Watch Out For These Red Flags This Summer
As we take a break from school year, it is a good time to watch out for these red flags this summer as the hope is that our children hit the ground running when they return to school in the fall. That said, summer can be a time to assess whether they seem ready to go or if there are potential struggles coming as they transition to a new school year.
Below are some red flags to watch out for this summer:
Reading Difficulties
If your child dislikes reading, that is a red flag that reading may be difficult. This can relate to reading fluency or decoding. If these issues exist, it will make reading more labored. In addition, if there are struggles with reading comprehension – retaining or understanding what they are reading – reading will be much less enjoyable.
Attention Issues
If your child struggles to sustain attention for tasks or activities like watching movies, eating dinner or other tasks, that is a warning that they may have difficulty staying focused in a school environment.
Struggles With Simple Tasks
If your child gets easily overwhelmed by tasks like cleaning their room or multi-step directions, that can be a sign of low processing speed or working memory. Weak processing speed makes everything harder than it seems it should be, making a child feel overwhelmed. Likewise, if working memory is low, giving them multiple tasks at one can cause stress as they are not able to hold the information in their minds or retain the tasks and complete them.
Problem Solving Difficulties
If your child gets stuck doing tasks like cleaning their room or picking up toys, it can be a sign of reasoning struggles. Reasoning would enable them to figure out a strategy to clean their room. For example, first I am going to put away my Legos, then my stuffed animals, etc.
Negative Self-Talk
If your child makes comments like “I can’t do it” or “I’m not smart” this is a big red flag that something underlying may be going on to impact their confidence. If a child lacks the skills needed to read or stay on task, it causes frustration and can impact self-esteem. The sooner you can address this the better!
Take Action Before School Starts in the Fall
For students who struggle in these areas, scheduling a LearningRx cognitive skills assessment is an ideal first step as it will identify the root cause and help you identify the best strategy to help.
Our training is different than tutoring strategies as our training addresses the root cause of reading or attention struggles. To date, we have two peer-reviewed published related to our work with individuals with ADHD or attention issues. We also have recent peer-reviewed research showing significant gains in reading skills.
Our training can be life changing as we are strengthening the core skills holding students back from being a strong reader or able to stay on task.
In comparison, tutoring is usually a band-aid approach focused on the symptom. Tutoring is providing more of what was provided during the school year, however, it does not figure out why the student did not grasp the material the first time.
If you are looking for evidence-based help for reading or attention issues, call LearningRx Eagan to learn more.
