Author: Shenessa Barretto | Jul 11, 2015
I work as a clinical psychologist at Sethu and my interactions with children teach me a lot. Recently I assessed Joy (name changed), an 8 year old girl who studies in standard III and was referred for psychoeducational testing, as she had learning difficulties as well as inattention and restlessness.
During my assessment I noticed that she was very creative and very good at giving oral answers. But when it came to writing, reading and math, her enthusiasm faltered and she avoided these tasks as much as possible. I worked around this by telling her that she would be able to do something that she liked. The questions I asked were personalised by using Joy’s friend’s names and as far as possible she was allowed to give verbal answers. Joy’s testing scores indicated that she has a Specific Learning Disability and struggles with written tasks and in understanding abstract Math concepts.
Teaching Joy to read, spell and do Math will need a multisensory approach, with an individualised educational plan that is tailor-made for her level. Using her strengths of verbal expression and her natural interest in art and creativity will make the work enjoyable. We must remember that even someone with a very superior intelligence and someone who is so creative can have a learning disability. There will be many of you reading this, who have seen kids like Joy who are brilliant and yet struggling with their academics. Early detection and remediation can go a long way in changing failure into success.