Understanding child learning disabilities and the way children learn

There are dozens, if not hundreds, of reasons why some children find it hard to learn in a classroom environment. Sometimes this is because a child has a particular learning difficulty or disability. And sometimes, it’s just due to the way children are taught and the different ways children learn.

However, it’s important to bear in mind, that more often than not, the reason a child finds it difficult to learn is not because the child is badly behaved, not clever enough or unwilling to learn. And that means, with the right help, a child can learn and keep up with the national curriculum as well as fulfilling their full potential.

But my child isn’t getting any extra support at school

Unfortunately, for many children and their parents, the world is not black and white. It’s not uncommon to hear parents say that although their child has not been formally diagnosed as dyslexic, for example, they clearly show some signs of dyslexia. For others, it may be that their child shows signs of more than one disability. For many, they may never qualify for a formal diagnosis or any extra support at school but that doesn’t mean that the problem isn’t real as the child continues to struggle to keep up.

Understanding the problem  

In the course of the next few blogs, we’re going to look at the main learning disabilities (dyslexia, dyscalculia and dysgraphia) and the three main different ways children learn (auditory, visual and kinaesthetic). We’ll also be looking at things you can do to help your child.

However, before we do that, in this post we’re going to explain a little bit more about learning disabilities and the levels of support you may or may not receive.

What is a learning disability?

The scope and extent of learning disability varies from person to person. Some may have a mild disability, whereas for others it may be much more severe. The disability makes it hard to learn certain skills whether that’s learning to read, to write, to do maths and numeracy or to process information. A disability can also affect other skills such as organisation, time planning, abstract reasoning, long or short-term memory and attention.

A learning disability does not mean your child is not intelligent. In fact, there is some evidence that suggests people with learning disabilities are of average or above average intelligence. Unfortunately, however, without the right support, people with a learning disability often do not reach their full potential.

Can you have more than one learning disability?

Yes, in fact, it’s very common for a child with a learning disability to show signs of more than one disability.

What support do children with a learning disability get in school?

If you believe your child may have special educational needs (SEN) as a result of their learning disability, you should contact their teacher or the school's Special Educational Needs Co-ordinator (SENCo).  A pupil does not actually need to have an official diagnosis of a learning difficulty in order for support to be given but a diagnosis will help!

Your SENCo should then assess your child’s needs, plan the level and type of support required and ensure that the support is put in place. Your SENCo should also keep the plan under review.

If the SEN support is not sufficient, your child may need an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP). You’ll often hear this described as getting your child statemented which was what it was referred to under the previous system.

A system at breaking point

According to Government statistics, “In 2018, 67,765 children in England had a statement of special educational needs (SEN) or an Education, Health and Care Plan (EHCP) and were identified as having a primary SEN associated with learning disabilities, including 28,241 children identified as having Moderate Learning Difficulties (MLD)…”

However, according to Mencap “There are approximately 351,000 children aged 0-17 with a learning disability in the UK.” It’s not clear exactly what percentage of those with a learning disability but no EHCP are actually receiving help from SENCo but one source suggests that as many as “around 50% or more [are] finding that schools are sceptical and unwilling to make referrals for assessment or diagnosis” without an EHCP.

Ever-decreasing school budgets have a role to play in this, with schools simply unable to fund the support required for all the children with learning disabilities.

What’s more, there are a number of flaws within the system. Pupils are not automatically entitled to be assessed and there are often significant delays in getting an assessment. In 2017, The Guardian reported “that more than 4,000 children in England with an approved EHCP still receive no provision.”

Which means if your child is struggling, there’s a high chance they won’t be getting the right or any support.  

My child learns differently from they way they teach

This is another reasonably common problem. For example, if your child learns kinaesthetically, it means they learn by hands on involvement in the process, by touching, moving about and getting involved. That means, they may struggle with a teacher who just lectures from the front. As a result, children who learn kinaesthetically are often labelled as trouble because their need to move about and be involved is seen as disruptive.

Unfortunately, whilst it’s well known that current teaching methods don’t suit a lot of children, that doesn’t help a child who is trapped in this situation.

Where do you go from here? 

Look out for our forthcoming series of blogs about different learning disabilities and ways of learning, as well as our advice on what you can do to help. Better still, contact your local MagiKats centre to find out more about if and how they can help and support your child.