It’s all too easy to go into ostrich mode if your child is having challenges with #learning.

Roshni Shah is a Neuro-Developmental Therapist and mother of a child with additional needs.You will find her useful advice below, in her guest post to our blog this week.

Navigating the system can be long and arduous so the sooner you get the ball rolling, the better the outcome for everyone.  Here are a few points to help guide you.

1. Warning signs –   Unless your child’s difficulties are severe or very obvious, it quite often occurs that they are only identified when they start pre-school or nursery. Nursery staff interact with many children and are in a far better position to identify what is outside of the normal parameters.   Signs to look for are poor fine and gross motor skills, poor social and communication skills, significantly delayed speech and language,  hyperactivity (beyond the normal boisterousness of childhood) and a general failure to thrive.                
2. Don’t panic!  If a problem has been identified, keep calm.  Children are extremely sensitive to the emotional status of their parents.  If you’re anxious so will they be and the learning and developmental challenges may become a self-fulfilling prophecy.
3. The school is not your enemy  –  talk to your child’s teacher and the school’s Special Educational Needs Coordinator (SENco).  They may be able to put into place a support system at school which will help your child to catch up.  This may include a contact diary between teacher and parent, one-to-one support during lessons, extra supported homework, and peer-mentoring to encourage social integration.
4. Seek Professional guidance – if further intervention is required, talk to your GP.  Depending upon your child’s difficulties, they can refer on to your local Child & Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS), a Paediatrician, an Occupational or Speech and Language Therapist and many other specialists with child developmental training.
5. Alternative Therapies - The internet is a wonderful tool to learn about the problems that your child is having and what alternative interventions may be able to help them.  Many have a strong scientific basis and proven research, though they are not always recognised by the NHS.  Due diligence is a must before undertaking any therapies; parents of children with special needs are equally vulnerable as the children they are trying to support.  Claims of being able to ‘cure’ an array of conditions must be viewed with extreme caution. If it sounds too good to be true – it probably is.

You can contact Roshni via the following her website link below  www.help4learning.com