third grade.

Look for students who seem confused by concepts that build on previous learning. They might ask questions that suggest missing foundational knowledge, or their work might show understanding of complex ideas alongside fundamental errors. These students often respond well to targeted instruction and can make rapid progress once gaps are identified and addressed.

Pay attention to inconsistent performance across similar tasks. A student might solve word problems creatively but struggle with basic computation, or write compelling narratives but have difficulty with paragraph structure. This inconsistency often signals gaps rather than broader learning difficulties.

Learning Difficulties: The Persistent Challenges

Learning difficulties, on the other hand, are neurological differences that affect how students process, store, and retrieve information. These are not temporary hurdles but ongoing challenges that require sustained support and often alternative teaching approaches.

Key Characteristics of Learning Difficulties:

• Persistent struggles despite adequate instruction and support
• Difficulty that seems disproportionate to the student's apparent intelligence
• Challenges that appear across multiple contexts and settings
• Struggles that don't improve significantly with traditional remediation

Common Learning Difficulties Include:

• Dyslexia (reading difficulties)
• Dyscalculia (math difficulties)
• Dysgraphia (writing difficulties)
• Auditory or visual processing disorders
• Attention deficit disorders (ADHD/ADD)

Recognising Learning Difficulties:

Students with learning difficulties often work much harder than their peers for similar results. They might spend excessive time on homework, show signs of frustration or avoidance around certain subjects, or develop elaborate coping strategies to mask their struggles.

Watch for students who consistently reverse letters or numbers beyond the typical developmental stage, have difficulty following multi-step instructions, struggle with phonics despite intensive instruction, or show significant discrepancies between their verbal abilities and written work.

These students often have areas of strength alongside their challenges. A student with dyslexia might be a gifted storyteller but struggle with spelling, or a student with dyscalculia might excel in geometry while finding basic arithmetic challenging.

The Screen Time Factor: A Modern-Day Learning Disruptor

Understanding Screen-Related Attention Issues

The digital age has introduced a new variable in student attention and learning: excessive screen time. The pandemic accelerated screen exposure for children, and many are now experiencing attention difficulties that aren't necessarily indicative of ADHD or other learning difficulties.

How Screens Affect Developing Brains:

Extended screen time can affect developing brains in several ways. The rapid pace of digital media can create a preference for high-stimulation activities, making traditional classroom instruction seem slow or boring by comparison. Children accustomed to the instant gratification of digital devices may struggle with tasks requiring sustained attention or delayed rewards.

Signs of Screen-Related Attention Issues:

• Difficulty sustaining attention for age-appropriate periods
• Restlessness during non-digital activities
• Improved focus when digital breaks are reduced
• Recent onset of attention problems (rather than lifelong patterns)
• Better attention during hands-on or interactive activities

Distinguishing Screen Issues from ADHD:

While screen-related attention problems can mimic ADHD symptoms, there are key differences. ADHD is a neurodevelopmental condition present from early childhood, while screen-related issues typically develop gradually with increased exposure. Students with ADHD show consistent attention difficulties across all settings, while those with screen-related issues might focus well on preferred activities or when screen time is limited.

Consider the timeline: did attention problems emerge or worsen significantly during periods of increased screen time? Students with screen-related issues often show improvement when digital media exposure is reduced, while those with ADHD require more comprehensive interventions.

Tools for Teachers: Practical Identification Strategies

Observation Techniques: What to Look For and How

Effective identification begins with systematic observation. Create a simple tracking system to note patterns in student behaviour, academic performance, and engagement across different activities and times of day.

Document specific behaviours rather than making general judgments. Instead of noting "Jakir has trouble paying attention," record "Jakir looked away from his work 15 times during a 20-minute math lesson but maintained focus for 25 minutes during science experiments."

Pay attention to environmental factors that affect performance. Some students focus better with background noise, others need complete quiet. Some work better standing, others sitting. These preferences can provide clues about underlying processing differences.

Assessment Beyond Grades: Digging Deeper

Traditional grades often fail to capture the full picture of a student's abilities and challenges. Implement alternative assessment methods to gain a deeper understanding of student learning.

Use portfolio assessments to track progress over time and identify patterns. Include student self-reflections to understand their perspective on their learning challenges. Conduct brief individual conferences to assess understanding that may not be evident in written work.

Consider error analysis in student work. The types of mistakes students make can reveal whether they're dealing with gaps in knowledge, processing difficulties, or attention challenges. Careless errors scattered throughout work might suggest attention issues, while consistent conceptual errors might indicate learning gaps or difficulties.

Collaboration and Communication: A Team Effort

Work closely with other teachers, support staff, and families to gather comprehensive information about each student. A student's struggles might be subject-specific or might appear across all areas of learning.

Communicate regularly with families about observations and concerns. Parents often have valuable insights about their child's learning patterns, attention span at home, screen time habits, and developmental history.

Taking Action: Tailored Interventions for Real Support

Once you've identified the type of challenge a student faces, you can implement appropriate interventions. Learning gaps often respond well to targeted instruction and scaffolding. Learning difficulties require ongoing support, possible accommodations, and sometimes referral for formal evaluation. Screen-related attention issues might improve with environmental modifications and gradual reduction in recreational screen time.

Remember that many students face multiple, overlapping challenges. A student might have both learning gaps from pandemic-related disruptions and underlying learning difficulties, or screen-related attention issues that are masking learning gaps.

Final Thoughts: See the Child, Not Just the Grade

Looking beyond grades to truly understand our students' needs requires patience, keen observation skills, and a willingness to consider multiple factors that affect learning. By distinguishing between learning gaps, learning difficulties, and screen-related attention issues, we can provide more targeted and effective support.

Every student deserves to have their unique learning profile understood and supported. As teachers, our role extends beyond delivering curriculum to ensuring each child has the tools and support they need to succeed. When we look beyond the surface of academic performance to understand the why behind student struggles, we open doors to more effective teaching and more successful learning outcomes for all our students.

The key is remembering that struggling students aren't lazy or unmotivated—they're often working harder than anyone realises, just in ways that might not be immediately visible. Our job is to see beyond the grades to the whole child, understanding their unique challenges and strengths, and providing the support they need to thrive.