The sooner you spot a learning disability, the better. So, this article is here to help you spot some of the common warning signs.

First, here are some early warning signs of a learning disability:

1. When a challenge continues despite great effort and support, or
2. Your child struggles in multiple subjects for an extended period of time

If these scenarios sound like your child, check out the resources below. They will help you get a better sense of what is going on and how to seek professional help if needed. And, you may even be able to figure out the root of an issue.

Resources to Spot a Learning Disability

1. Check out The Challenge of Learning to Read, by LD Online on Reading Rockets
   • This is an article about all that’s included in learning to read.
2. Review Learning Disabilities Checklist , by the National Center for Learning Disabilities (NCLD)
   • This is a very comprehensive checklist by age that is extremely helpful.
3. Read the Characteristics Checklist, by the Learning Disabilities Association of Minnesota
   • This simple checklist explains categories of learning challenges.
4. Look at the Common Signs of Learning Disabilities,  by LD Online
   • LD Online is a great resource with lots of information about learning challenges.
   • This specific checklist shows common signs of learning disabilities by grade levels.  
5. Read Learning Disabilities and Disorders, by the Help Guide  
   • This article describes different types of learning disabilities by name and age.

Lastly, these resources are a great way for you to get started. But, remember that formal assessment is necessary to officially diagnose a learning disability. Good luck!

No more confusion about the difference between dyslexia and dysgraphia, or the acronyms that educators use! This Essential Education Terms Glossary has more than 25 of the most common vocabulary terms used in education and special education, with easy-to-understand definitions for each! I even included a couple of links to some credible resources for deeper reading.

It is a simple Google Doc for your convenience, to copy and save for your personal records. If you have any suggestions or terms you would like added to this list, please let me know! You can use the contact form on my website to reach me.

My favorite education resource is Khan Academy. It offers a wide range of education content, parent coaching tips, mindset support, and career inspiration. And it does all of this … for free!

First, Khan Academy offers a wide variety of classes for elementary students through high school. Students can learn:

• Math with tutorials
• Chemistry
• Health & Medicine
• Science & Engineering
• Arts & Humanities
• Test Prep
• Computing (including coding and animation)
• Economics
• Finance (including home buying and capital markets)
• College & Career Prep

In addition, Khan Academy provides coaching tips for parents!

Furthermore, if your child doesn’t need immediate school help, try the Growth Mindset course. A growth mindset will help with everything! This course is grounded in “the science behind the idea that ‘You can learn anything’.” (Check out books on it here.) Or, if your child is in high school and wants career inspiration, check out interviews with entrepreneurs and executives like:

• Dave Gilboa & Neil Blumenthal, the Co-founders and Co-CEOs of Warby Parker
• Angela Ahrendts, the Former CEO of Burberry and Former senior vice president of Retail at Apple, or
• Beth Schmidt, the Founder of Wishbone.org.

In conclusion, Khan Academy is my favorite education resource for parents. In fact, I think it’s a resource everyone should explore. It’s a good thing Khan has made it easy to try — check out their website or one of their apps (on iTunes and Google Play!)

Executive Function (EF) is like an orchestra conductor for your life. And just like a conductor, Executive Function combines a set of skills, in unison, to execute complex tasks to completion. Skills like short-term memory, flexibility, and organization… and each is equally important. You can group EF skills into two groups:

• thinking about thinking
• regulating emotions.

Why is Thinking About Thinking Important?

Being aware of your thoughts or how you picture yourself doing things (aka metacognition) helps you build:

• a growth mindset
• healthy self-regulation
• figuring out your needs
• understand the reasons for your behaviors

You can practice metacognition with your kids on the way home from school. Have everyone take a deep breath, and then share the first thing they intentionally plan to do when they get home. You can use this technique any time there’s a transition in your child’s day.

Another, more in-depth conversation is a “Traffic Lights” chat. Ask your child about when they got stuck (red), met a challenge or tried something new (yellow), or learned something interesting (green) during their school day. 

• What did you learn?
• How did you learn it?
• How has your thinking changed as a result?
• What worked or didn’t work when you were learning?
• What do you want to do differently next time?

This will help them develop skills like a realistic awareness of time, organization, and prioritization.  

Why is Regulating Emotions Important? 

Emotions are critically connected to learning. Plus, emotions drive behavior. And behavior drives attention, which is essential for learning.

Even if your child is struggling with their emotions right now, they can gradually grow their emotional control as they learn strategies and techniques to manage their feelings. Plus, as their brain matures and they practice regulation, they’ll become masters at managing frustration, boredom, and other challenges that show up in life and in the classroom. 

Want to go deeper on the subject of executive function? Here is a great overview article from Seth Perler for your reference.

Here are five types of professionals who can help with learning struggles.

They are listed in order of their specialization:

1. Classroom Teachers – Teachers may be able to help with additional instruction or guide you to school resources. Sometimes, teachers may refer you to the school’s guidance counselor for more support. 
2. School Specialists – The reading specialist, speech/language pathologist, or special education teacher can also provide additional instruction and resources.
3. Tutors – In addition to in-school professionals, tutors are a great option for one-on-one instruction. If you do hire a tutor, check the tutor’s credentials and interview them to ensure they are qualified to meet your child’s specific needs.
4. Licensed Education Professionals in Private Practice – The next group of professionals is what I call Allied Advisors. Allied Advisors are Occupational Therapists (OT), Speech-Language Pathologists (SLP), and Education Therapists (ET) offer deep specialization. They are usually independent from a school affiliation. However, they usually do partner with your child’s school and support team. 
5. Finally, Educational psychologists and neuropsychologists provide assessments, diagnoses, and/or a plan for helping your child manage the challenges of a diagnosed learning disability.

In conclusion, these are the most common and beneficial professionals who can help with learning struggles. And, they have the power to transform your child’s education experience. I wish you luck on your journey, and hope you get the support that you need.

This week, I want to pass along a great online math resource: Khan Academy. You may remember me mentioning them a few weeks ago. Khan Academy is a non-profit educational organization on a mission to provide a free, world-class education for anyone, anywhere. They offer math tutorial courses by grade level, from kindergarten through high school, and by specific subjects ranging from Arithmetic to AP®︎ Calculus.

Established in 2008, their subjects span beyond Math to include Chemistry, Health & Medicine, Science & Engineering, Arts & Humanities, Test Prep, Computing, Economics, Finance, and College & Career Prep, so there is truly something for everyone. I encourage you to utilize this free service, and to keep a lookout for some of the hidden gems within the programming, like courses on coding, computer animation, the home buying process, capital markets, and other out-of-the-box life and career skills.

You can add your child to your account, which will allow them to monitor their own progress as you both set goals and determine rewards along their learning journey. You can even ‘play’ right alongside your child and model for them how to stick with challenges as they occur and how fun and rewarding learning can be.

Khan Academy even provides coaching tips for parents assisting their children with math studies, which is a resource I wish my parents had back when I was learning math!

If your child doesn’t need immediate homework help, you might want to make a game out of picking topics to delve into.

A great place I recommend to start is the Growth Mindset course, with includes activities and videos for students grades elementary through high school. The content was developed in partnership with PERTS, a Stanford center that builds on the research done by Carol Dweck, Ph.D.. Dweck is the premier researcher on the concept of growth mindset and “the science behind the idea that ‘You can learn anything’.” (Check out her books here.)

If your child is in high school, you may want to peruse the available interviews with entrepreneurs like Dave Gilboa & Neil Blumenthal – Co-founders & Co-CEOs of Warby Parker, Angela Ahrendts, the Former CEO of Burberry and Former senior vice president of Retail at Apple, or Beth Schmidt, the Founder of Wishbone.org. They offer a lot of great anecdotes about learning and career inspiration.

Overall, I think Khan Academy is a resource you should explore with your child and see if it’s the right fit for your needs. There is both an app available on iTunes and Google Play, so you can even get a screen addict to give it a go. 😉

Have you already tried out Khan Academy? How was your experience? Or do you have another favorite educational resource you’d like me to feature? Let me know in the comments below.