Students with learning difficulties face a range of challenges in their education. Learning difficulties are, however, a broad classification that includes a wide range of traits and behaviours that may or may not be linked to many possible diagnoses. That means that any program targeting these students must be able to provide personalized support for each child’s individual needs.
What do we mean by learning challenges?
Learning challenges are not one condition with a fixed set of characteristics. It is a category that covers a broad range of traits that affect someone’s ability to retain information and the way they perceive, understand and interact with the world. Learning challenges may impact memory, concentration, organization, communication, sensory processing and social interaction among other traits.
Even when there is a specific diagnosis or diagnoses associated with learning challenges, such as dyslexia, dyscalculia, intellectual disability, autism, ADHD or fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, these conditions can manifest in a variety of ways. Mainstream schools are often based on one fixed standard that every person in a certain age group is supposed to meet, but the reality is that no two children with learning challenges have the same characteristics, and therefore, they each need slightly different accommodations.
How can a learning difficulties program help?
Programs for learning difficulties generally have much smaller group sizes than mainstream classrooms. This means that it is easier for teachers to monitor every student’s progress and notice if someone is falling behind. It also becomes much easier to offer individualized instruction, adjusting your approach with each child to ensure that their needs are met, that you accommodate their strengths and interests, and that you offer additional support in any area where they are struggling. Often, this can be aided through the use of assistive devices and technology, such as speech-to-text, that can serve as alternative forms of communication and allow students to engage in different ways.
Students in a special program for learning challenges will also be grouped by ability and need, rather than by age. This means that they will not be expected to meet a mandatory standard based simply on their grade level but instead will be able to learn at their own pace. Their progress will be assessed regularly by teachers and other staff, but with their starting point and their individualized education plan. This plan can be adjusted over time if teachers observe that it is not meeting the students’ current needs. The schedule of every day, semester and year can be oriented to the child’s best outcome.
It is not just functional academics that may benefit from this kind of approach. Being with other students with similar disabilities and experiences will help children feel less isolated. They will also have opportunities to work on their social skills, another area that many people with these kinds of conditions find difficult. Outside of the classroom, there will be extracurricular activities including sports, arts, performances and other events, further allowing them to build and interact with a community, as well as develop a wider range of skills and interests that may help them become more independent and fulfilled adults.
Conclusion
A good learning difficulties program will have a flexible approach, adjusting to the different needs, strengths and weaknesses of each student to ensure that every child has the best opportunity to achieve their full potential, not just academically but by becoming a happy, confident and more independent adult.