Smart Kids With LD

By Marcia Brown Rubinstien, MA, CEP

A new school year can be difficult for children with LD and ADHD, but for those that are making the move to a new school level, the transition can be particularly challenging. If you have been concerned about your child’s behavior or learning style in pre-school and kindergarten, be open with teachers when your child begins elementary school. Although testing for learning disabilities is often inconclusive in younger children, early awareness can identify possible problems and prevent others from escalating. Discuss all possibilities with your child and don’t minimize his concerns, however unlikely they seem to you.

Specific issues that may surface as he begins elementary school include:

• Fear of being bullied
• Difficulty handling longer school day
• Separation anxiety
• Fear of failure
• Fear of other children
• Fear of teachers/authority figures
• Fear of school bus or other transportation-related issues
• Fear of looking “dumb”
• Evidence of being overwhelmed by classroom or extracurricular activities

	Take Action Many concerns about starting school can be allayed simply by talking about them openly. For young children who may not be able to articulate what’s bothering them, gentle prompting will likely reveal fears and anxieties. Use the list above to guide your discussion. When you identify particular concerns, respond with concrete steps you and she can take to deal with them. Use your childhood experiences or those of older siblings as examples of how to overcome her problems, real or imagined.

The author is an educational consultant and a Contributing Editor to Smart Kids. She is the author of Raising NLD Superstars.