If your learning skills are affected, you may need the help of a specialist.
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The child does not master the curriculum. Why did this happened? What is this: banal laziness or real problems? We talked about this with Associate Professor of the Department of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Medical Genetics named after Academician LO Badalyan, Faculty of Pediatrics, Federal State Autonomous Educational Institution of Higher Education of the Russian National Research Medical University named after name. NI Pirogov Ministry of Health of Russia Yuri Nesterovsky.
DYSLEXIA, DYSGRAPHY…
– What are the types of learning abilities disorders?
– The start of school is an important stage in the life of every child. During this period, there is a transition from recreational activity to educational activity, which requires mastering a new model of social behavior, optimizing voluntary attention and learning new academic skills: reading, writing and counting. Various deficiencies in the development of these skills belong to the group of pathological conditions caused by insufficient development of higher mental functions. They are characterized by a clear discrepancy between the development of educational skills and the chronological age of the child, provided that there are no serious neurological diseases, decreased intellectual level or alterations in visual and auditory acuity.
Reading impairment (dyslexia): it is manifested by the inability to recognize letters, there are omissions, substitutions, word distortions, a slow reading pace and insufficient reading comprehension.
Writing impairment (dysgraphia): the child does not master writing letters and also has difficulty expressing his thoughts in writing.
Arithmetic disorder (dyscalculia) is a violation of the ability to perform mathematical tasks due to insufficient understanding of arithmetic concepts, terms or symbols.
– How can you understand that a child is not only “too lazy to study”, but actually has problems?
– All children have an individual rhythm of maturation of the nervous system, but it is believed that by the age of 6-7 years, most children can already begin to master such complex and multi-component actions as reading, writing and counting . Some children learn this easily, while others will need a lot of time.
In most cases, it is possible to accurately determine that a child is really having problems at the end of the first year of school, when he has already adapted and become accustomed to school, has learned to interact with his peers and the teacher, and understands what it demands. they are imposed on him. At this time, the difference in the development of learning abilities between the child and his peers becomes clearly noticeable. Furthermore, one of the important criteria of pathology is a clear discrepancy between the level of acquired skill and the effort and time devoted to its development.
DIFFICULTIES ARE MORE FREQUENT IN CHILDREN
– What violations are the most common?
– According to statistics, the prevalence of pure disorders of the development of learning abilities among primary school children is about 10%. Problems with reading and writing predominate, less frequently with counting. It has been established that these disorders are more common in children. It is important to remember that learning difficulties can be a manifestation of other pathological conditions and diseases. To make a differential diagnosis and establish its exact cause, the neurologist may prescribe additional examination methods and consultations with other specialists.
– How can we help our son deal with them?
– If additional classes by the parents or teacher with the child do not achieve significant progress in mastering educational skills, it is necessary to contact a neurologist. Currently, an integrated approach has been adopted in the treatment of these disorders. It includes the prescription of drugs that improve the functions and adaptive capabilities of the child’s nervous system (for example, the drug Tenoten for children, multivitamin complexes, other drugs that improve metabolic processes in the brain), as well as mandatory sessions with a neuropsychologist . . Some patients require speech therapy or cognitive behavioral therapy. It is important to note that, in the absence of timely qualified assistance, specific disorders of the development of educational skills can persist into adolescence and adulthood and be an obstacle to mastering the necessary professional skills.
WHEN IT’S TIME TO SOUND THE ALARM
– What should you pay attention to and when exactly should you sound the alarm?
– Modern school requirements for a first-grade child have increased to the point that the child must be able to read, write and perform simple arithmetic operations even before entering school. But, as I said, all children have different rates of cognitive maturation.
But! If parents spend little time with their children in games and joint educational activities and the child is busy watching cartoons or videos on the Internet all day, this can also cause difficulties at school, since the child at this stage does not master the basic techniques of perception and processing of cognitive information, necessary for a more complex type of cognitive activity. It is very important to clarify whether there are parents in the family who also experienced difficulties in learning at school, since this may indicate a hereditary predisposition to the individual rate of maturation of the nervous system, in particular, to a delay in its formation. of educational skills. Children who began speaking late or who had a history of difficult pregnancies and births are also at risk of developing disorders in the development of learning skills. If these children do not master school skills during the first six months of preschool or school, then they should contact a specialist. That is, go to a neurologist to examine the state of the nervous system, determine the causes of the identified disorders and choose other treatment tactics. The neurologist can also refer the patient to a neuropsychologist for detailed testing of the level of development of school skills and other mental functions, drawing up a plan and conducting corrective classes.
