Some children have to deal with care with difficulties or problems with learning new information. They can fight to cope with skills such as throwing and catching the ball. They may be embarrassed, trying to communicate, talking and listening to other people. Unable to learn and retain key pieces of information, these children struggle more when they enter school and try to master reading and writing skills, as well as other knowledge and knowledge.
Scientists are not sure what exactly makes learning difficult. Many theorize that the brain of children with inability to learn mixes signals and has difficulty sending and receiving bits of information. In principle, as University of Nevada-Renault professors Gary Fisher and Rods Cummings explain in Survival Guide for Children with LD “It’s just hard for some children to learn.”
These children are not stupid or lazy. They simply “learn differently” (LD). Gary Fisher and Rod Cummings respectively replace the term “disability” in their book, useful for solving the problem of non-stigma. Children with LD have normal or even super-high intelligence and may, in fact, be superior to other areas. Their brain simply acquires, processes and stores information in different ways. As Stanley S. Lamm, MD, and Martin L. Fish, Ph.D. put it Learning problems explained, a child with a learning disorder simply has “a condition or a series of specific conditions that interfere with the normal learning process”.
Children who learn in different ways may come from any ethnic or socio-economic group. Although only about 5% of children are usually diagnosed with LD, some doctors and educators believe that 20% of children have some kind of interference with how they study in some area. The good news is that with the right diagnosis and targeted intervention, children with LD can significantly improve their ability to study in a weak area.
It is especially important that parents recognize that children with LD learn differently, as well as the means and resources they need to provide to help them learn. Once an LD is identified, a team of professionals tests the child and uses their results to develop an Individualized Education Plan (IEP) for him or her. Now the child and his teachers and parents know the area in which the child needs additional help, and can focus on developing and improving the child’s learning skills. This can help special classes and individual classes.
Thus, you can use educational toys designed to develop certain skills. Children who get bored with dry schooling may find a new impetus for learning when this training comes in the form of a toy. Simplifying the learning process and using nontraditional methods for learning pleasure can encourage children with LD to reach new levels of achievement.
Gary Fisher and Rod Cummings define seven key areas in which children can learn in different ways: talking and listening, reading, writing, math, skills organization, social skills and motor skills. Here are some suggestions for toys that develop learning skills related to each of these areas ...
LD talk and audition
Children with Talking and Listening LD know what they want to say; they are just trying to communicate their thoughts. They can also have difficulty understanding the words that other people say to them, sometimes mistakenly taking one meaning for another. Some good skills for development in this area are critical thinking and the ability to make predictions, understand cause and effect, and draw conclusions. These skills can help children organize their thoughts, to express them more consistently and to better understand what others are saying to them.
Strategy and logic games like FoxMind Games & # 39; Zoologic or Cliko games can stimulate the development of logical thinking skills. Playing such games, parents can encourage children to think out loud in order to guide their reasoning. Parents can also kindly ask children questions about what they think will happen in a situation, confirming each answer and using it as the basis for the next question.
Read ld
Children reading LD can be overwhelmed by being exposed to too much text at a time. They may try to read the alphabet or sound the words. They can skip lines when reading, because they look at them just like words move across a page.
Educational toys, such as Melissa's Opposite Cards and Doug, or Vision and Spell, are transferred to the main components. Travel Read Spin and Word Spin Deluxe Family Edition, made by GeoSpace, are also great ways to turn writing and reading skills into a fun experience. Focusing on one word / concept at a time and breaking words into letters makes children confused with the walls of the text. When using such products, encourage children to talk about what they read to test understanding.
Writing LD
Children writing LD are struggling with many of the same problems as children with Talking and Listening LD. They have great ideas in their head, but they cannot express themselves in writing with a neat handwriting and good grammar and spelling. This is the case when the simplest toys can have the greatest effect. Take some pressure on write-offs, forcing children to put their thoughts on a fun blackboard or dry board. Now children can erase and / or restart their sentences again and again, until everything is correct.
Math LD
Kids with Math LD struggle with numbers and numeric characters. They find it difficult to memorize and understand mathematical facts. At the most basic level, they struggle with the patterns that underlie mathematical concepts. Playing with games with a pattern, puzzles and form blocks can give a child experience and confidence in the patterns necessary for success in mathematics. For example, a toy such as FoxMind Games & # 39; Logix I give the child practice with forms and logical patterns. Again, the Math Spin journey from GeoSpace is an interesting learning tool for basic operations, robbing some of the sometimes scary feeling that a child should learn math himself. Remember that the participation of adults in family conditions using educational games is important in the learning process.
LD organizational skills
Children with organizational skills LD cannot keep track of their materials and assignments. Even keeping their rooms or tables in order can be difficult. Puzzles or other toys with pieces, which can only go one way, can subtly teach such children's habits of the organization. An organizer, such as Melissa’s and Doug’s magnetic accountability chart, can encourage good habits by helping children keep track of their responsibilities and be rewarded for good habits and behavior.
Social skills ld
Children with social skills LD cannot interact with other people. They misunderstood facial prompts and gestures and express gestures that do not convey what they actually feel. Dramatic role-playing games can allow children to rehearse the right social behavior in a safe environment from which the stress of real consequences has been removed. Dolls and doll houses, play sets and figurines, as well as clothing for changing clothes and requisites can become vehicles for a creative game in which effective social interaction is practiced.
Motor skills ld
Children with LD motor skills struggle with coarse motor skills, such as balancing, jumping or even running, and small motor skills such as stringing strings through holes or holding a pencil correctly. Toys such as jumping ropes, sports equipment and a plasma car can develop general motor skills. Toys, such as shoelaces or kits for art, such as stamp sets of Melissa and Doug and a set of beads, can develop fine motor skills. Some toys, such as building blocks, develop a range of motor skills.
All parents can benefit from investment in educational toys.
Educational toys can be a valuable resource for children with and without LD. Children may be bored by filling out worksheets or dry assignments intended for learning content knowledge. In particular, children with LD can only struggle to figure out how to fill out a worksheet. On the other hand, playing with a learning toy can encourage children to spend longer (and more pleasant!) Depths of time, practicing and learning new knowledge and skills. Instead of memorizing dry mathematical information, a child can play with a learning toy and learn first-hand how to use logic and patterns to solve a problem. In fact, any parent who wants to develop his child’s abilities in one of the above areas could benefit from an investment in any of the toys discussed.
