2 minute read

Struggling at school

Several years ago my eyes were opened to the fact that we all don’t learn the same. This may be obvious to some of you but it was not to me at the time. I have two kids and one of them was not having a good school year. He was struggling with learning and I could not understand why. The material did not seem that difficult but it was to him.

It seemed like the information being taught was just not sinking in. After many emotional conversations and parent-teacher meetings I could not figure out what was happening and how to make it better. I like to fix things and I could not see how to fix this.

Learning about ADHD

I started reaching out to friends for advice. One friend (to whom I will be forever grateful) suggested to me that my kid could have ADHD and I should have him tested by a neuropsychologist.

I spent the next few months learning a ton about ADHD, executive function, and occupational therapy. Every new professional I met or book I read taught me something new. I felt like I was clearly seeing how my kid viewed the world and why certain things were difficult for him that were not difficult for me.

It has taken a lot of experiments (some failures and some successes) to develop methods that work for my kid to complete his homework. And not just complete it but feel confident to tackle it and retain information from it.

Creating unique learning strategies

What started as one series of experiments for one kid led to a similar series of experiments for my second kid. They both see and think about the world in unique and lovely ways. And their approach to schoolwork and homework needs to be tailored to each of them for success.

I want to share our journey of experiments because maybe it will resonate with you. Eliminating the struggle at school and replacing it with empowerment and confidence enables my kids to enjoy learning and fight it less.

I started sharing my ideas and knowledge with friends and discovered that other parents were also looking for information and fresh ideas. So I am expanding my reach with this blog to connect with other people looking to support their kids’ education and learning in creative ways.

Visit my learning resources page to learn more!