Every comprehensive school pupil has the right to receive support for their learning. In addition to school performance, learning is also important for a child’s self-esteem, mental resources and social relationships.
If your child’s learning is slower or otherwise unusual compared to their peers, it is a good idea for your family and the child’s teachers to stop and look at the situation together. It is important to find out the causes and even more important to find solutions to alleviate the situation in good time.
Learning difficulties can hurt the child
Learning difficulties are often reflected in a child’s behaviour and emotional life. If learning requires more work than normal, this can affect the child’s ability to manage. After the school day, the child’s fatigue can take the form of irritability and bad temper at home. Going to school can also become unpleasant and the child’s motivation to study can decrease.
The child may start to avoid things that feel difficult, including homework. Some children respond with feelings of low self‑esteem, tearfulness or sadness, or by feeling anxiety, especially about school-related matters.
When the child gets enough support at the right time, the load is lightened. Thus, the support provided can also prevent emotional and behavioural challenges.
Support to help the child forward
Identifying learning difficulties early on and providing adequate support will also prevent emotional and behavioural challenges and, of course, make learning itself easier. The Basic Education Act states that every pupil has the right to receive support for learning and school attendance throughout basic education.
Your family can help at home by offering support and acceptance and by working together with other professionals.
The process of applying for support usually starts with a discussion with the child’s class teacher, special education teacher or a pupil welfare service professional. The adults at school will plan and implement the support measures in cooperation with you.
If your child’s learning is not making progress or is progressing slowly despite long-term support from school and home, the pupil welfare services may refer them for an examination by the school psychologist. The school psychologist will look into the underlying reasons for the child’s challenges so that the school can better plan and target support measures.
In addition, the school psychologist’s examination can also be used as the starting point for seeking support and rehabilitation outside the school for more severe learning difficulties, if necessary.
Learning difficulties are individual
Learning challenges are usually not explained by a single factor, such as lack of practice or tools, an illness or a mental health disorder. However, some illnesses and injuries can also be linked with learning challenges.
The child’s learning difficulties can be extensive or narrow in scope. An extensive learning disability involves challenges in several different areas of learning, while a narrow learning disability affects only one area of learning.
Different learning difficulties and challenges such as concentration and social interaction issues can also co-exist.
Sometimes learning disabilities need to be examined in more depth. When the support of the school health care services is not enough, the school psychologist or doctor can refer your child to examinations by a family centre neuropsychologist.
Find out more about family centre neuropsychologist
Material for parents (in Finnish)(Link leads to external service)
Difficulties with reading and writing
At school, reading and writing are usually practised in grades 1–2. It is important that you encourage learning while also allowing your child to learn these skills at their own pace.
However, the child’s teachers and other school staff will provide support according to the child’s needs. If the child’s reading does not become fluent by the spring semester of second grade, it may be a good idea to stop and think more carefully about the reasons behind the learning challenges.
If necessary, bring up your concerns about the child’s reading and writing with their teacher. The teacher may also start this discussion, in which case it is important that you approach the situation openly and cooperatively.
Difficulties with calculation and mathematics
Difficulties in mathematics can manifest themselves as slow learning and effortful calculation.
In mathematics, new knowledge builds heavily on what has already been learned, so gaps in knowledge can make it difficult to absorb new things. Accordingly, it is often important to go back to the basics and strengthen the foundation of mathematical skills when facing difficulties in mathematics.
If you have any concerns about your child, bring them up with the child’s teacher and keep an open mind if the teacher initiates a discussion about this topic.
