>Early Childhood
Common difficulties:
Misunderstanding or confusing written symbols (example: +, x, /, &)
Easily distracted, especially by competing visual information
Writing within margins or on lines or aligning numbers in math problems.
Judging distances (example: bumping into things, placing objects too close to an edge)
Fluidity of movement (example: getting out of the way of a moving ball, knocking things over)
Differentiating colors or similarly shaped letters and numbers (example: b, d; p, q; 6,9; 2,5).
Accommodation and modification strategies
Use books, worksheets and other materials with enlarged print.
Read written directions aloud. Varying teaching methods (written and spoken words; images and sounds) can help promote understanding.
Be aware of the weakness but don’t overemphasize it. While helping a child work on the weakness is important; it is just as important to build other skills and function in any setting.
Break assignments and chores into clear, concise steps. Often multiple steps can be difficult to visualize and complete.
Give examples and point out the important details of visual information (the part of a picture that contains information for a particular question).
Provide information about a task before starting to focus attention on the activity.
Reality television is fascinating to the American public. We glom onto young adults as they sign to become the next American Idol, only to be ridiculed on national T.V. by three judges who have only just met them. We watch on the edges of our seats while contestants compete to become the sole Survivor or America’s Next Top Model but have we ever really stopped to think about what we are teaching our children about competition and about how to treat people? (more…)
