By Daniel Franklin, Ph.D

As a parent of a child with a language-based learning disability (LBLD), you need to be vigilant regarding the demands placed on your child in the school setting. Fulfilling these demands requires several skills, some of which may emerge slowly in your child. One such skill is self-advocacy, or your child’s ability to identify and articulate their needs. 

All parents want their children to be able to speak up for themselves at school. But for kids with LBLDs, self-advocacy develops with mastery of other skills including communication, self-awareness, and the ability to plan and initiate. 

For a child who is competent in those areas, you can begin to tackle self-advocacy—a skill that comes in handy in all sorts of situations, but particularly when they don’t understand a concept well enough to complete an assignment or study for a test. 

Following are several ways you can help your child develop this ability:

• Help them come up with questions to ask their teacher
• Act as their scribe by writing down their questions
• Help them figure out when and how to meet with the teacher
• If your child’s teacher prefers email, help them draft the email
• Suggest and demonstrate ways they can show respect to the teacher to help build a positive working relationship

When your child plans to speak with the teacher, follow up by asking how it went and what happened. If they didn’t speak with the teacher, offer specific suggestions. For example, prompt your child to speak with the teacher before class starts, at the end of class, or during recess. If your child doesn’t pick up on your suggestions, become their safety net by helping them draft an email either asking the questions or requesting a meeting to do so.

This post is excerpted from Helping Your Child with Language-Based Learning Disabilities (Strategies to Succeed in School and Life with Dyscalculia, Dyslexia, ADHD, and Auditory Processing Disorder), by Daniel Franklin, Ph.D.; published by New Harbinger Publications (2018). Available at Amazon through this link: Helping Your Child with Language-Based Learning Disabilities. Dr. Franklin is a Board Certified Educational Therapist and the founder of Franklin Educational Services.