Different children have varied learning capabilities. Some children seem to do well with almost no effort, while some would have to work at it with extra efforts to gain basic understanding. A slow learner is a term used to describe children or students with low learning abilities.
An estimated 14.1% of all children belong to this group. Slow learners are different from children diagnosed with learning disabilities such as autism or mental retardation. They do not readily qualify...
more »Different children have varied learning capabilities. Some children seem to do well with almost no effort, while some would have to work at it with extra efforts to gain basic understanding. A slow learner is a term used to describe children or students with low learning abilities.
An estimated 14.1% of all children belong to this group. Slow learners are different from children diagnosed with learning disabilities such as autism or mental retardation. They do not readily qualify for admission into special education services or community programs and still they lack the needed educational skills to compete successfully with other students in regular schools.
People with learning disabilities are not necessary unintelligent people as there are several examples of successful people who had learning disabilities when growing up. People like Alexander bell, Winston Churchill and Walt Disney are all good examples. People with learning disabilities have problems with their brain's ability to process, receive, analyze and store information. This is what makes them slow learners compared to students without this learning disability.
**How to help slow Learners**
When trying to help a child suspected to be a slow learner, it is first important to identify the type of learning disability the child has. A child can suffer from one or more types of learning disabilities. Some learning problems affect the child's ability to focus and concentrate. Others can make it difficult for the child to write, read or spell properly. Some children find it especially difficult to work with math problems, because of their inability to understand simple math formulas and principles. Monitor the child to identify the particular problem.
After identifying the exact problem, you may need to intervene and offer assistance to help the child. Some slow learners actually benefit from interventions provided to assist them. It is important that you provide just the necessary level of support without over assisting the student. Too much assistance would make the student over dependant on external support. Begin with providing just a little support and then gradually increase the support so as to avoid providing too much support.
It is also a good idea to group slow learners with stronger students. This helps both students as the stronger student has the opportunity to re-teach and cement his knowledge, while providing a support system for the slow learner.
When working with slow learners, the focus should be in helping the child improve and not necessarily to make him compete with his regular peers. Celebrate each improvement and success to appreciate the child’s efforts. Help the child focus on improving and not competing with others. The most important help you can give the child is to offer constant encouragement and never compare the child’s abilities with others or call them derogatory names.
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