As we approach a third school year affected by this pandemic, the challenges for those working in schools are very different. And in many ways, the goals won’t be clear until after school begins in September.
Students with learning disabilities may be at greater risk for mental health problems including ADHD, anxiety, mood disorders, and interpersonal problems. Deanna Swift, from School Mental Health Ontario provides resources support educators in their efforts to create a mentally healthy classroom.
For over 20 years, research has shown that social-emotional learning should take a more important role in the classroom. Teachers should highlight the emotions felt by the characters in children's literature to promote social-emotional learning and discussions while continuing to meet academic goals.
Although girls with ADHD will tend to struggle in all areas of functioning, we tend to rely more heavily on relatively subtle clues during diagnosis, and educators are often in the best position to observe them.
Often, children cope with distress by gradually withdrawing from or avoiding situations, thoughts, or feelings, and engaging in behaviours like procrastination, school refusal, lying about getting work done, or feeling tired or unwell.
ADHD is a prevalent diagnosis, but girls are often missed because their ADHD presents in different ways than boys, leading to misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis.
This module is intended to provide an introduction to the new demands and expectations that are placed on students when they begin secondary school and prepare educators to support students with LDs while they navigate their way through secondary school.
Parents can help reduce back to school stress for students with LDs by reducing the working memory load so their child can focus on the job of learning; it will directly impact their child’s experience going back to the classroom this September.
What is your role, as a member of the educational team, if a student brings a service animal to school? Why might such an animal be needed? This article is intended to provide the tools needed to understand the important role such an animal plays in the life of a student with a disability, using research on the subject.
We may not know what September holds for our schools and communities, but we can be sure that supporting students with an LD will require serious thought and precision.
