Blooming Early Years

Are you a teacher or parent with students or children with learning differences? Or are you looking for the best strategies for teaching kids with learning disabilities? This is because children with dyslexia, ADHD, reading challenges, and other conditions often face greater difficulties compared to their classmates. They might struggle with staying focused during lessons, completing tasks, retaining information, or adjusting to new routines. 

The strategies for teaching kids with learning disabilities require unique methods to help them work. In this guide, we’ll explore proven techniques and strategies for teaching kids with learning disabilities that parents and educators can use to support students with learning challenges.

First of All, Why Do You Need These?

Using the right strategies is very important for teaching kids with learning disabilities. These children often face unique challenges that make learning harder. Without proper support, they might struggle to understand lessons or complete tasks.

These strategies help parents and teachers give kids the tools they need to succeed. They help make learning fun and easier for every child. When you use these methods, you build confidence in the child. This can lead to better academic performance and self-esteem.

Additionally, these strategies help improve communication between kids, parents, and teachers. Everyone works together to create a positive learning environment. This teamwork ensures the child feels supported both at school and at home.

Research continues to confirm that we can come up with effective 
strategies for teaching kids with learning disabilities to “learn how 
to learn.” 
We can put them into a position to compete and hold their own.

By using expert-approved methods, you address the specific needs of every learning disability and can adapt effective strategies for teaching kids with learning disabilities. This tailored approach can help kids overcome challenges, grow, and thrive in their education.

Strategies for Teaching Kids with Learning Disabilities

Here are proven techniques and strategies for teaching kids with learning disabilities:

1. Apply the Chunking Method

Renowned psychologist George Miller from Harvard discovered that individuals can process only about five to nine pieces of information at once. The chunking method, however, leverages long-term memory to enable learners to grasp more ideas effectively.

Educators can assist students by dividing lessons into smaller, manageable parts that build progressively. Each segment should connect to earlier ones, reinforcing concepts through repetition.

For instance, if a lengthy chapter is assigned as homework, it can be split into smaller sections. Students can summarize each section after reading it, and once the chapter is complete, they can revisit their summaries for review.

2. Present Information Using Visual Aids

Students with learning challenges often excel at understanding concepts visually. Educators and parents can leverage this strength to enhance their learning experience. For example, after finishing a chapter in a book, encourage the students to create a drawing that illustrates what they understood.

Another effective approach is using visual tools to organize ideas. For instance, while reading a novel as a class, students can construct a cause-and-effect chart. The “effect” represents the story’s climax or the major turning point where everything is resolved. On the other hand, the “causes” outline the sequence of events that led to that significant moment.

3. Engage Multiple Senses

To enhance understanding and memory during study sessions, make use of different senses.

For kids who learn best visually, you might:

• Use various colors to highlight key points.
• Display pictures or create models.
• Encourage creating art related to lessons.

For auditory learners, try approaches like:

• Watching videos with sound or reading aloud.
• Incorporating language games, chants, and rhymes.
• Listening to audiobooks or recorded lessons.

Kinesthetic learners, who grasp concepts through hands-on activities, could benefit from:

• Building models with clay or crafting designs.
• Engaging in activities with finger paints, puzzles, or sand.
• Representing numbers using small objects.

Tactile teaching, focusing on touch, might involve:

• Using movements like clapping alongside counting.
• Highlighting text with color while reading.
• Working with manipulatives, such as blocks, to illustrate scenes.

4. Tailored Online Tutoring

Beyond the classroom, online tutoring can replicate face-to-face sessions and assist students in mastering particular topics. Before the session begins, learners may upload prior assignments, such as quizzes, homework, or tests. Tutors can review these and come prepared with additional resources that may aid comprehension.

Through tailored tutoring, students can get answers to specific questions and receive feedback aligned with their unique needs. Online tutors are experienced in adapting teaching methods for children with learning disabilities.

Even though the lessons are conducted on a computer, students can still chat via text, write on a virtual whiteboard, share their screen, and even record lessons to revisit later.

5. Use Mnemonics

Mnemonics are memory aids that use visual or auditory tools to help students process and organize information. These often include rhymes, acronyms, or keywords. For instance, many people remember the Great Lakes by using the mnemonic HOMES, which stands for Huron, Ontario, Michigan, Erie, and Superior.

Avoid relying solely on acronyms for all concepts. Instead, identify keywords and connect them to visuals. For example, the scientific term for the common frog, Ranidae, can be linked to “rain.” To make this memorable, you could pair the word with an image of frogs hopping in the rain.

Adapting to Every Learner in the Classroom

Research continues to confirm that we can come up with effective strategies for teaching kids with learning disabilities to “learn how to learn.” We can put them into a position to compete and hold their own.

If your goal is to actualize effective strategies for teaching kids with learning disabilities and also support students with learning disabilities, apply the strategies outlined in this article. By tweaking how you present material and share information, you can alleviate their stress and inspire them to embrace lifelong learning.

Some strategies for teaching kids with learning disabilities and intervention practices that produce large outcomes are:

• direct instruction;
• learning strategy instruction; and
• using a sequential, simultaneous structured multi-sensory approach.

Teachers who apply those kinds of strategies for teaching kids with learning disabilities and interventions:

• break learning into small steps;
• administer probes;
• supply regular, quality feedback;
• use diagrams, graphics, and pictures to augment what they say in words;
• provide ample independent, well-designed intensive practice;
• model instructional practices that they want students to follow;
• provide prompts of strategies to use; and
• engage students in process-type questions like “How is the strategy working? Where else might you apply it?”

Scaffolding is also something that seems to make a real difference. Start with the teacher using heavily mediated instruction, known as explicit instruction, then slowly begin to let the students acquire the skill, moving towards the goal of student-mediated instruction.

Success for students with learning disabilities requires a focus on individual achievement, individual progress, and individual learning. This requires specific, directed, individualized, intensive remedial instruction for students who are struggling.

Whether the student is in the general education classroom or learning in a special class setting, focus the activities on assessing individual students to monitor their progress through the curriculum. Concerns for the individual must take precedence over concerns for the group or the curriculum or for the organization and management of the general education classroom content.

Final Words

By implementing these strategies for teaching kids with learning disabilities, parents and educators can create a positive, supportive learning environment for kids with learning disabilities, fostering their academic and personal growth.