Nisha Daniel

Do you suspect your child is a slow learner? You could be wrong. She might be good at some tasks and not in others.

A slow learner is distinctly different from a child with a learning disability. A slow learner learns everything that is expected of her, and is capable of attaining milestone development norms, but at a slower speed than her peers. A slow leaner needs more time, repetition and help to keep up with her classmates.

If you suspect your child has a serious learning problem, consult a psychologist. Often, it’s a temporary lapse of ability to keep up. Here are some ways you can help your child to keep up with her peers.

Identify your child’s learning style. She could be an auditory learner, who learns best by hearing as opposed to visual learners who are good at learning from the black board and Smartboards.

On the other hand, kinesthetic learners learn best from hands-on learning. Most children learn through a combination of learning styles. When you identify the best intelligence suitable for your child, you will find she learns much better.

Get your child started early. Some children don’t instantly pick up new subjects. Exposure to them beforehand can help. Get your child to read prescribed textbooks before each lesson is taught or introduce her to materials related to the subject. With this knowledge, she will have the advantage of familiarity with a subject/topic when it is taught in class.

Boost your child’s confidence. What is your child’s strength? Is she very good at draw but slow in maths? Encourage her to drawing and praise her work. Nurturing her talent for art will help her feel confident about herself, and help others appreciate her better. This will translate into better performance in other subjects as well.

Give her learning aids. If your child doesn’t remember things easily, create visual charts or mnemonics. Look for videos and other multimedia content on a given subject. A repetition of concepts in different forms can help her grasp the various aspects related to the subject/topic.

Learning new skills. Learning new skills becomes easy when previous skills are mastered. When a child is good at addition for example, learning multiplication is easy. But if the child is slower than her peers in learning the first concept, acquiring new capabilities will prove difficult.

Reviewing a new skill/ subject beforehand will help you figure out the skills your child needs to develop before getting to that topic. Personal tutoring can be a great help as there is no pressure to keep up with peers, and a child can be helped to understand topics on a one-on-one basis.

Every child has innate intelligences. It’s worth spending time and effort to identify and nurture them. It also pays to identify their weaknesses so you can lend a hand.