A dear friend asked me about our school policy for Learning Disabilities.

We don’t have one but we have our processes in place, it’s been working so far, but I agree a policy should definitely be put in place, as in all things we have an initial responsibility to the child and sometimes parents may be in denial.

Please note, though, that we are mainly observers and a gateway for intervention if needed. We are not Special needs experts, but we may be able to start an early process of helping the child to overcome if we spot the areas of concern early.

What are these areas of concern in a nut shell?

The Red Flags:

1. Your infants:

Does the child make any sounds? Not cooing or smiling at 6 months is a red flag.

Can the baby hold up his head? If this is not happening at three months that is a red flag.

Does baby follow people or objects with his eyes? If not get this checked.

Physically, can the child sit right or is her posture always limp or floppy? Are her limbs stiff?

2. Your toddler .

By one plus, has the child started saying simple words, like “dada” or “mama”?

Does your child repeatedly hurt himsel? Head banging or self – bitting?

Can they respond when being called from across a room?

Does the child play simple games? Can he pick up or even reach out for objects?

Is sitting and standing up a difficult chore?

If you observe any of the above please seek help.

3. Pre Primary and Primary

Is the child clumsy, unable to coordinate himself?

Cannot pay attention?

Has problems with mathematics, reading and writing?

Finds it difficult to remember things?

Can the child follow simple directions?

These are the most common red flags that give an indication that all may not be so well.

When you have concerns as a parent, the best thing you can do is not get so overwhelmed that it paralyzes you into doing nothing.

I do understand you, I get that this can be really scary, but seek advice from your qualified pediatrician.

Talk to you child’s school/ teacher about your concerns. It may be an issue of delayed development which will correct itself eventually, but if not working on it now will sort it out faster than denying the facts on ground.

Are you a a teacher or school who has noticed something?

Yes, bring this to the attention of the parents, but be very humane about how you would handle this.

Please do not label the child!

Remember that all we have as facts before us are simply our observations. No assessment or diagnosis has been done so far.

So, simply relay the facts, ask questions and gently sign-post parents to get some more help and clarity.

I would like to say at this point that I believe the Montessori Method helps to deal with a lot of these issues before they become a big problem in the life of children.

Obviously not all hands are equal and the Montessori method alone cannot solve many issues a child with learning difficulties may face.

We need trained experts to help with diagnosis of the issues, and we need to train ourselves and upgrade to meet their needs

As we start our new session I pray we can all upgrade as parents and teachers to meet our children’s needs..