Self-esteem and learning difficulties

What do we call learning? Learning is a complex act in which multiple factors and areas of a person's life intervene. On the other hand, school learning is also the result of much learning that begins outside of school, but they take on special relevance in it, since they develop in the environment where the child begins to socialize away from the family environment.

Any student may need an adaptation at a given time, since the diversity of the student body is as great as the different ways of learning.

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learning problems

Most students create their own learning strategies and overcome the challenges corresponding to their itinerary curricular, but sometimes, students who do not show learning difficulties in other areas of their lives, develop ways of learning incompatible with the way of teaching of the educational system and for which, on many occasions, it does not have an effective response either.

Mitter (2004), presents us with a series of reflections on learning that should be considered with children who show learning difficulties:

• learning is never complete
• Learning is individual
• Learning is a social process
• Learning should be fun
• Learning is active.
• Learning means change, destabilization

A child who has learning or behavioral difficulties inevitably generates reactions, often aimed at overcoming it and other times at exclusion from the educational system; sometimes protected by special support needs and others in recognition by the system itself of a lack of resources to respond to the situation.

What is clear is that the school can always do something and its intervention makes a difference for better or worse. But parents are ultimately responsible for our children; in some cases with the system on our side, when the child is seen as a victim, and on other occasions fighting against the judgment of who does not know what she is talking about and feels with the courage and determination to pass judgment on trials in which she has not been aforementioned.

As parents, we have the obligation to ensure the proper development of our children and provide them with all the necessary support in each stage and situation of their lives, especially when they present behavioral and/or learning difficulties, thus helping them to face these situations that end up damaging their emotional stability and his self-concept.

This question that seems simple, is quite complex, because parents often do not know how we should act, what to do, how to do it, with whom to do it, etc.

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The best parental support

Raising a child is not easy, and our work as parents is sometimes hampered by work and everyday responsibilities. Nevertheless, it is necessary to detect situations that show learning difficulties, such as dyslexia, dysgraphia, SLI or ADHD, for example.

Even if we are not experts in psychology, it is easy to identify some signs that something is wrong and turn to a professional. The clearest sign is when our son shows difficulties at school while his classmates progress easily, also when he is slow in schoolwork or shows disinterest in the study. No child is lazy, none likes to fail and stay last in the class.

Faced with this scenario, parents sometimes react by calling our son lazy, inattentive, lacking interest. Some kids get so frustrated that they finally believe it., further aggravating the problem, which could cause serious damage to your selfconcept and your self-esteem.

These signs show some disorder or difficulty that makes learning not easy at all. When in doubt, the best option is to consult a specialist in psychology and learning difficulties, who after a series of evaluations will determine not only if she has learning difficulties, but will assess her stability emotional. Once evaluated, if there is any problem, the professional will inform the parents and together with them will design the intervention in which the parents will be the main participants in the therapeutic process, integrating all the areas that make up not only the child's school environment, but also the personal and familiar.

For parents, learning about the disorder or difficulty their child may have is critical., because it will give him many tools to understand him and support him in achieving his goals. It is very reassuring to know the source of your child's difficulty, as it will allow you to know how he can help him and how far he can go in a certain field or area. In short, it allows us to accompany our son, find his strengths and overcome his difficulties, accepting himself as he is, and understanding that each person is different and we all have capacities and disabilities.

Our accompaniment in overcoming difficulties must be constant and focused on specific objectives. It is not good to act arbitrarily, we must set goals that involve some difficulty but are achievable.

Another way in which we can help our children is by encouraging their interests and the activities in which they that stands out and feels comfortable, because the satisfaction of completing them is a great benefit for your growth. We cannot subordinate the success of our son only to academic results, there are other areas that make up his personality and are just as or more important for his comprehensive development. What would be the use of our son being a super-talent if he was not able to develop empathy for any person around him?

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The importance of good development

There are false myths such as, for example, that dyslexia cannot be diagnosed before the age of 7 or 8, other times, we hear phrases such as “he will speak, in the end everyone speaks”, “it is okay if he does not know how to read at the beginning of primary school, he will read, in the end everyone reads”… It is important that Parents, let's not be dissuaded by this type of information, which is also dismantled by scientific evidence, which bets precisely on what contrary, for early intervention, in the golden age of children, which is just when they should reach the development of each skill.

The learning disorders, such as dyslexia or dysgraphia, tend to undermine the self-esteem of the child who suffers from them, making them feel displaced, of little value and that they do not deserve good treatment. The accumulation of failures causes him to lose interest in learning, feel frustration and anger, suffer from anxiety attacks and a deep sadness, which negatively affects their growth and development, sometimes causing health problems mental.

Accompanying our son will achieve greater independence, he will feel comfortable studying and sharing with his classmates, and he will have the ability to tolerate the adversities of his disorder while still feeling proud.

As parents we have the function of preparing our children for life, for this we must combine affectivity with authority, at all times they must feel loved, feel approval, validation, but we must also be firm with authority, setting clear limits and consequences timely.